I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2037 

To extend Federal Pell Grant eligibility of certain short-term programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Mr. HORSFORD, 

Mr. KATKO, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Ms. BLUNT

ROCHESTER, Mrs. HINSON, and Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

Labor 

A BILL 

To extend Federal Pell Grant eligibility of certain shortterm programs. 

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 ‘‘Jumpstart Our Busi5 nesses by Supporting Students Act of 2021’’ or the 

6 ‘‘JOBS Act of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 2. EXTENDING FEDERAL PELL GRANT ELIGIBILITY OF 

8 CERTAIN SHORT-TERM PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2037 IH

1 (1) PRIOR TO FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION.—Section 

2 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

3 U.S.C. 1070a) is amended by inserting after sub4 section (j) the following: 

5 ‘‘(k) JOB TRAINING FEDERAL PELL GRANT PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE CAREER PATHWAY PRO9 GRAM.—The term ‘eligible career pathway pro10 gram’ means a program that— 

11 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section 

12 484(d)(2); 

13 ‘‘(ii) is listed on the provider list 

14 under section 122(d) of the Workforce In15 novation and Opportunity Act; 

16 ‘‘(iii) is part of a career pathway, as 

17 defined in section 3 of that Act; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) is aligned to a program of study 

19 as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Per20 kins Career and Technical Education Act 

21 of 2006. 

22 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE JOB TRAINING PRO23 GRAM.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

25 job training program’ means a career and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2037 IH

1 technical education program at an institu2 tion of higher education that— 

3 ‘‘(I) provides not less than 150, 

4 and not more than 600, clock hours of 

5 instructional time over a period of not 

6 less than 8 weeks and not more than 

7 15 weeks; 

8 ‘‘(II) provides training aligned 

9 with the requirements of high-skill, 

10 high-wage, or in-demand industry sec11 tors or occupations in the State or 

12 local area, as determined by an indus13 try or sector partnership; 

14 ‘‘(III) is a program of training 

15 services, and provided through an eli16 gible training provider, as described 

17 under section 122(d) of the Workforce 

18 Innovation and Opportunity Act; 

19 ‘‘(IV) provides a student, upon 

20 completion of the program, with a rec21 ognized postsecondary credential that 

22 is recognized by employers in the rel23 evant industry, including credentials 

24 recognized by industry or sector part25 nerships in the relevant industry in 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2037 IH

1 the State or local area where the in2 dustry is located and the job training 

3 program is provided; 

4 ‘‘(V) has been determined by the 

5 institution of higher education (after 

6 validation of that determination by an 

7 industry or sector partnership) to pro8 vide academic content, an amount of 

9 instructional time, and a recognized 

10 postsecondary credential that are suf11 ficient to— 

12 ‘‘(aa) meet the hiring re13 quirements of potential employ14 ers; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) satisfy any applicable 

16 educational prerequisite require17 ment for professional licensure or 

18 certification, so that the student 

19 who completes the program and 

20 seeks employment qualifies to 

21 take any licensure or certification 

22 examination needed to practice or 

23 find employment in an occupa24 tion that the program prepares 

25 students to enter; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ‘‘(VI) may include integrated 

2 education and training; 

3 ‘‘(VII) may be offered as part of 

4 an eligible career pathway program; 

5 ‘‘(VIII) does not exceed by more 

6 than 50 percent the minimum number 

7 of clock hours required for training if 

8 the State has established such a re9 quirement; and 

10 ‘‘(IX) shall include institutional 

11 credit articulation for a student en12 rolled in a noncredit job training pro13 gram. 

14 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL BY THE SEC15 RETARY.—In the case of a program that is 

16 seeking to establish eligibility as an eligible 

17 job training program under this subpara18 graph, the Secretary shall make a deter19 mination about whether the program meets 

20 the requirements of this subparagraph not 

21 more than 60 days after the date on which 

22 such program is submitted for consider23 ation as an eligible job training program. 

24 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE.—The 

25 Secretary shall not determine that a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2037.IH H2037

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2037 IH

1 gram is an eligible job training program in 

2 accordance with clause (ii) unless the Sec3 retary receives a certification from the ap4 propriate State board containing an assur5 ance that the program meets the require6 ments of clause (i). 

