I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6124 

To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot program to award 

competitive grants for the integration of cybersecurity education, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 30, 2023 

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania (for himself and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot 

program to award competitive grants for the integration 

of cybersecurity education, 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 ‘‘Cybersecurity Skills 

5 Integration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to improve the cybersecu8 rity competencies of the critical infrastructure workforce, 

9 particularly operators of critical infrastructure technology, 


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1 by developing postsecondary career and technical edu2 cation programs that integrate cybersecurity education. 

3 SEC. 3. CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION GRANTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made available 

5 to carry out this Act, the Secretary of Education shall, 

6 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

7 Act, establish a pilot program under which the Secretary 

8 shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible part9 nerships for— 

10 (1) the development and implementation of 

11 postsecondary career and technical education pro12 grams that incorporate cybersecurity education and 

13 prepare individuals to meet workforce needs in crit14 ical infrastructure sectors; and 

15 (2) the integration of cybersecurity education 

16 into existing postsecondary career and technical edu17 cation programs that prepare individuals to meet 

18 workforce needs in critical infrastructure sectors. 

19 (b) CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—In award20 ing grants under this Act, the Secretary shall consult with 

21 the Secretary of Labor, the Director of the National Insti22 tute of Standards and Technology, and the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security, to determine the greatest workforce 

24 needs in critical infrastructure sectors. 


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1 (c) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of any grant 

2 made under this Act shall not exceed $500,000 in any fis3 cal year. 

4 (d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

5 under this Act, an eligible partnership shall submit an ap6 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

7 containing such information as the Secretary may reason8 ably require, and including a description of— 

9 (1) the roles and responsibilities of each partner 

10 in the eligible partnership, and each partner’s capac11 ity to support the postsecondary career and technical 

12 education program to be developed and implemented 

13 with funds awarded under this Act, or the postsec14 ondary career and technical education program into 

15 which cybersecurity education will be integrated with 

16 funds awarded under this Act; 

17 (2) the critical infrastructure sector or sectors 

18 that such postsecondary career and technical edu19 cation program prepares individuals to enter; 

20 (3) the in-demand occupation within such sector 

21 or sectors that such postsecondary career and tech22 nical education program prepares individuals to 

23 enter; 

24 (4) the workforce needs of such critical infra25 structure sector or sectors, including cybersecurity 


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1 workforce needs, and how the postsecondary career 

2 and technical education program will meet such 

3 workforce needs; 

4 (5) how the eligible partnership will incorporate 

5 cybersecurity education aligned to the National Ini6 tiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cyberse7 curity Workforce Framework developed by the Na8 tional Institute of Standards and Technology of the 

9 Department of Commerce, or successor framework, 

10 into such postsecondary career and technical edu11 cation program; 

12 (6) the assessment, capstone project, or other 

13 means of demonstrating knowledge and cybersecu14 rity skills specific to the critical infrastructure sector 

15 or sectors that such postsecondary career and tech16 nical education program prepares individuals to 

17 enter, and an assurance that such assessment, 

18 project, or other demonstration of knowledge and 

19 skills will be a requirement for program completion; 

20 (7) the work-based learning opportunities the 

21 eligible partnership will offer; 

22 (8) how such postsecondary career and tech23 nical education program will lead to a recognized 

24 postsecondary credential and employment in the crit25 ical infrastructure sector or sectors targeted by the 


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1 postsecondary career and technical education pro2 gram; 

3 (9) the process through which the cybersecurity 

4 education curriculum and educational materials de5 veloped or integrated using such grant will be up6 dated annually to include the most recent informa7 tion on cybersecurity threats specific to such critical 

8 infrastructure sector or sectors; 

9 (10) how such postsecondary career and tech10 nical education program will be sustained following 

11 the grant period; 

12 (11) how such postsecondary career and tech13 nical education program will promote diversity with14 in the cybersecurity workforce in critical infrastruc15 ture sectors; and 

16 (12) any other purpose for which the eligible 

17 partnership intends to use funds awarded under this 

18 Act. 

19 (e) REGIONAL DIVERSITY.—When awarding grants 

20 under this Act, the Secretary shall ensure that grants are 

21 awarded to eligible partnerships in different regions. 

22 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible part23 nership that receives a grant under this Act shall annually 

24 submit a report to the Secretary that includes— 


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1 (1) a description of how any funds awarded to 

2 the eligible partnership under this Act have been 

3 used during the period covered by the report; 

4 (2) the number of students who have received 

5 a recognized postsecondary credential during such 

6 period from the postsecondary career and technical 

7 education program into which cybersecurity edu8 cation was incorporated using such funds, 

9 disaggregated by the subgroups of students de10 scribed in section 1111(c)(2)(B) of the Elementary 

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 6311(c)(2)(B)) and by each special population; 

13 (3) a description of any updates made during 

14 the preceding year to the cybersecurity education 

15 curriculum and educational materials of such post16 secondary career and technical education program in 

17 accordance with the requirements of subsection 

18 (d)(9); and 

19 (4) the percentage of participants in unsub20 sidized employment in an in-demand occupation in a 

21 critical infrastructure sector targeted by the postsec22 ondary career and technical education program after 

23 exiting the postsecondary career and technical edu24 cation program. 


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1 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

3 out this Act $10,000,000. 

4 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

5 (1) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

6 ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in section 1016(e) of the USA PATRIOT Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 

9 (2) CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION.—The term 

10 ‘‘cybersecurity education’’ shall mean education on 

11 critical infrastructure cyber defense, including— 

12 (A) ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, 

13 and availability of information systems used in 

14 critical infrastructure, including control systems 

15 and operational technology; 

16 (B) developing engineering skills applicable 

17 to industrial control systems and operational 

18 technologies used in critical infrastructure sys19 tems; and 

20 (C) training to ensure the continuous phys21 ical and environmental safety of the operations 

22 of critical infrastructure systems. 

23 (3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.— 


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1 (A) REQUIRED PARTNERS.—The term ‘‘eli2 gible partnership’’ means a partnership that in3 cludes— 

4 (i) a postsecondary educational insti5 tution; and 

6 (ii) 2 or more public or private em7 ployers, in a critical infrastructure sector, 

8 with demonstrated cybersecurity workforce 

9 needs, that is located in the region where 

10 the postsecondary career and technical 

11 education program will be developed and 

12 implemented with a grant awarded under 

13 this Act. 

14 (B) OPTIONAL PARTNERS.—The partner15 ship may also include one or more— 

16 (i) community stakeholders (such as 

17 local governments, nonprofit institutions, 

18 economic development organizations, plan19 ning agencies, labor organizations, or in20 dustry associations); 

21 (ii) local educational agencies (as the 

22 term is defined in section 8101 of the Ele23 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

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


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1 (iii) eligible agencies that are located 

2 in the region where the postsecondary ca3 reer and technical education program will 

4 be developed and implemented with funds 

5 awarded under this Act. 

6 (4) ELIGIBLE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

7 agency’’ means a State board designated or created 

8 consistent with State law as the sole State agency 

9 responsible for the administration of career and 

10 technical education in the State or for the super11 vision of the administration of career and technical 

12 education in the State. 

13 (5) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA14 TION.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc15 cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

16 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

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

18 (6) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITU19 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary educational institu20 tion’’ means— 

21 (A) an institution of higher education (de22 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that provides 

24 not less than a 2-year program of instruction 


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1 that is acceptable for credit toward an associ2 ate’s or bachelor’s degree; 

3 (B) a tribally controlled college or univer4 sity (defined in section 2(a)(4) of the Tribally 

5 Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance 

6 Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801(a)(4))); or 

7 (C) a nonprofit educational institution of8 fering certificate or other skilled training pro9 grams at the postsecondary level. 

10 (7) POSTSECONDARY CAREER AND TECHNICAL

11 EDUCATION PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘postsecondary 

12 career and technical education program’’ means a 

13 coordinated, nonduplicative sequence of academic 

14 and technical content at the postsecondary level 

15 that— 

16 (A) addresses both academic and technical 

17 knowledge and skills, including employability 

18 skills; 

19 (B) is aligned with the needs of industries 

20 in the economy of the State, region, Tribal com21 munity, or local area; 

22 (C) progresses in specificity (beginning 

23 with all aspects of an industry or career cluster 

24 and leading to more occupation-specific instruc25 tion); 


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1 (D) has multiple entry and exit points that 

2 incorporate credentialing; and 

3 (E) culminates in the attainment of a rec4 ognized postsecondary credential. 

5 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Education. 

7 (9) WORK BASED LEARNING.—The term ‘‘work 

8 based learning’’ means sustained interactions with 

9 industry or community professionals in real work10 place settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated 

11 environments at an educational institution that fos12 ter in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks 

13 required in a given career field, that are aligned to 

14 curriculum and instruction. 

15 (10) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN16 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden17 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

18 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

19 U.S.C. 3102). 

20 (11) SPECIAL POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘spe21 cial populations’’ means— 

22 (A) individuals with disabilities; 

23 (B) individuals from economically dis24 advantaged families, including low-income youth 

25 and adults; 


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1 (C) individuals preparing for non-tradi2 tional fields; 

3 (D) single parents, including single preg4 nant women; 

5 (E) out-of-workforce individuals; 

6 (F) English learners; 

7 (G) homeless individuals described in sec8 tion 11434a of title 42, United States Code; 

9 (H) youth who are in, or have aged out of, 

10 the foster care system; and 

11 (I) youth with a parent who— 

12 (i) is a member of the Armed Forces 

13 (as such term is defined in section 

14 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code); 

15 and 

16 (ii) is on active duty (as such term is 

17 defined in section 101(d)(1) of such title). 

Æ 


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