I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4272 

To include community partners and intermediaries in the planning and 

delivery of education and related programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 7, 2017 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CRIST, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

EVANS, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. 

LEE, and Ms. MCCOLLUM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To include community partners and intermediaries in the 

planning and delivery of education and related 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Community Partnerships in Education Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4272 IH

TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE CARL D. PERKINS CAREER AND 

TECHNICAL EDUCATION ACT OF 2006 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Attainment of 21st century skills. 

Sec. 103. Inclusion of community partners and intermediary organizations in 

State and local plans. 

Sec. 104. Evaluations. 

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 

1965 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. TRIO programs. 

Sec. 203. GEAR UP. 

Sec. 204. Maintenance and expansion of existing programs. 

1 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

2 CARL D. PERKINS CAREER 

3 AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 

4 ACT OF 2006 

5 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

6 Section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech7 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

10 (18) and paragraphs (19) through (34) as para11 graphs (10) through (19) and paragraphs (21) 

12 through (36), respectively; 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol14 lowing new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(9) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—The term ‘com16 munity partner’ means a nonprofit organization that 

17 has expertise in the planning and delivery of edu18 cation, career training, and related programs, in 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4272 IH

1 forging coordination and cooperation between edu2 cators and other members of the community, in 

3 training educators and other deliverers of edu4 cational services, or in development and implementa5 tion of data systems that measure the progress of 

6 students, schools and institutions of higher edu7 cation, and programs.’’; and 

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (19) (as redes9 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following new para10 graph: 

11 ‘‘(20) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION.—The 

12 term ‘intermediary organization’ means a nonprofit 

13 organization that has expertise in training, forging 

14 public-private partnerships, systems development, 

15 capacity-building, improving scalability, and evalua16 tion.’’. 

17 SEC. 102. ATTAINMENT OF 21ST CENTURY SKILLS. 

18 (a) ACCOUNTABILITY.—Section 113(b)(2)(C) of the 

19 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

20 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2323(b)(2)(C)) is amended by inserting 

21 ‘‘attainment of 21st century skills (such as critical think22 ing, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration) 

23 and’’ after ‘‘such as’’. 

24 (b) LOCAL AND STATE REPORTS.—Section 113 of 

25 such Act (20 U.S.C. 2323) is further amended— 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4272 IH

1 (1) in subsection (b)(4)(C)(ii)— 

2 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

3 and inserting a semicolon; 

4 (B) in subclause (II), by striking the pe5 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

6 (C) by inserting after subclause (II) the 

7 following new subclause: 

8 ‘‘(III) describe the progress of 

9 career and technical education stu10 dents served by the eligible recipient 

11 in attaining 21st century skills (such 

12 as critical thinking, problem-solving, 

13 communication, and collaboration).’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) in subsection (c)(2)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

17 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

18 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

19 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

21 the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(C) describe the progress of career and 

23 technical education students of the State in at24 taining 21st century skills (such as critical 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4272 IH

1 thinking, problem-solving, communication, and 

2 collaboration).’’. 

3 SEC. 103. INCLUSION OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND 

4 INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATIONS IN STATE 

5 AND LOCAL PLANS. 

6 (a) STATE PLAN.—Section 122 of the Carl D. Per7 kins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

8 U.S.C. 2342) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ix), by striking ‘‘in10 cluding parent and community organizations’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘including parent and intermediary organi12 zations and community partners’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(A)— 

14 (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

15 inserting a semicolon; and 

16 (B) by inserting after clause (iv) the fol17 lowing new clauses: 

18 ‘‘(v) are carried out in partnership 

19 with one or more community partners, in20 cluding through joint planning and imple21 mentation, shared professional develop22 ment designed to improve the effectiveness 

23 of eligible recipient and community partner 

24 staff, development and implementation of 

25 shared data systems that support program 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4272 IH

1 improvement and the improvement of pro2 gram outcomes, and the alignment and co3 ordination of eligible recipient and commu4 nity partner goals, activities, and training; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(vi) are carried out with the involve7 ment of one or more intermediary organi8 zations that will assist the eligible appli9 cants by training staff, providing technical 

10 assistance that is designed to ensure con11 tinuous improvement, helping to ensure ac12 countability for results, and helping to en13 sure that program funds flow quickly and 

14 effectively to effective service providers and 

15 activities;’’; and 

16 (3) in subsection (c)(2)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘; 

18 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (G), by inserting 

20 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

21 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(H) may be provided by a community 

24 partner or an intermediary organization;’’. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4272 IH

1 (b) LOCAL PLAN.—Section 134(b) of the Carl D. 