7 ‘‘(C) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU8 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu9 cation’ means— 

10 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education, 

11 as defined in section 101; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary vocational insti13 tution, as defined in section 102(c). 

14 ‘‘(D) INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT ARTICULA15 TION.—The term ‘institutional credit articula16 tion’ means an institution of higher education 

17 provides a student who has completed a non18 credit program with the equivalent academic 

19 credit that may be applied to a subsequent 

20 credit-bearing certificate or degree program 

21 upon enrollment in such program at such insti22 tution. 

23 ‘‘(E) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘in24 dustry or sector partnership’, ‘in-demand indus25 try sector or occupation’, ‘recognized postsecVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2037.IH H2037

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ondary credential’, and ‘State board’ have the 

2 meanings given such terms in section 3 of the 

3 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

4 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—For the award year begin5 ning on July 1, 2021, and each subsequent award 

6 year, the Secretary shall carry out a program 

7 through which the Secretary shall award Federal 

8 Pell Grants to students in eligible job training pro9 grams (referred to as a ‘job training Federal Pell 

10 Grant’). Each eligible job training Federal Pell 

11 Grant awarded under this subsection shall have the 

12 same terms and conditions, and be awarded in the 

13 same manner, as other Federal Pell Grants awarded 

14 under subsection (a), except as follows: 

15 ‘‘(A) A student who is eligible to receive a 

16 job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub17 section is a student who— 

18 ‘‘(i) has not yet attained a postbacca19 laureate degree; 

20 ‘‘(ii) attends an institution of higher 

21 education; 

22 ‘‘(iii) is enrolled, or accepted for en23 rollment, in an eligible job training pro24 gram at such institution of higher edu25 cation; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ‘‘(iv) meets all other eligibility re2 quirements for a Federal Pell Grant (ex3 cept with respect to the type of program of 

4 study, as provided in clause (iii)). 

5 ‘‘(B) The amount of a job training Federal 

6 Pell Grant for an eligible student shall be deter7 mined under subsection (b), except that sub8 section (b)(4) shall not apply. 

9 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION IN TOTAL ELIGIBILITY PE10 RIOD.—Any period during which a student receives 

11 a job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub12 section shall be included in calculating the student’s 

13 period of eligibility for Federal Pell Grants under 

14 subsection (c), and the eligibility requirements re15 garding students who are enrolled in an under16 graduate program on less than a full-time basis shall 

17 similarly apply to students who are enrolled in an el18 igible job training program at an eligible institution 

19 on less than a full-time basis.’’. 

20 (2) AFTER FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION ACT.—Sec21 tion 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1070a), as amended by section 703 of the 

23 FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division FF 

24 of Public Law 116–260), is further amended by add25 ing at the end the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ‘‘(k) JOB TRAINING FEDERAL PELL GRANT PRO2 GRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE CAREER PATHWAY PRO5 GRAM.—The term ‘eligible career pathway pro6 gram’ means a program that— 

7 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of section 

8 484(d)(2); 

9 ‘‘(ii) is listed on the provider list 

10 under section 122(d) of the Workforce In11 novation and Opportunity Act; 

12 ‘‘(iii) is part of a career pathway, as 

13 defined in section 3 of that Act; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) is aligned to a program of study 

15 as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Per16 kins Career and Technical Education Act 

17 of 2006. 

18 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE JOB TRAINING PRO19 GRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

21 job training program’ means a career and 

22 technical education program at an institu23 tion of higher education that— 

24 ‘‘(I) provides not less than 150, 

25 and not more than 600, clock hours of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2037 IH

1 instructional time over a period of not 

2 less than 8 weeks and not more than 

3 15 weeks; 

4 ‘‘(II) provides training aligned 

5 with the requirements of high-skill, 

6 high-wage, or in-demand industry sec7 tors or occupations in the State or 

8 local area, as determined by an indus9 try or sector partnership; 

