II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2775 

To award career pathways innovation grants to local educational agencies 

and consortia of local educational agencies, to provide technical assistance 

within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer 

the grants and support the local educational agencies with the preparation of grant applications and management of grant funds, to amend 

the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support community college and 

industry partnerships, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2018 

Ms. SMITH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To award career pathways innovation grants to local educational agencies and consortia of local educational agencies, to provide technical assistance within the Office 

of Career, Technical, and Adult Education to administer 

the grants and support the local educational agencies 

with the preparation of grant applications and management of grant funds, to amend the Higher Education 

Act of 1965 to support community college and industry 

partnerships, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Investing in 21st Cen3 tury Workforce Partnerships Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen7 tary school’’, ‘‘high school’’, ‘‘local educational agen8 cy’’, ‘‘middle grades’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’ have 

9 the meanings given the terms in section 8101 of the 

10 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 (2) BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY PARTNER.—The 

13 term ‘‘business or industry partner’’ means— 

14 (A) a business; 

15 (B) an industry; 

16 (C) a sector partnership (which has the 

17 meaning given the term ‘‘industry or sector 

18 partnership’’ in section 3 of the Workforce In19 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

20 3102)); 

21 (D) a community partner; or 

22 (E) an intermediary organization. 

23 (3) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘‘career 

24 pathway’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

25 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

26 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 


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1 (4) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—The term ‘‘com2 munity partner’’ means a nonprofit organization 

3 that has expertise— 

4 (A) in the planning and delivery of edu5 cation, career training, and related programs; 

6 (B) in forging coordination and coopera7 tion between educators and other members of 

8 the community; 

9 (C) in training educators and other 

10 deliverers of educational services; or 

11 (D) in development and implementation of 

12 data systems that measure the progress of stu13 dents, schools, and institutions of higher edu14 cation, or career pathways programs. 

15 (5) ELIGIBLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

16 agency’’ means— 

17 (A) a local educational agency; 

18 (B) a consortium of local educational agen19 cies or an agent operating on behalf of the con20 sortium; or 

21 (C) a school operated or funded by the Bu22 reau of Indian Education. 

23 (6) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean24 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian SelfVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 May 04, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2775.IS S2775

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1 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

2 U.S.C. 5304). 

3 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

5 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

7 (8) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION.—The term 

8 ‘‘intermediary organization’’ means a nonprofit orga9 nization that has expertise in training, forging pub10 lic-private partnerships, systems development, capac11 ity-building, improving scalability, and evaluation. 

12 (9) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native Ha13 waiian’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

14 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 

16 (10) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘‘pro17 gram of study’’ means a State approved career and 

18 technical education program of courses that articu19 lates between secondary and postsecondary school. 

20 (11) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PRO21 GRAM.—The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship pro22 gram’’ means a program registered under the Act of 

23 August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

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

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


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1 (12) SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘school 

2 partnership’’ means a partnership that— 

3 (A) shall include, at a minimum— 

4 (i) an eligible agency; and 

5 (ii) one or more business or industry 

6 partners; and 

7 (B) may also include one or more of the 

8 following partners: 

9 (i) A community-based organization. 

10 (ii) A joint labor-management part11 nership. 

12 (iii) An institution of higher edu13 cation. 

14 (iv) A State board or local board (as 

15 such terms are defined in section 3 of the 

16 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

17 (29 U.S.C. 3102)). 

18 (v) An apprenticeship college (as de19 fined as an institution partnership that is 

20 registered under the Act of August 16, 

21 1937 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

22 Apprenticeship Act’’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 

23 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) and is an insti24 tution of higher education (as defined in 


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1 section 101(a) of the Higher Education 

2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)))). 

3 (vi) Any other entity that the Sec4 retary, after consultation with the Sec5 retary of Labor, considers appropriate. 

6 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

7 means the Secretary of Education. 

8 SEC. 3. SECONDARY SCHOOL TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNO9 VATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION GRANT PRO11 GRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail13 able to carry out this section, the Secretary, after 

14 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall es15 tablish a career pathways innovation grant program, 

16 through which the Secretary shall award grants, on 

17 a competitive basis, to eligible agencies for the pur18 pose of addressing the specialized skill needs of busi19 ness and industry by carrying out programs of study 

20 or career pathways programs, featuring school part21 nerships, that support career pathways in high 

22 school or career exploration in the middle grades. 

23 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

24 section— 

25 (A) shall be for a period of 3 years; and 


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1 (B) may be renewed for one additional 2- 

2 year period, if the eligible agency demonstrates 

3 sufficient progress in achieving the goals of the 

4 initial grant. 

5 (b) APPLICATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible agency desiring a 

7 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec8 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

9 and containing such information as the Secretary 

10 may require. 

11 (2) CONTENTS; PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.— 

12 The application submitted under paragraph (1) shall 

13 include— 

14 (A) an initial partnership agreement, en15 tered into by the eligible agency and all mem16 bers of the school partnership, that— 

17 (i) specifies the duties and responsibil18 ities of each partner; 

19 (ii) describes the commitment of re20 sources or materials to be provided by each 

21 partner toward the school partnership, en22 suring that the business or industry part23 ners in the school partnership provide an 

24 amount of resources, in cash or in-kind, to25 ward the activities supported under the 


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1 grant that equals or exceeds the amount 

2 contributed by the eligible agency and the 

3 amount to be provided by the grant under 

4 this section; and 

5 (iii) describes how the overall goals of 

6 the school partnership align with any 

7 statewide or regional workforce develop8 ment strategies in existence at the time of 

9 the application, including those established 

10 under the Workforce Innovation and Op11 portunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) or 

12 the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

13 Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et 

14 seq.); 

15 (B) a description of how the eligible agency 

16 and members of the school partnership will col17 laborate to ensure the quality of the career 

18 pathways program offered under the grant, in19 cluding any program that leads to an industry20 certified credential or postsecondary credit lead21 ing to a degree or certification in a career path22 way; 

23 (C) identification of the goals and meas24 ures used to define progress toward student 

25 outcomes; and 


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1 (D) a strategic plan describing the role 

2 and activities of the eligible agency and all 

3 members of the school partnership in sup4 porting how the program will be sustained fol5 lowing the end of the grant. 

6 (c) AWARD BASIS.—In awarding grants under this 

7 section, the Secretary shall— 

8 (1) ensure that, to the extent practicable based 

9 on the applications received under subsection (b)— 

10 (A) not less than 15 percent of the grant 

11 funds available to carry out this section are 

12 awarded to rural eligible agencies; and 

13 (B) not less than 5 percent of the grant 

14 funds available to carry out this section are 

15 awarded to eligible agencies that serve a sub16 stantial percentage of Indian or Native Hawai17 ian children; and 

18 (2) except to the extent necessary to comply 

19 with paragraph (1), give priority to— 

20 (A) any eligible agency whose school part21 nership includes an institution of higher edu22 cation offering postsecondary credits, or an en23 tity offering a registered apprenticeship pro24 gram that is articulated through secondary 

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1 istered apprenticeship requirements, through 

2 the career pathways program under the grant; 

3 and 

4 (B) any eligible agency whose career path5 ways program— 

6 (i) in a high school, offers concurrent 

7 enrollment opportunities for postsecondary 

8 credit; or 

9 (ii) leads to an industry-certified cre10 dential. 

11 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

12 (1) REQUIRED USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

13 agency receiving grant funds under this section shall 

14 use grant funds to build or expand a career path15 ways program featuring school partnerships that 

16 supports career pathways in high school or career 

17 exploration in the middle grades. 

18 (2) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

19 agency receiving grant funds under this section may 

20 use grant funds either during or outside of the 

21 school day or school year— 

22 (A) to hire a designated career pathways 

23 partnership coordinator to seek out and build 

24 relationships with business or industry partners 


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1 to foster and manage the school partnerships 

2 supported under the grant; 

3 (B) for the costs of new equipment, infra4 structure (such as facilities, technology, and 

5 staffing), or transportation related to the career 

6 pathways program; 

7 (C) to recruit, or assist with State licen8 sure and credential requirements, career and 

9 technical education teachers, and others imple10 menting career pathways programs; 

11 (D) to train or support the professional de12 velopment of career and technical education 

13 teachers, and others implementing career path14 ways programs, including providing externship 

15 opportunities for educators to spend time in in16 dustry; 

17 (E) for youth apprenticeship, internship, or 

18 experiential learning opportunities; 

19 (F) to provide, as part of the career path20 ways program, coursework that awards postsec21 ondary credit at no cost to high school students; 

22 and 

23 (G) to support development of curricula 

24 that offer industry-certified credentials. 

25 (e) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible agency that 

2 receives a grant under this section shall provide, to3 ward the cost of the activities assisted under the 

4 grant and from non-Federal sources, an amount 

5 equal to or greater than the amount of the grant. 

6 Such matching amount may be in cash or in-kind 

7 and shall include support from business or industry 

8 partners of a school partnership in accordance with 

9 the partnership agreement described in subsection 

10 (b)(2). 

11 (2) PARTICIPATION OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY

12 PARTNER.—In any case where a business or indus13 try partner included in an initial partnership agree14 ment described in subsection (b)(2)(A) withdraws 

15 from a school partnership supported under a grant 

16 under this section, the eligible agency shall notify 

17 the Secretary immediately of the withdrawal and of 

18 the eligible agency’s plan for obtaining a comparable 

19 business or industry partner. 

20 (f) REPORTS.— 

21 (1) ELIGIBLE AGENCY REPORTS.— 

22 (A) INTERIM REPORTS.—By not later than 

23 18 months after receiving a grant under this 

24 section, the eligible agency shall submit a report 

25 to the Secretary demonstrating that the eligible 


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1 agency is achieving sufficient progress toward 

2 the goals of the grant. 

3 (B) FINAL REPORTS.—Each eligible agen4 cy receiving a grant under this section shall 

5 prepare and submit to the Secretary a final re6 port regarding the use of funds for the grant, 

7 including the outcomes of the activities assisted 

8 under the grant, by not later than 90 days after 

9 the end of the grant period. 

10 (2) SECRETARY REPORTS.—The Secretary shall 

11 prepare and submit to Congress, on an annual basis, 

12 a report regarding the grant program under this sec13 tion that includes a summary of the reports received 

14 under paragraph (1) during the preceding year and 

15 the outcomes resulting from the use of grant funds. 

16 SEC. 4. CAREER PATHWAYS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

18 Assistant Secretary of Career, Technical, and Adult Edu19 cation, shall— 

20 (1) administer and manage the career pathways 

21 innovation grants awarded under section 3; 

22 (2) provide technical assistance to eligible agen23 cies preparing grant applications under section 3(b); 

24 and 


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1 (3) support career pathways partnership coordi2 nators, or other personnel of eligible agencies that 

3 have received a grant under section 3, in order to 

4 ensure that— 

5 (A) the eligible agency participates in the 

6 required school partnership; and 

7 (B) the grant results in positive program 

8 outcomes. 

9 (b) DESIGNATED PERSONNEL FOR RURAL AND NA10 TIVE-SERVING APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall des11 ignate not less than 1 employee of the Office of Career, 

12 Technical, and Adult Education who will exclusively sup13 port rural and native-serving eligible agencies with the 

14 preparation of grant applications under section 3(b) and 

15 the development of school partnerships necessary to apply 

16 for and implement a grant under section 3. 

17 SEC. 5. COLLEGE TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION 

18 GRANT PROGRAM. 

19 Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART H—COLLEGE TO CAREER PATHWAYS 

2 INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM 

3 ‘‘SEC. 399A. COLLEGE AND INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS PRO4 GRAM. 