2 Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

3 U.S.C. 2354(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘community 

5 partners, intermediary organizations,’’ after ‘‘labor 

6 organizations,’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

8 inserting a semicolon; 

9 (3) in paragraph (12)(B), by striking the period 

10 and inserting a semicolon; and 

11 (4) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol12 lowing new paragraphs: 

13 ‘‘(13) describe the data-sharing agreement or 

14 agreements that the eligible recipient agency has en15 tered into with other agencies and organizations so 

16 as to provide for shared access to information on 

17 student progress and success (consistent with the re18 quirements of subpart 4 of part C of the General 

19 Education Provisions Act), integrated planning and 

20 joint review of the data, and coordinated adjust21 ments in program strategies and activities in re22 sponse to changes in student needs or to new chal23 lenges; 

24 ‘‘(14) describe how the eligible recipient will 

25 carry out its program under this part in partnership 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4272 IH

1 with one or more community partners, including 

2 through joint planning and implementation, shared 

3 professional development designed to improve the ef4 fectiveness of eligible recipient and community part5 ner staff, development and implementation of shared 

6 data systems that support program improvement 

7 and the improvement of program outcomes, and the 

8 alignment and coordination of eligible recipient and 

9 community partner goals, activities, and training; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(15) a description of how the eligible recipient 

12 will carry out its program under this part with the 

13 involvement of one or more intermediary organiza14 tions that will assist the eligible entity by training 

15 staff, providing technical assistance that is designed 

16 to ensure continuous improvement, helping to ensure 

17 accountability for results, and helping to ensure that 

18 program funds flow quickly and effectively to effec19 tive service providers and activities.’’. 

20 (c) LOCAL USE OF FUNDS.—Section 135(b) of the 

21 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 

22 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2355(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘development 

24 programs that’’ and inserting ‘‘development proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Nov 08, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4272.IH H4272

sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4272 IH

1 grams, which may be provided by community part2 ners or intermediary organizations, that’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

4 inserting a semicolon; 

5 (3) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

6 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (4) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(10) development and implementation of data10 sharing agreements between the eligible recipient 

11 and other agencies and organizations that provide 

12 for shared access to information on student progress 

13 and success (consistent with the requirements of 

14 subpart 4 of part C of the General Education Provi15 sions Act), integrated planning and joint review of 

16 the data, and coordinated adjustments in program 

17 strategies and activities in response to changes in 

18 student needs or to new challenges.’’. 

19 SEC. 104. EVALUATIONS. 

20 Section 114(d)(2)(B) of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

21 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2324) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and in24 serting a semicolon; 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4272 IH

1 (2) in clause (vii), by striking the period and in2 serting a semicolon; and 

3 (3) by inserting after clause (vii) the following 

4 new clauses: 

5 ‘‘(viii) whether and how eligible recipi6 ents are involving community partners and 

7 intermediary organizations in their activi8 ties carried out under part C, and the im9 pact of that involvement; and 

10 ‘‘(ix) the implementation of the data11 sharing agreements entered into under sec12 tion 135(b)(10), and the impact of that 

13 implementation.’’. 

14 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

15 HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 

16 1965 

17 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

18 Section 481 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 1088) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing new subsections: 

21 ‘‘(g) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—For purposes of this 

22 title, the term ‘community partner’ means a nonprofit or23 ganization that has expertise in the planning and delivery 

24 of education, career training, and related programs, in 

25 forging coordination and cooperation between educators 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4272 IH

1 and other members of the community, in training edu2 cators and other deliverers of educational services, or in 

3 development and implementation of data systems that 

4 measure the progress of students, schools and institutions 

5 of higher education, and programs. 

6 ‘‘(h) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION.—For purposes 

7 of this title, the term ‘intermediary organization’ means 

8 a nonprofit organization that has expertise in training, 

9 forging public-private partnerships, systems development, 

10 capacity-building, improving scalability, evaluation, and 

11 development and implementation of data systems that 

12 measure the progress of students, schools and other edu13 cational institutions, and programs.’’. 

14 SEC. 202. TRIO PROGRAMS. 

15 Section 402A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

16 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–11) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘For the purposes de19 scribed’’ and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes de21 scribed’’; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND INTER24 MEDIARY ORGANIZATIONS.—An entity described 

25 in subparagraph (A) receiving a grant or enterVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Nov 08, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4272.IH H4272

sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4272 IH

1 ing into a contract under this chapter shall, to 

2 the extent practicable, carry out the grant or 

3 contract— 

4 ‘‘(i) with one or more community 

5 partners, including through joint planning 

6 and implementation, shared professional 

7 development designed to improve the effec8 tiveness of such eligible entity and commu9 nity partner staff, development and imple10 mentation of shared data systems that 

11 support the improvement of the operations 

12 and outcomes of the program carried out 

13 with such grant or contract, and the align14 ment and coordination of such eligible enti15 ty and community partner goals, activities, 

16 and training; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) with the involvement of one or 

18 more intermediary organizations that will 

19 assist such eligible entity by training staff, 

20 providing technical assistance that is de21 signed to ensure continuous improvement, 

22 helping to ensure accountability for results, 

23 and helping to ensure that the grant or 

24 contract funds flow quickly and effectively 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4272 IH

1 to effective service providers and activi2 ties.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c)(6), by adding at the end 

4 the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall encourage enti5 ties receiving grants or entering into contracts under 

6 this chapter to enter into data-sharing agreements 

7 with other agencies and organizations so as to pro8 vide for shared access to information on student 