10 ‘‘(III) is a program of training 

11 services, and provided through an eli12 gible training provider, as described 

13 under section 122(d) of the Workforce 

14 Innovation and Opportunity Act; 

15 ‘‘(IV) provides a student, upon 

16 completion of the program, with a rec17 ognized postsecondary credential that 

18 is recognized by employers in the rel19 evant industry, including credentials 

20 recognized by industry or sector part21 nerships in the relevant industry in 

22 the State or local area where the in23 dustry is located and the job training 

24 program is provided; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ‘‘(V) has been determined by the 

2 institution of higher education (after 

3 validation of that determination by an 

4 industry or sector partnership) to pro5 vide academic content, an amount of 

6 instructional time, and a recognized 

7 postsecondary credential that are suf8 ficient to— 

9 ‘‘(aa) meet the hiring re10 quirements of potential employ11 ers; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) satisfy any applicable 

13 educational prerequisite require14 ment for professional licensure or 

15 certification, so that the student 

16 who completes the program and 

17 seeks employment qualifies to 

18 take any licensure or certification 

19 examination needed to practice or 

20 find employment in an occupa21 tion that the program prepares 

22 students to enter; 

23 ‘‘(VI) may include integrated 

24 education and training; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ‘‘(VII) may be offered as part of 

2 an eligible career pathway program; 

3 ‘‘(VIII) does not exceed by more 

4 than 50 percent the minimum number 

5 of clock hours required for training if 

6 the State has established such a re7 quirement; and 

8 ‘‘(IX) shall include institutional 

9 credit articulation for a student en10 rolled in a noncredit job training pro11 gram. 

12 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL BY THE SEC13 RETARY.—In the case of a program that is 

14 seeking to establish eligibility as an eligible 

15 job training program under this subpara16 graph, the Secretary shall make a deter17 mination about whether the program meets 

18 the requirements of this subparagraph not 

19 more than 60 days after the date on which 

20 such program is submitted for consider21 ation as an eligible job training program. 

22 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE.—The 

23 Secretary shall not determine that a pro24 gram is an eligible job training program in 

25 accordance with clause (ii) unless the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:20 May 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2037.IH H2037

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2037 IH

1 retary receives a certification from the ap2 propriate State board containing an assur3 ance that the program meets the require4 ments of clause (i). 

5 ‘‘(C) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU6 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu7 cation’ means— 

8 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education, 

9 as defined in section 101; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a postsecondary vocational insti11 tution, as defined in section 102(c). 

12 ‘‘(D) INSTITUTIONAL CREDIT ARTICULA13 TION.—The term ‘institutional credit articula14 tion’ means an institution of higher education 

15 provides a student who has completed a non16 credit program with the equivalent academic 

17 credit that may be applied to a subsequent 

18 credit-bearing certificate or degree program 

19 upon enrollment in such program at such insti20 tution. 

21 ‘‘(E) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘in22 dustry or sector partnership’, ‘in-demand indus23 try sector or occupation’, ‘recognized postsec24 ondary credential’, and ‘State board’ have the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2037 IH

1 meanings given such terms in section 3 of the 

2 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

3 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—For the award year begin4 ning on July 1, 2023, and each subsequent award 

5 year, the Secretary shall carry out a program 

6 through which the Secretary shall award Federal 

7 Pell Grants to students in eligible job training pro8 grams (referred to as a ‘job training Federal Pell 

9 Grant’). Each eligible job training Federal Pell 

10 Grant awarded under this subsection shall have the 

11 same terms and conditions, and be awarded in the 

12 same manner, as other Federal Pell Grants awarded 

13 under subsection (b), except as follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) A student who is eligible to receive a 

15 job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub16 section is a student who— 

17 ‘‘(i) has not yet attained a postbacca18 laureate degree; 

19 ‘‘(ii) attends an institution of higher 

20 education; 

21 ‘‘(iii) is enrolled, or accepted for en22 rollment, in an eligible job training pro23 gram at such institution of higher edu24 cation; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ‘‘(iv) meets all other eligibility re2 quirements for a Federal Pell Grant (ex3 cept with respect to the type of program of 

4 study, as provided in clause (iii)). 

