II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2407 

To establish a career pathway grant program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2018 

Ms. HASSAN (for herself, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a career pathway grant program. 

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 ‘‘Gateway to Careers 

5 Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CAREER PATHWAYS GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

8 U.S.C. 1161a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART BB—CAREER PATHWAY GRANT PROGRAM 

2 ‘‘SEC. 899. CAREER PATHWAY GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘area ca5 reer and technical education school’, ‘career path6 way’, ‘individual with a barrier to employment’, ‘in7 dustry or sector partnership’, ‘integrated education 

8 and training’, ‘local board’, and ‘recognized postsec9 ondary credential’ have the meanings given such 

10 terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

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

12 ‘‘(2) CAREER PATHWAY PARTNERSHIP.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘career 

14 pathway partnership’ means a partnership— 

15 ‘‘(i) between an eligible institution, a 

16 workforce development partner described 

17 in subparagraph (B), and a secondary and 

18 adult education partner described in sub19 paragraph (C); 

20 ‘‘(ii) evidenced by a formal agreement 

21 between partners; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) that is intended to support the 

23 development and implementation of a ca24 reer pathway program. 

25 ‘‘(B) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PART26 NER.—A workforce development partner deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Feb 10, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2407.IS S2407

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1 scribed in subparagraph (A) means one or more 

2 of the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A local board. 

4 ‘‘(ii) An industry association or other 

5 representative of multiple employers in the 

6 target industry, including an industry or 

7 sector partnership. 

8 ‘‘(iii) A community-based organization 

9 with experience in providing employment, 

10 education, or support services relevant to 

11 the career pathway and student popu12 lations receiving services under the grant 

13 under this section. 

14 ‘‘(C) SECONDARY AND ADULT EDUCATION

15 PARTNER.—A secondary and adult education 

16 partner described in subparagraph (A) means 

17 one or more of the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) A local educational agency, as de19 fined under section 8101 of the Elemen20 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

21 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 ‘‘(ii) An eligible provider, as defined 

23 under section 203 of the Workforce Inno24 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

25 3272). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) An eligible agency, as defined in 

2 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

3 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

4 U.S.C. 2302). 

5 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi6 ble institution’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) a public institution of higher edu8 cation at which the highest degree that is pre9 dominantly awarded to students is an associ10 ate’s degree, including 2-year Tribal Colleges or 

11 Universities under section 316 of the Higher 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c) and 

13 public 2-year State institutions of higher edu14 cation; 

15 ‘‘(B) an area career and technical edu16 cation school that provides education at the 

17 postsecondary level; or 

18 ‘‘(C) a consortium of entities described in 

19 subparagraph (A) or (B). 

20 ‘‘(4) MEASURABLE SKILL GAINS.—The term 

21 ‘measurable skill gains’ has the meaning given the 

22 term in section 361.155(a)(1)(v) of title 34, Code of 

23 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 

24 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary, in 

25 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall establish 


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1 a career pathway grant program, through which the Sec2 retary shall award grants, or a competitive basis, to eligi3 ble institutions in order to enable eligible institutions to 

4 carry out the activities described in subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible institution desiring 

6 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an appli7 cation, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary 

8 may require, that includes the following information: 

9 ‘‘(1) A description of the career pathway part10 nership, including the roles and responsibilities of 

11 each partner. 

12 ‘‘(2) A description of the career pathway pro13 gram that will be supported under the grant, includ14 ing a description of the occupations and industries 

15 that will be targeted and the recognized postsec16 ondary credentials to be awarded. 

17 ‘‘(3) A description of how the career pathway 

18 program supported under the grant is aligned and 

19 coordinated with other employment, education, and 

20 support services offered in the geographic area 

21 served under the grant, including services provided 

22 under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

23 Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and the Carl D. Per24 kins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 

25 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(4) A description of the student populations 

2 that will be served under the grant, including an 

3 analysis of any barriers to postsecondary access and 

4 completion that such populations face, and an anal5 ysis of how the services to be provided under the 

6 grant will address those barriers. 

7 ‘‘(5) A description of the activities and services 

8 to be provided under this grant, consistent with the 

9 subsection (e). 

10 ‘‘(6) A description of the performance outcomes 

11 that the eligible institution plans to achieve, includ12 ing a description of how the eligible institution will 

13 evaluate and measure student progress and measur14 able skill gains along a career pathway. 

15 ‘‘(7) Such other information as the Secretary 

16 may require. 

17 ‘‘(d) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY; PRIORITY.—The Sec18 retary shall award grants under this part in a manner 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(1) supports geographic diversity among 

21 grantees; and 

22 ‘‘(2) gives priority to partnerships that seek to 

23 serve individuals with a barrier to employment or in24 dividuals with a barrier to postsecondary education. 


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1 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible institution receiv2 ing a grant under this section shall use grant funds to 

3 carry out activities that support the development and im4 plementation of career pathways programs, which shall in5 clude two or more of the following activities: 

6 ‘‘(1) The planning and implementation of 

7 agreements between the eligible institution and other 

8 partners in the career pathway partnership to sup9 port seamless transitions between elements of the 

10 career pathway program offered by different part11 ners, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(2) The development and expansion of new or 

13 existing programs at the eligible institution that uti14 lize integrated education and training strategies, and 

15 support multiple entry and exit points for working 

16 learners, which may include— 

17 ‘‘(A) dual-enrollment approaches for sec18 ondary students or disconnected youth seeking 

19 to transition directly into a career pathway pro20 gram; and 

21 ‘‘(B) strategies that help working students 

22 and other nontraditional and adult student pop23 ulations access skills and recognized postsec24 ondary credentials. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The provision of direct support services 

2 such as childcare, transportation, mental health and 

3 substance use disorder treatment, assistance in ob4 taining health insurance coverage, and assistance in 

5 accessing the supplemental nutrition assistance pro6 gram established under the Food and Nutrition Act 

7 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the special supple8 mental nutrition program for women, infants, and 

9 children established by section 17 of the Child Nu10 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), housing, and 

11 other benefits, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(4) The provision of emergency grants to help 

13 students facing financial hardships that may impact 

14 enrollment or completion of an element of a career 

15 pathway program. 

16 ‘‘(5) Offering career pathways navigation and 

17 case management services. 

18 ‘‘(6) The provision of professional development 

19 for faculty and other staff at the eligible institution 

20 or at partner organizations described under subpara21 graph (B) or (C) of subsection (a)(3) on the develop22 ment and implementation of career pathways. 

23 ‘‘(7) The acquisition of equipment necessary to 

24 support the delivery of career pathway programs 

25 supported through a grant under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(8) Any other activity identified by the eligible 

2 institution or partners as necessary to support the 

3 development or implementation of career pathway 

4 programs, as long as such activity is clearly outlined 

5 in the grant application. 

6 ‘‘(f) DURATION OF AWARD.—A grant under this sec7 tion shall be for a period of not more than 4 years. An 

8 eligible institution may apply for subsequent grants after 

9 the completion of a grant period. 

10 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Each eligible institution receiving a 

11 grant under this section shall submit a report to the Sec12 retary, on an annual basis, describing— 

13 ‘‘(1) the activities provided under the grant, in14 cluding activities carried out directly by the eligible 

15 institution and activities carried out by partner or16 ganizations; 

17 ‘‘(2) the students receiving services under the 

18 grant, disaggregated by age, race or ethnicity, gen19 der, and income; and 

20 ‘‘(3) outcomes for students receiving services 

21 under the grant, including data relating to— 

22 ‘‘(A) employment of students upon enroll23 ment in the career pathway program, and in 

24 the second and fourth quarters after comple25 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(B) median earnings of students upon en2 rollment in the career pathway program, and in 

3 the second quarter after completion of the pro4 gram or attainment of a recognized postsec5 ondary credential; 

6 ‘‘(C) the percentage of students receiving a 

7 high school diploma or recognized equivalent; 

8 ‘‘(D) the percentage of students receiving a 

9 recognized postsecondary credential; 

10 ‘‘(E) the percentage of students who 

11 achieve measurable skill gains toward a recog12 nized postsecondary credential or employment; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(F) the percentage of students receiving 

15 support services, disaggregated by type of serv16 ice. 

17 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the activi19 ties described in this section, such sums as may be nec20 essary for fiscal year 2018 and for each subsequent fiscal 

21 year thereafter.’’. 

Æ 


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