5 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than the end 

6 of the first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of 

7 the Investing in 21st Century Workforce Partnerships 

8 Act, from funds appropriated under section 399B, the 

9 Secretary (in coordination with the Secretary of Labor) 

10 shall award competitive grants to eligible entities described 

11 in subsection (b) for the purpose of developing, offering, 

12 improving, and providing educational or career training 

13 programs for students, including working students. The 

14 grants shall be awarded for periods of 3 years and may 

15 be renewed for 1 additional 2-year period. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PARTNERSHIPS WITH EMPLOYERS OR AN

18 EMPLOYER OR INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP.— 

19 ‘‘(A) GENERAL DEFINITION.—For pur20 poses of this section, an ‘eligible entity’ means 

21 any of the entities described in subparagraph 

22 (B) (or a consortium of any of such entities) in 

23 partnership with employers or an employer or 

24 industry partnership representing multiple em25 ployers. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF ENTITIES.—The en2 tities described in this subparagraph are— 

3 ‘‘(i) a community college; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a 4-year public institution of 

5 higher education (as defined in section 

6 101(a)) that offers 2-year degrees, and 

7 that will use funds provided under this sec8 tion for activities at the certificate and as9 sociate degree levels; 

10 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University 

11 (as defined in section 316(b)); 

12 ‘‘(iv) an apprenticeship college (as de13 fined as an institution partnership that is 

14 registered under the Act of August 16, 

15 1937 (commonly known as the ‘National 

16 Apprenticeship Act’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 

17 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) and is an insti18 tution of higher education (as defined in 

19 section 101(a)))); or 

20 ‘‘(v) a public or private nonprofit, 2- 

21 year institution of higher education (as de22 fined in section 102) in the Commonwealth 

23 of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States 

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1 lands, the Republic of the Marshall Is2 lands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 

3 or the Republic of Palau. 

4 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PARTNERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL

6 PARTNERS.—In addition to partnering with em7 ployers or an employer or industry partnership 

8 representing multiple employers as described in 

9 paragraph (1)(A), an entity described in para10 graph (1) may include in the partnership de11 scribed in paragraph (1) one or more of the or12 ganizations described in subparagraph (B). 

13 Each eligible entity that includes one or more 

14 such organizations shall collaborate with the 

15 State board or local board in the area served by 

16 the eligible entity. 

17 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONS.—The organizations 

18 described in this subparagraph are as follows: 

19 ‘‘(i) A provider of adult education (as 

20 defined in section 203 of the Adult Edu21 cation and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 

22 3272)) or an institution of higher edu23 cation (as defined in section 101). 

24 ‘‘(ii) A community-based organization. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) A joint labor-management part2 nership. 

3 ‘‘(iv) A State board. 

4 ‘‘(v) An elementary school or sec5 ondary school, as defined in section 8101 

6 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu7 cation Act of 1965. 

8 ‘‘(vi) Any other organization that the 

9 Secretaries consider appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(c) EDUCATIONAL OR CAREER TRAINING PRO11 GRAM.—For purposes of this section, the Governor of the 

12 State in which at least one of the entities described in sub13 section (b)(1)(B) of an eligible entity is located shall es14 tablish criteria for an educational or career training pro15 gram leading to a recognized postsecondary credential for 

16 which an eligible entity submits a grant proposal under 

17 subsection (d). 

18 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a 

19 grant under this section shall submit an application con20 taining a grant proposal, for an educational or career 

21 training program leading to a recognized postsecondary 

22 credential, to the Secretaries at such time and containing 

23 such information as the Secretaries determine is required, 

24 including— 

25 ‘‘(1) a detailed description of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the educational or 

2 career training program described in the grant 

3 proposal aligns with— 

4 ‘‘(i) an overall strategic plan devel5 oped by the eligible entity or entities; 

6 ‘‘(ii) a statewide or regional workforce 

7 development plan in existence at the time 

8 of the application, including a plan estab9 lished under the Workforce Innovation and 

10 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) 

11 or the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech12 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 

13 2301 et seq.); and 

14 ‘‘(iii) in-demand industry sectors or 

15 occupations, as defined by the State or 

16 designated governing board, as appro17 priate; 

18 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the program will 

19 meet the needs of employers in the area for 

20 skilled workers in in-demand industry sectors or 

21 occupations; 

22 ‘‘(C) the extent to which the program will 

23 meet the educational or career training needs of 

24 students in the area; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the specific educational or career 

2 training program and how the program meets 

3 the criteria established under subsection (e), in4 cluding the manner in which the grant will be 

5 used to develop, offer, improve, and provide the 

6 educational or career training program; 

7 ‘‘(E) any previous experience of the eligible 

8 entity in providing educational or career train9 ing programs, the absence of which shall not 

10 automatically disqualify an eligible institution 

11 from receiving a grant under this section; and 

12 ‘‘(F) how the program leading to the cre13 dential meets the criteria described in sub14 section (c); and 

15 ‘‘(2) a detailed plan on how the entity will en16 sure that the program will meet the performance 

17 measures described in subsection (g), and an assur18 ance that the entity will annually submit to the Sec19 retary information on the performance of the pro20 gram on the performance measures described in sub21 section (g). 

22 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR AWARD.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under this section 

24 shall be awarded based on criteria established by the 

25 Secretaries, that include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) A determination of the merits of the 

2 grant proposal submitted by the eligible entity 

3 involved to develop, offer, improve, and provide 

4 an educational or career training program to be 

5 made available to students. 

6 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the likely employ7 ment opportunities available in the area to indi8 viduals who complete an educational or career 

9 training program that the eligible entity pro10 poses to develop, offer, improve, and provide. 

11 ‘‘(C) An assessment of prior demand for 

12 training programs by individuals eligible for 

13 training and served by the eligible entity, as 

14 well as availability and capacity of existing (as 

15 of the date of the assessment) training pro16 grams to meet future demand for training pro17 grams. 

18 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

19 section, the Secretaries shall give priority to eligible 

20 entities that— 

21 ‘‘(A) include a partnership, with employers 

22 or an employer or industry partnership, that— 

23 ‘‘(i) pays a portion of the costs of 

24 educational or career training programs; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) agrees to hire individuals who 

2 have attained a recognized postsecondary 

3 credential resulting from the educational or 

4 career training program of the eligible en5 tity; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) include an educational entity 

7 that has sought and received bonding au8 thority to fund partnerships program; 

9 ‘‘(B) enter into a partnership with a labor 

10 organization or labor-management training pro11 gram to provide, through the program, tech12 nical expertise for occupationally specific edu13 cation necessary for a recognized postsecondary 

14 credential leading to a skilled occupation in an 

15 in-demand industry sector or occupation; 

16 ‘‘(C) are focused on serving individuals 

17 with barriers to employment, students who are 

18 veterans, spouses of member of the Armed 

19 Forces, incumbent workers who are low-skilled 

20 and who need to increase their work-related 

21 skills; 

22 ‘‘(D) include any eligible entities serving 

23 areas with high unemployment rates; 


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1 ‘‘(E) are eligible entities that include an 

2 institution of higher education eligible for as3 sistance under this title or title V; and 

4 ‘‘(F) ensure geographic diversity, including 

5 appropriate representation of rural areas. 

6 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 

7 this section shall be used for one or more of the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) The development, offering, improvement, 

9 and provision of educational or career training pro10 grams, that provide relevant job training for skilled 

11 occupations, that lead to recognized postsecondary 

12 credentials, that will meet the needs of employers in 

13 in-demand industry sectors or occupations, and that 

14 may include registered apprenticeship programs, on15 the-job training programs, and programs that sup16 port employers in upgrading the skills of their work17 force. 

18 ‘‘(2) The development and implementation of 

19 policies and programs to expand opportunities for 

20 students to earn a recognized postsecondary creden21 tial, including a degree, in in-demand industry sec22 tors or occupations, including by— 

23 ‘‘(A) facilitating the transfer of academic 

24 credits between institutions of higher education, 


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1 including the transfer of academic credits for 

2 courses in the same field of study; 

3 ‘‘(B) expanding articulation agreements 

4 and policies that guarantee transfers between 

5 such institutions, including through common 

6 course numbering and use of a general core 

7 curriculum; 

8 ‘‘(C) developing or enhancing student sup9 port services programs; and 

10 ‘‘(D) establishing policies and processes for 

11 assessing and awarding course credit for work12 related learning. 

13 ‘‘(3) The creation of career pathways programs 

14 that provide a sequence of education and occupa15 tional training that leads to a recognized postsec16 ondary credential, including a degree, including pro17 grams that— 

18 ‘‘(A) blend basic skills and occupational 

19 training; 

20 ‘‘(B) facilitate means of transitioning par21 ticipants from non-credit occupational, basic 

22 skills, or developmental coursework to for-credit 

23 coursework within and across institutions; 

24 ‘‘(C) build or enhance linkages, including 

25 the development of dual enrollment programs 


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1 and early college high schools, between sec2 ondary education or adult education programs 

3 (including programs established under the Carl 

4 D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act 

5 of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and title II 

6 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

7 Act (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.)); 

8 ‘‘(D) are innovative programs designed to 

9 increase the provision of training for students, 

10 including students who are members of the Na11 tional Guard or Reserves, to enter skilled occu12 pations in in-demand industry sectors or occu13 pations; 

14 ‘‘(E) support paid internships that will 

15 allow students to simultaneously earn credit for 

16 work-based learning and gain relevant employ17 ment experience in an in-demand industry sec18 tor or occupation, which shall include opportu19 nities that transition individuals into employ20 ment; and 

21 ‘‘(F) develop competency-based education 

22 programs that offer an outcome-oriented ap23 proach through which recognized postsecondary 

24 credentials are awarded based on successful 

25 demonstration of skills and proficiency. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The development and implementation of— 

2 ‘‘(A) a Pay-for-Performance program that 

3 leads to a recognized postsecondary credential, 

4 for which an eligible entity agrees to be reim5 bursed under the grant primarily on the basis 

6 of achievement of specified performance out7 comes and criteria agreed to by the Secretary; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(B) a Pay-for-Success program that leads 

10 to a recognized postsecondary credential, for 

11 which an eligible entity— 

12 ‘‘(i) enters into a partnership with an 

13 investor, such as a philanthropic organiza14 tion that provides funding for a specific 

15 project to address a clear and measurable 

16 educational or career training need in the 

17 area to be served under the grant; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) agrees to be reimbursed under 

19 the grant only if the project achieves speci20 fied performance outcomes and criteria 

21 agreed to by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(g) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab24 lish performance measures for the programs carried 

25 out under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEASURES.—The performance measures 

2 shall consist of— 

3 ‘‘(A) indicators of performance, including 

4 the number of program participants who are in 

5 unsubsidized employment during the second 

6 quarter after exit from the program; and 

7 ‘‘(B) a level of performance for each indi8 cator described in subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(3) MONITORING PROGRESS.—The Secretary 

10 shall monitor the progress of eligible entities that re11 ceive grants under this section in ensuring that their 

12 programs meet the performance measures. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 399B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap15 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

16 the program established by section 399A. Funds appro17 priated under this subsection shall remain available until 

18 the end of the 5th full fiscal year after the date of enact19 ment of the Investing in 21st Century Workforce Partner20 ships Act. 

21 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COST.—Not more than 5 per22 cent of the amounts made available under subsection (a) 

23 may be used by the Secretaries for Federal administration 

24 the program described in that subsection, including proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 May 04, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2775.IS S2775

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1 viding technical assistance and carrying out evaluations 

2 for the program described in that subsection. 

3 ‘‘(c) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The funds appro4 priated pursuant to subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall 

5 be available for Federal obligation for that fiscal year and 

6 the succeeding 4 fiscal years. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 399C. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this part: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘in-demand in10 dustry sector or occupation’, ‘individual with a bar11 rier to employment’, ‘local board’, ‘recognized post12 secondary credential’, and ‘State board’ have the 

13 meanings given the terms in section 3 of the Work14 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

15 3102). 

16 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com17 munity college’ has the meaning given the term ‘jun18 ior or community college’ in section 312(f). 

19 ‘‘(3) EDUCATIONAL OR CAREER TRAINING PRO20 GRAM.—The term ‘educational or career training 

21 program’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) a career pathways program, as de23 fined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

24 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a program with an integrated edu2 cation and training approach, as defined in sec3 tion 203 of the Adult Education and Family 

4 Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3272).’’. 

Æ 


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