5 ‘‘(B) The amount of a job training Federal 

6 Pell Grant for an eligible student shall be deter7 mined under subsection (b), except that not8 withstanding subsection (b)(1)(B) a student 

9 who is eligible for less than the minimum Fed10 eral Pell Grant for an academic year in which 

11 the student is enrolled in an eligible program 

12 full time may still be eligible for a Federal Pell 

13 Grant. 

14 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION IN TOTAL ELIGIBILITY PE15 RIOD.—Any period during which a student receives 

16 a job training Federal Pell Grant under this sub17 section shall be included in calculating the student’s 

18 period of eligibility for Federal Pell Grants under 

19 subsection (d), and the eligibility requirements re20 garding students who are enrolled in an under21 graduate program on less than a full-time basis shall 

22 similarly apply to students who are enrolled in an el23 igible job training program at an eligible institution 

24 on less than a full-time basis.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 2037 IH

1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

2 by paragraph (2) shall take effect as if included in 

3 section 703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title 

4 VII of division FF of Public Law 116–260) and sub5 ject to the effective date of section 701(b) of such 

6 Act. 

7 (b) ACCREDITING AGENCY RECOGNITION OF ELIGI8 BLE JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS.—Section 496(a)(4) of the 

9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(4)) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

12 after the semicolon; 

13 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

14 after the semicolon; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) if such agency or association has or 

17 seeks to include within its scope of recognition 

18 the evaluation of the quality of institutions of 

19 higher education participating in the job train20 ing Federal Pell Grant program under section 

21 401(k), such agency or association shall, in ad22 dition to meeting the other requirements of this 

23 subpart, demonstrate to the Secretary that, 

24 with respect to such eligible job training pro25 grams (as defined in that subsection)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 2037 IH

1 ‘‘(i) the agency or association’s stand2 ards include a process for determining if 

3 the institution has the capability to effec4 tively offer an eligible job training pro5 gram; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the agency or association re7 quires a demonstration that the program— 

8 ‘‘(I) has identified each recog9 nized postsecondary credential offered 

10 and the corresponding industry or sec11 tor partnership that actively recog12 nizes each credential in the relevant 

13 industry in the State or local area 

14 where the industry is located; and 

15 ‘‘(II) provides the academic con16 tent and amount of instructional time 

17 that is sufficient to— 

18 ‘‘(aa) meet the hiring re19 quirements of potential employ20 ers; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) satisfy any applicable 

22 educational prerequisites for pro23 fessional licensure or certification 

24 requirements so that the student 

25 who completes the program and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 2037 IH

1 seeks employment qualifies to 

2 take any licensure or certification 

3 examination that is needed to 

4 practice or find employment in 

5 an occupation that the program 

6 prepares students to enter.’’. 

7 (c) INTERAGENCY DATA SHARING.—The Secretary 

8 of Education shall coordinate and enter into a data shar9 ing agreement with the Secretary of Labor to ensure ac10 cess to data related to indicators of performance collected 

11 under section 116 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor12 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141). Under such data sharing 

13 agreement, the Commissioner of the National Center for 

14 Education Statistics shall collect and review the contents 

15 of performance reports for eligible providers of training 

16 services described in section 116(d)(4) of that Act not less 

17 frequently than once each year. 

18 (d) MINIMUM FEDERAL PELL GRANT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 401(b)(4) of the 

20 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 1070a(b)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘ten percent’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘5 percent’’. 

23 (2) FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 401(a)(2)(F) of 

25 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 2037 IH

1 1070a(a)(2)(F)), as amended by section 703 of 

2 the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of divi3 sion FF of Public Law 116–260), is further 

4 amended by striking ‘‘ten percent’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘5 percent’’. 

6 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment 

7 made by this paragraph shall take effect as if 

8 included in section 703 of the FAFSA Sim9 plification Act (title VII of division FF of Pub10 lic Law 116–260) and subject to the effective 

11 date of section 701(b) of such Act. 

12 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Unless otherwise specified, 

13 this section, and the amendments made by this section, 

14 shall take effect on July 1, 2021. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS