I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2303 

To authorize funding to expand and support enrollment at institutions of 

higher education that sponsor construction and manufacturing-oriented 

registered apprenticeship programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2021 

Ms. CRAIG (for herself and Mr. STAUBER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To authorize funding to expand and support enrollment at 

institutions of higher education that sponsor construction 

and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship 

programs, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Appren5 ticeship Colleges Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY OUTREACH GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 

8 under subsection (f), the Secretary of Education shall proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303

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1 vide grants to eligible entities for the purposes of expand2 ing or supporting potential student and employer outreach 

3 carried out by such entities with respect to the construc4 tion and manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship 

5 programs offered by such entities. 

6 (b) AMOUNTS.—The total grant amount made to an 

7 eligible entity under this section may not exceed $500,000. 

8 (c) USE OF GRANTS.—An eligible entity that receives 

9 a grant under this section shall use such grant for the 

10 outreach described in subsection (a), which shall include 

11 the following: 

12 (1) Outreach to high schools, for the purpose of 

13 educating students, parents, guardians, and faculty 

14 on the benefits of enrolling in the construction and 

15 manufacturing-oriented registered apprenticeship 

16 program offered by the eligible entity. 

17 (2) Outreach to local businesses and other po18 tential employers for the purpose of educating such 

19 employers on the benefits of hiring graduates of 

20 such program, which shall— 

21 (A) primarily target relationship building 

22 with potential employers in rural, exurban, and 

23 suburban areas; and 


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1 (B) seek to maximize the number of stu2 dents who work in such areas after completing 

3 such program. 

4 (3) Outreach to local workforce development 

5 boards for the purpose of reaching nontraditional 

6 student populations and prioritizing local needs. 

7 (d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible enti8 ty seeking a grant under this section shall submit an appli9 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

10 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 

11 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec12 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

13 that demonstrate outreach efforts targeted at increasing 

14 program enrollment for rural, first generation, minority, 

15 and nontraditional students, or other students from 

16 underrepresented population. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out 

19 this section for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 

20 2025. 

21 SEC. 3. STUDENT SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM FOR EX22 PANDED ACADEMIC ADVISING. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts appropriated 

24 under subsection (g), the Secretary of Education shall proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2303.IH H2303

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1 vide grants to eligible entities for the activities described 

2 in subsection (d). 

3 (b) AMOUNTS.—The total grant amount made to an 

4 eligible entity under this section may not exceed $500,000. 

5 (c) MULTIPLE GRANTS PERMITTED.—An eligible en6 tity may receive a grant under sections 2 and 3. 

7 (d) USE OF GRANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re9 ceives a grant under this section shall use such 

10 grant for advising and support services to enrollees 

11 of construction and manufacturing-oriented reg12 istered apprenticeship programs offered by such en13 tity to increase retention and persistence for stu14 dents. 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Such advising and sup16 port services shall include the following: 

17 (A) Expanding academic advising pro18 grams that provide services to students, includ19 ing the following: 

20 (i) Career advising and professional 

21 development. 

22 (ii) Support for English as a second 

23 language students. 

24 (iii) Information and resource sys25 tems. 


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1 (iv) Mentoring systems. 

2 (v) Other such programs. 

3 (B) Expanding student support programs 

4 that provide services to students, including the 

5 following: 

6 (i) Health and family-related services, 

7 including substance abuse disorder and 

8 mental health counseling. 

9 (ii) Support for first-generation stu10 dents. 

11 (iii) Childcare support. 

12 (iv) Other such programs. 

13 (v) In the case of an eligible entity 

14 that is a construction and manufacturing15 oriented registered apprenticeship pro16 gram, maintaining its accreditation by a 

17 nationally recognized accrediting agency or 

18 association recognized by the Secretary of 

19 Education pursuant to part H of title IV 

20 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 1099a et seq.), 

22 (e) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible enti23 ty seeking a grant under this section shall submit an appli24 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

25 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 


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1 (f) REPORT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re3 ceives a grant under this section shall submit to the 

4 Secretary a report on— 

5 (A) the activities supported by the grant; 

6 (B) the number of students participating 

7 in the activities supported by the grant; 

8 (C) any progress made in achieving the 

9 goals of the program supported by the grant, in 

10 general, and measuring in particular— 

11 (i) the effectiveness of the grant in ex12 panding overall enrollment and program 

13 completion rates; and 

14 (ii) the effectiveness of the grant in 

15 expanding enrollment and program comple16 tion rates for underrepresented popu17 lations; and 

18 (D) such other information as the Sec19 retary determines to be appropriate. 

20 (2) TIMELINE FOR SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 

21 The report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted 

22 to the Secretary not later than 180 days after the 

23 date on which the eligible entity concludes the activi24 ties supported by the grant under this section. 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 

4 2025. 

5 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING-ORI8 ENTED APPRENTICESHIP COLLEGE.—The term 

9 ‘‘construction and manufacturing-oriented appren10 ticeship college’’ means— 

11 (A) an institution of higher education that 

12 is a sponsor of a construction and manufac13 turing-oriented registered apprenticeship pro14 gram; or 

15 (B) a construction and manufacturing-ori16 ented registered apprenticeship program. 

17 (2) CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING-ORI18 ENTED REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

19 The term ‘‘construction and manufacturing-oriented 

20 registered apprenticeship program’’ means a reg21 istered apprenticeship program that— 

22 (A) provides coursework and training in 

23 preparation for employment in the construction 

24 or manufactory industry (such as employment 


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1 as a painter, drywall finisher, glazier, or glass2 worker); 

3 (B)(i) leads to a recognized postsecondary 

4 credential other than a certificate of completion 

5 of an apprenticeship; or 

6 (ii) awards credits that can be applied to7 ward a recognized postsecondary credential; and 

8 (C) is accredited by a nationally recognized 

9 accrediting agency or association recognized by 

10 the Secretary of Education pursuant to part H 

11 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

12 (20 U.S.C. 1099a et seq.). 

13 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti14 ty’’ means a construction and manufacturing-ori15 ented apprenticeship college. 

16 (4) FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.— 

17 The term ‘‘first generation college student’’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 402A(h) of the 

19 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a– 

20 11(h)). 

21 (5) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 

22 has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of 

23 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

3 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

5 (7) OUTREACH.—The term ‘‘outreach’’ means 

6 communications and relationship-building opportuni7 ties undertaken by an eligible entity. 

8 (8) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN9 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden10 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

11 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

12 U.S.C. 3102). 

13 (9) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

14 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

15 means an apprenticeship program registered under 

16 the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as 

17 the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, 

18 chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). 

19 (10) SECOND LANGUAGE.—The term ‘‘second 

20 language’’ means any language other than English, 

21 including Braille and American Sign Language. 

22 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

23 means the Secretary of Education. 

24 (12) UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATION.—The 

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1 vidual who is from a group whose gender, ethnic 

2 background, or national origin is not traditionally 

3 represented in registered apprenticeship programs. 

Æ 


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