II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3794 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to support the development of pre-apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades that serve 

underrepresented populations, including individuals from low income and 

rural census tracts. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2024 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to support the development 

of pre-apprenticeship programs in the building and construction trades that serve underrepresented populations, 

including individuals from low income and rural census 

tracts. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pre-Apprenticeships 

5 To Hardhats Act’’ or the ‘‘PATH Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) AREA CAREER AND TECHNICAL SCHOOL.— 

2 The term ‘‘area career and technical school’’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Carl D. 

4 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

5 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

6 (2) FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBE.— 

7 The term ‘‘Federally recognized Indian Tribe’’ has 

8 the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ in sec9 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu10 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

11 (3) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 

12 means a nonprofit institutional day or residential 

13 school in a State that— 

14 (A) provides secondary education, as deter15 mined under State law; 

16 (B) grants a diploma, as defined by the 

17 State; and 

18 (C) includes, at least, grade 12. 

19 (4) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA20 TION.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc21 cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

22 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

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

24 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU25 CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 


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1 agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 

2 meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the Ele3 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 7801). 

5 (6) LOCAL AND STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOP6 MENT BOARDS.—The terms ‘‘local workforce devel7 opment board’’ and ‘‘State workforce development 

8 board’’ have the meanings given the terms ‘‘local 

9 board’’ and ‘‘State board’’, respectively, in section 3 

10 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

11 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

12 (7) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITU13 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary educational institu14 tion’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘institution of 

15 higher education’’ in section 102 of the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

17 (8) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.—The 

18 term ‘‘pre-apprenticeship program’’ means a pro19 gram or set of strategies that— 

20 (A) is designed to prepare individuals to 

21 enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship 

22 program in the building or construction trades; 

23 (B) is carried out by an eligible entity de24 scribed in section 3(c) that has a documented 


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1 partnership with at least 1 sponsor of a reg2 istered apprenticeship program; and 

3 (C) includes training (including a cur4 riculum for the training) that— 

5 (i) is aligned with industry standards; 

6 (ii) is reviewed and approved annually 

7 by sponsors of the registered apprentice8 ship programs within the documented part9 nership; and 

10 (iii) will prepare an individual for a 

11 registered apprenticeship program by 

12 teaching the skills and competencies need13 ed to enter such a registered apprentice14 ship program. 

15 (9) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

16 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

17 means a program registered under the Act of Au18 gust 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

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

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

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

22 means the Secretary of Labor. 

23 (11) SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘sponsor’’ means an 

24 employer, joint labor-management partnership, trade 

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1 tion, or other entity that administers a registered 

2 apprenticeship program. 

3 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean4 ing given the term in section 3 of the Workforce In5 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

6 (13) UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATION.—The 

7 term ‘‘underrepresented population’’ means a group 

8 of individuals who— 

9 (A) are members of a racial minority, 

10 women, military veterans, members of a Feder11 ally recognized Indian Tribe, or long-term un12 employed; or 

13 (B) come from a geographic area con14 sisting of a single census tract or a group of 

15 census tracts, each of which meets the criteria 

16 for a low-income community, as defined in sec17 tion 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

18 1986. 

19 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRE-APPREN20 TICESHIP PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants 

22 on a competitive basis to eligible entities described in sub23 section (c) that submit applications under subsection (e) 

24 to provide the Federal share described in subsection (g) 

25 of the cost of carrying out projects under subsection (f) 


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1 that support the development of pre-apprenticeship pro2 grams in the building and construction trades. 

3 (b) PERIOD.—The Secretary shall make initial grants 

4 under subsection (a) for periods of not more than 3 years, 

5 except that if an eligible entity demonstrates satisfactory 

6 performance under subsection (h) by the end of that third 

7 year, the Secretary may extend the grant period up to an 

8 additional 1 year for that entity. 

9 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

10 grant from the Secretary under subsection (a), an entity 

11 shall be a nonprofit partnership that— 

12 (1) includes the equal participation of industry, 

13 including public or private employers, and labor or14 ganizations, including joint labor or management 

15 training programs, and may include State and local 

16 workforce development boards, community-based or17 ganizations, educational institutions (such as post18 secondary educational institutions, local educational 

19 agencies, State educational agencies, high schools, 

20 and area career and technical schools), small busi21 nesses, cooperatives, State and local veterans agen22 cies, and veterans service organizations; and 

23 (2) demonstrates— 


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1 (A) experience in implementing and oper2 ating worker skills training and education pro3 grams; 

4 (B) the ability to identify and involve in 

5 training programs carried out under this grant, 

6 target populations of individuals who would 

7 benefit from training, and be actively involved 

8 in activities related to all building and construc9 tion trade crafts; and 

10 (C) the ability to help individuals achieve 

11 economic self-sufficiency. 

12 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under subsection 

13 (a), the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that 

14 leverage additional public and private resources to fund 

15 programs under this Act, including cash or in-kind 

16 matches from participating employers. 

17 (e) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

18 from the Secretary under subsection (a), an eligible entity 

19 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

20 in such manner, and containing such information as the 

21 Secretary may require, including— 

22 (1) with respect to the proposed pre-apprentice23 ship program, a description of the training and cur24 riculum described in section 2(8)(C) and how the 

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1 uals who successfully complete the pre-apprentice2 ship program qualified to enter into an established 

3 registered apprenticeship program; 

4 (2) evidence that there are or will be sufficient 

5 openings available in such registered apprenticeship 

6 program to enable the sponsor of such registered ap7 prenticeship program to place into a corresponding 

8 registered apprenticeship those individuals who suc9 cessfully complete the pre-apprenticeship program; 

10 (3) information about the entity that dem11 onstrates the existence of an active, advisory part12 nership between the partners described in subsection 

13 (c)(1) and the capacity of a training and education 

14 provider of the entity to provide the training and 

15 education services necessary for a pre-apprenticeship 

16 program; and 

17 (4) information about the proposed pre-appren18 ticeship program that demonstrates— 

19 (A) that the program is in an in-demand 

20 industry or occupation in the region in which 

21 the project is located; 

22 (B) the inclusion in the program of career 

23 exploration focused activities, such as career in24 formation activities, and re ́sume ́ preparation; 


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1 (C) if the entity carrying out the project 

2 includes a high school, that the model to be 

3 used for the program leads to a high school di4 ploma for participants without such a diploma; 

5 (D) how the pre-apprenticeship program is 

6 aligned with and leverages resources of career 

7 and technical education programs, programs 

8 and services authorized under the Workforce 

9 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

10 3101 et seq.), or activities of entities that pro11 vide supportive services for participants in pre12 apprenticeship programs; and 

13 (E) that the project aligns with an estab14 lished registered apprenticeship program, in15 cluding that the model used for the program 

16 leads to the attainment of skills and com17 petencies necessary for entrance into the reg18 istered apprenticeship program for participants. 

19 (f) USE OF FUNDS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re21 ceives a grant under subsection (a) shall use the 

22 grant funds to carry out a project that implements 

23 a pre-apprenticeship program, including the activi24 ties described in paragraphs (2) and (3). 


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1 (2) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—The eligible entity 

2 shall use such grant funds— 

3 (A) to pay for the cost of training or edu4 cation associated with a pre-apprenticeship pro5 gram for individuals from an underrepresented 

6 population; 

7 (B) for curriculum development that align 

8 with the requirements of the appropriate reg9 istered apprenticeship programs and learning 

10 assessments; 

11 (C) to maintain a connection between the 

12 pre-apprenticeship program and registered ap13 prenticeship program; 

14 (D) for assessments of potential partici15 pants for, and enrollment of the participants in, 

16 the pre-apprenticeship program; and 

17 (E) to conduct evaluations described in 

18 subsection (h)(2). 

19 (3) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The eligible enti20 ty may use such grant funds for— 

21 (A) stipends for participants during work22 based training in the program; and 

23 (B) coordination of activities under this 

24 subsection with activities carried out under the 

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1 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) or 

2 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

3 (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). 

4 (g) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

6 cost described in subsection (a) shall be 75 percent 

7 of the total cost of the projects described in such 

8 subsection carried out by an eligible entity. 

9 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The eligible entity 

10 may contribute the non-Federal share of such cost 

11 in cash or in-kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, 

12 equipment, or services. 

13 (h) PERFORMANCE.— 

14 (1) MEASURES.—The Secretary shall identify a 

15 set of common measures that, at a minimum, in16 clude measures of entry into a registered apprentice17 ship program and that are aligned, as appropriate, 

18 with performance accountability measures described 

19 in section 116(c) of the Workforce Innovation and 

20 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(c)) for the local 

21 workforce development area and with corresponding 

22 measures under the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

23 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 

24 et seq.). 


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1 (2) EVALUATIONS.—Each eligible entity that 

2 receives a grant to carry out a project under sub3 section (a) shall arrange for another qualified entity 

4 to conduct an evaluation, or shall participate in an 

5 evaluation sponsored by the Secretary, of the project 

6 using the identified common measures, and shall, to 

7 the extent practicable, cooperate with the evaluator 

8 in any evaluations of activities carried out under 

9 paragraph. 

10 (3) EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary shall use the 

11 results of an evaluation for a project under para12 graph (2) to determine whether to extend the grant 

13 period, or renew a grant, for the project under sub14 section (b). 

15 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

17 $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each subsequent fis18 cal year. 

Æ 


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