II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1245 

To award career pathways innovation grants to local educational agencies 

and consortia of local educational agencies, to provide technical assistance 

within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer 

the grants and support the local educational agencies with the preparation of grant applications and management of grant funds, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2017 

Mr. FRANKEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To award career pathways innovation grants to local educational agencies and consortia of local educational agencies, to provide technical assistance within the Office 

of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer 

the grants and support the local educational agencies 

with the preparation of grant applications and management of grant funds, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Career 

3 Pathways Innovation Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen7 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and ‘‘sec8 ondary school’’ have the meanings given the terms 

9 in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 (2) BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY PARTNER.—The 

12 term ‘‘business or industry partner’’ means— 

13 (A) a business; 

14 (B) an industry; or 

15 (C) a sector partnership (which has the 

16 meaning given the term ‘‘industry or sector 

17 partnership’’ in section 3 of the Workforce In18 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

19 3102)). 

20 (3) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 

21 pathway’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

22 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

23 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

24 (4) ELIGIBLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

25 agency’’ means— 

26 (A) a local educational agency; 


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1 (B) a consortium of local educational agen2 cies; or 

3 (C) a school operated or funded by the Bu4 reau of Indian Education. 

5 (5) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean6 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self7 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

8 U.S.C. 5304). 

9 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

10 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

11 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

13 (7) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native Ha14 waiian’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

15 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 

17 (8) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

18 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

19 means a program registered under the Act of Au20 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

21 Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 

22 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

23 (9) SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘school 

24 partnership’’ means a partnership that— 

25 (A) shall include, at a minimum— 


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1 (i) an eligible agency; and 

2 (ii) one or more business or industry 

3 partners; and 

4 (B) may also include one or more of the 

5 following partners: 

6 (i) A community-based organization. 

7 (ii) A joint labor-management part8 nership. 

9 (iii) An institution of higher edu10 cation. 

11 (iv) A State board or local board (as 

12 such terms are defined in section 3 of the 

13 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

14 (29 U.S.C. 3102)). 

15 (v) Any other entity that the Sec16 retary, after consultation with the Sec17 retary of Labor, considers appropriate. 

18 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

19 means the Secretary of Education. 

20 SEC. 3. CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 (a) CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION GRANT PRO22 GRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail24 able to carry out this section, the Secretary, after 

25 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall esVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jun 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1245.IS S1245

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1 tablish a career pathways innovation grant program, 

2 through which the Secretary shall award grants, on 

3 a competitive basis, to eligible agencies for the pur4 pose of addressing the specialized skill needs of busi5 ness and industry by carrying out career pathways 

6 programs, featuring school partnerships, that sup7 port career pathways at the secondary school level or 

8 career exploration at the elementary school level. 

9 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

10 section— 

11 (A) shall be for a period of 3 years; and 

12 (B) may be renewed for one additional 2- 

13 year period, if the eligible agency demonstrates 

14 sufficient progress in achieving the goals of the 

15 initial grant. 

16 (b) APPLICATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible agency desiring a 

18 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec19 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

20 and containing such information as the Secretary 

21 may require. 

22 (2) CONTENTS; PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.— 

23 The application submitted under paragraph (1) shall 

24 include— 


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1 (A) an initial partnership agreement, en2 tered into by the eligible agency and all mem3 bers of the school partnership, that— 

4 (i) specifies the duties and responsibil5 ities of each partner; 

6 (ii) describes the commitment of re7 sources or materials to be provided by each 

8 partner toward the school partnership, en9 suring that the business or industry part10 ners in the school partnership provide an 

11 amount of resources, in cash or in-kind, to12 ward the activities supported under the 

13 grant that equals or exceeds the amount 

14 contributed by the eligible agency and the 

15 amount to be provided by the grant under 

16 this section; and 

17 (B) a description of how the eligible agency 

18 will ensure the quality of the career pathways 

19 program offered under the grant, including any 

20 program that leads to an industry-certified cre21 dential. 

22 (c) AWARD BASIS.—In awarding grants under this 

23 section, the Secretary shall— 

24 (1) ensure that, to the extent practicable based 

25 on the applications received under subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) not less than 15 percent of the grant 

2 funds available to carry out this section are 

3 awarded to rural eligible agencies; and 

4 (B) not less than 5 percent of the grant 

5 funds available to carry out this section are 

6 awarded to eligible agencies that serve a sub7 stantial percentage of Indian or Native Hawai8 ian children; and 

9 (2) except to the extent necessary to comply 

10 with paragraph (1), give priority to— 

11 (A) any eligible agency whose school part12 nership includes an institution of higher edu13 cation offering postsecondary credits, or an en14 tity offering a registered apprenticeship pro15 gram, through the career pathways program 

16 under the grant; and 

17 (B) any eligible agency whose career path18 ways program— 

19 (i) at the secondary school level, offers 

20 concurrent enrollment opportunities for 

21 postsecondary credit; or 

22 (ii) leads to an industry-certified cre23 dential. 

24 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

2 agency receiving grant funds under this section shall 

3 use grant funds to build or expand a career path4 ways program featuring school partnerships that 

5 supports career pathways at the secondary school 

6 level or career exploration at the elementary school 

7 level. 

8 (2) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

9 agency receiving grant funds under this section may 

10 use grant funds— 

11 (A) to hire a designated career pathways 

12 partnership coordinator to seek out and build 

13 relationships with business or industry partners 

14 to foster and manage the school partnerships 

15 supported under the grant; 

16 (B) for the costs of new equipment, infra17 structure (such as facilities, technology, and 

18 staffing), or transportation related to the career 

19 pathways program; 

20 (C) to recruit or train career and technical 

21 education teachers; 

22 (D) to provide externship opportunities for 

23 educators to spend time in industry; 

24 (E) for youth apprenticeship opportunities; 


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1 (F) to provide, as part of the career path2 way program, coursework that awards postsec3 ondary credit at no cost to secondary school 

4 students; and 

5 (G) to support development of curricula 

6 that offer industry-certified credentials. 

7 (e) REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (1) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible agency that 

9 receives a grant under this section shall provide, to10 ward the cost of the activities assisted under the 

11 grant and from non-Federal sources, an amount 

12 equal to or greater than the amount of the grant. 

13 Such matching amount may be in cash or in-kind 

14 and shall include support from business or industry 

15 partners of a school partnership in accordance with 

16 the partnership agreement described in subsection 

17 (b)(2). 

18 (2) PARTICIPATION OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY

19 PARTNER.—In any case where a business or indus20 try partner included in an initial partnership agree21 ment described in subsection (b)(2)(A) withdraws 

22 from a school partnership supported under a grant 

23 under this section, the eligible agency shall notify 

24 the Secretary immediately of the withdrawal and of 


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1 the eligible agency’s plan for obtaining a comparable 

2 business or industry partner. 

3 (f) REPORTS.— 

4 (1) ELIGIBLE AGENCY REPORTS.— 

5 (A) INTERIM REPORTS.—By not later than 

6 18 months after receiving a grant under this 

7 section, the eligible agency shall submit a report 

8 to the Secretary demonstrating that the eligible 

9 agency is achieving sufficient progress toward 

10 the goals of the grant. 

11 (B) FINAL REPORTS.—Each eligible agen12 cy receiving a grant under this section shall 

13 prepare and submit to the Secretary a final re14 port regarding the use of funds for the grant, 

15 including the outcomes of the activities assisted 

16 under the grant, by not later than 90 days after 

17 the end of the grant period. 

18 (2) SECRETARY REPORTS.—The Secretary shall 

19 prepare and submit to Congress, on an annual basis, 

20 a report regarding the grant program under this sec21 tion that includes a summary of the reports received 

22 under paragraph (1) during the preceding year and 

23 the outcomes resulting from the use of grant funds. 


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1 SEC. 4. CAREER PATHWAYS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

3 Assistant Secretary of Career, Technical, and Adult Edu4 cation, shall— 

5 (1) administer and manage the career pathways 

6 innovation grants awarded under section 3; 

7 (2) provide technical assistance to eligible agen8 cies preparing grant applications under section 3(b); 

9 and 

10 (3) support career pathways partnership coordi11 nators, or other personnel of eligible agencies that 

12 have received a grant under section 3, in order to 

13 ensure that— 

14 (A) the eligible agency participates in the 

15 required school partnership; and 

16 (B) the grant results in positive program 

17 outcomes. 

18 (b) DESIGNATED PERSONNEL FOR RURAL AND NA19 TIVE-SERVING APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall des20 ignate not less than 1 employee of the Office of Career, 

21 Technical, and Adult Education who will exclusively sup22 port rural and native-serving eligible agencies with the 

23 preparation of grant applications under section 3(b) and 

24 the development of school partnerships necessary to apply 

25 for and implement a grant under section 3. 

Æ 


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