I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6166 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to identify or 

develop assessments to measure the prior knowledge, skills, competencies, 

and experiences of an individual, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2023 

Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Mr. ALLEN, Mrs. STEEL, and Ms. LETLOW) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

to identify or develop assessments to measure the prior 

knowledge, skills, competencies, and experiences of an 

individual, 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 ‘‘Validate Prior Learn5 ing to Accelerate Employment Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. ASSESSMENTS TO MEASURE THE PRIOR KNOWL2 EDGE, SKILLS, COMPETENCIES, AND EXPERI3 ENCES OF AN INDIVIDUAL. 

4 (a) STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING AC5 TIVITIES.—Section 134(a)(2)(B) of the Workforce Innova6 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(a)(2)(B)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in clause (v)(VI), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (2) in clause (vi), by striking the period at the 

11 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

13 ‘‘(vii) coordinating with industry orga14 nizations, employers (including small and 

15 mid-sized employers), training providers, 

16 local boards, and institutions of higher 

17 education to identify or develop com18 petency-based assessments that are a valid 

19 and reliable method of measuring and col20 lecting information on the knowledge, 

21 skills, and abilities of individuals who are 

22 adults or dislocated workers for the pur23 pose of— 

24 ‘‘(I) awarding, based on the 

25 knowledge, skills, and abilities of such 

26 an individual— 

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1 ‘‘(aa) a recognized postsec2 ondary credential that is used by 

3 employers in the State for re4 cruitment, hiring, retention, or 

5 advancement purposes; or 

6 ‘‘(bb) credit toward a recog7 nized postsecondary credential 

8 aligned with an in-demand indus9 try sector or occupation in the 

10 State; 

11 ‘‘(II) developing individual em12 ployment plans under subsection 

13 (c)(2)(A)(xii)(II) that identify— 

14 ‘‘(aa) in-demand industry 

15 sectors or occupations that re16 quire knowledge, skills, and abili17 ties that are similar to the knowl18 edge, skills, and abilities of such 

19 an individual to secure employ20 ment in such sectors or occupa21 tions; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) any upskilling needed 

23 to secure such employment; or 

24 ‘‘(III) helping such an individual 

25 communicate the knowledge, skills, 

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1 and abilities of the individual to pro2 spective employers through skills3 based resumes, profiles, or portfolios; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(viii) disseminating to local areas 

6 and employers information relating to the 

7 assessments described in clause (vii), in8 cluding— 

9 ‘‘(I) any credential or credit 

10 awarded pursuant to items (aa) and 

11 (bb) of clause (vii)(I); 

12 ‘‘(II) the industry organizations, 

13 employers, training providers, and in14 stitutions of higher education located 

15 within the State that recognize the 

16 knowledge, skills, and abilities of such 

17 an individual that are validated by 

18 such assessments; 

19 ‘‘(III) how such assessments may 

20 be provided to, and accessed by, such 

21 an individual through the one-stop de22 livery system; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) information on how the de24 velopment of the individual employ25 ment plans under subsection 

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1 (c)(2)(A)(xii)(II) can include an iden2 tification of the information described 

3 in items (aa) and (bb) of clause 

4 (vii)(III).’’. 

5 (b) ALLOWABLE STATEWIDE EMPLOYMENT AND

6 TRAINING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(a)(3)(A) of the 

7 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

8 3174(a)(3)(A)) is amended— 

9 (1) in clause (xiii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

10 end; 

11 (2) in clause (xiv), by striking the period at the 

12 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(xv) supporting employers in the 

15 State seeking to implement skills-based 

16 hiring practices to evaluate individuals 

17 based on the demonstrated knowledge, 

18 skills, and abilities of such individuals, as 

19 an alternative to relying on postsecondary 

20 degree requirements in the hiring process, 

21 which may include— 

22 ‘‘(I) technical assistance on the 

23 use and validation of employment as24 sessments, such as the competency25 based assessments identified or develVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:32 Nov 09, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6166.IH H6166
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1 oped by the State pursuant to para2 graph (2)(B)(vii); and 

3 ‘‘(II) support in the creation of 

4 skills-based job descriptions.’’. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZED LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAIN6 ING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(c)(2)(A) of the Workforce 

7 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

8 3174(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 

9 (1) in clause (iii), by inserting before the semi10 colon the following: ‘‘, including a determination 

11 (which shall consider factors including prior work 

12 experience, military service, education, and in-de13 mand industry sectors and occupations in the local 

14 area) of whether such an individual would benefit 

15 from a competency-based assessment identified or 

16 developed by the State pursuant to subsection 

17 (a)(2)(B)(vii) to accelerate the time to obtaining em18 ployment that leads to economic self-sufficiency or 

19 career advancement’’; and 

20 (2) in clause (xii)(I)(aa), by inserting before the 

21 semicolon the following: ‘‘, including a competency22 based assessment identified or developed pursuant to 

23 subsection (a)(2)(B)(vii)’’. 

24 (d) PERMISSIBLE LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAIN25 ING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(d)(1)(A) of the Workforce 

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1 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

2 3174(d)(1)(A)) is amended— 

3 (1) in clause (ix)(II)— 

4 (A) in item (cc), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (B) in item (dd), by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the 

7 end; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(ee) technical assistance or 

10 other support to employers seek11 ing to implement skills-based hir12 ing practices, which may include 

13 technical assistance on the use 

14 and validation of employment as15 sessments, including competency16 based assessments developed or 

17 identified by the State pursuant 

18 to subsection (a)(2)(B)(vii), and 

19 support in the creation of skills20 based job descriptions.’’; 

21 (2) in clause (xi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 (3) in clause (xii), by striking the period at the 

23 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 ‘‘(xiii) competency-based assessments 

2 for individuals upon the initial assessment 

3 of skill levels pursuant to subsection 

4 (c)(2)(A)(iii), or upon completion of train5 ing services or other learning experi6 ences.’’. 

Æ