9 progress and success (consistent with the require10 ments of subpart 4 of part C of the General Edu11 cation Provisions Act), integrated planning and re12 view of the data, and coordinated adjustments in 

13 program strategies and activities in response to 

14 changes in student needs or to new challenges.’’; and 

15 (3) in subsection (f)(3)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

17 (i) by redesignating clauses (v) and 

18 (vi) as clauses (vi) and (vii), respectively; 

19 and 

20 (ii) by inserting after clause (iv) the 

21 following new clause: 

22 ‘‘(v) student acquisition of 21st cen23 tury skills (such as critical thinking, prob24 lem-solving, communication, and collabora25 tion);’’; and 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4272 IH

1 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (i) by redesignating clauses (v), (vi), 

3 and (vii) as clauses (vi), (vii), and (viii), 

4 respectively; and 

5 (ii) by inserting after clause (iv) the 

6 following new clause: 

7 ‘‘(v) student acquisition of 21st cen8 tury skills (such as critical thinking, prob9 lem-solving, communication, and collabora10 tion);’’. 

11 SEC. 203. GEAR UP. 

12 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—Section 

13 404A(c)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 1070a–21(c)(2)) is amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause 

17 (i); and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(iii) one or more community part20 ners; and’’; and 

21 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘inter22 mediary organizations,’’ after ‘‘subpart 4,’’. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 404B(b) of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–22(b)) is 

25 amended— 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 4272 IH

1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjust3 ing the margins of such subparagraphs accordingly; 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘Each eligible entity’’ and in5 serting the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2) DATA SHARING.—Each eligible entity re9 ceiving a grant under this chapter shall, to the ex10 tent feasible, enter into data-sharing agreements 

11 with other organizations or agencies so as to provide 

12 for shared access to information on student progress 

13 and success (consistent with the requirements of 

14 subpart 4 of part C of the General Education Provi15 sions Act), integrated planning and joint review of 

16 the data, and coordinated adjustments in program 

17 strategies and activities in response to changes in 

18 student needs or to new challenges.’’. 

19 (c) APPLICATIONS.—Section 404C(a)(2) of the High20 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–23(a)(2)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara23 graph (I); 

24 (2) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’ 

25 at the end of subparagraph (J); and 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 4272 IH

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

2 ‘‘(K) describe, in the case of an eligible en3 tity described in section 404A(c)(2), how the 

4 entities included in the partnership will engage 

5 in— 

6 ‘‘(i) joint planning and implementa7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(ii) shared professional development 

9 designed to improve the effectiveness of 

10 school, community partner, and other 

11 staff; 

12 ‘‘(iii) development and implementation 

13 of shared data systems that support pro14 gram improvement and the improvement of 

15 program outcomes; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) the alignment and coordination 

17 of local educational agency, school, commu18 nity partner, and other partnership mem19 ber goals, activities, and training.’’. 

20 (d) ACTIVITIES.—Section 404D(a)(3) of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a–24(a)(3)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara24 graph (A); 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 4272 IH

1 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub2 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(C) at the discretion of the eligible entity, 

5 acquire 21st century skills (such as critical 

6 thinking, problem-solving, communication, and 

7 collaboration).’’. 

8 SEC. 204. MAINTENANCE AND EXPANSION OF EXISTING 

9 PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—Section 418A(a) of the 

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d–2(a)) 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND INTER18 MEDIARY ORGANIZATIONS.—Each such program 

19 shall be implemented— 

20 ‘‘(A) in partnership with one or more com21 munity partners, including through joint plan22 ning and implementation, shared professional 

23 development designed to improve the effective24 ness of, as applicable, school, institution of 

25 higher education, nonprofit organization, and 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 4272 IH

1 community partner staff, development and im2 plementation of shared data systems that sup3 port program improvement and the improve4 ment of program outcomes, and the alignment 

5 and coordination of, as applicable, school, insti6 tution of higher education, nonprofit organiza7 tion, and community partner goals, activities, 

8 and training; and 

9 ‘‘(B) with the involvement of one or more 

10 intermediary organizations that assist the 

11 grantee by training staff, providing technical 

12 assistance that is designed to ensure continuous 

13 improvement, helping to ensure accountability 

14 for results, and helping to ensure that program 

15 funds flow quickly and effectively to effective 

16 service providers and activities. 

17 ‘‘(3) DATA SHARING.—Each such program shall 

18 include the implementation of one or more data19 sharing agreements between the grantee and other 

20 organizations or agencies that provide for shared ac21 cess to information on student progress and success 

22 (consistent with the requirements of subpart 4 of 

23 part C of the General Education Provisions Act), in24 tegrated planning and joint review of the data, and 

25 coordinated adjustments in program strategies and 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 4272 IH

1 activities in response to changes in student needs or 

2 to new challenges.’’. 

3 (b) SERVICES PROVIDED.—Section 418A(b) of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d–2(b)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

7 (8); 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para9 graph (10); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(9) activities designed to ensure that partici13 pants acquire 21st century skills (such as critical 

14 thinking, problem-solving, communication, and col15 laboration); and’’. 

Æ 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS