I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6174 

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to eligible entities 

to establish or expand linked learning pathways and a system of pathways, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2010 

Ms. CHU (for herself and Ms. LEE of California) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to 

eligible entities to establish or expand linked learning 

pathways and a system of pathways, 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 ‘‘Linked Learning Path5 ways Affording College and Career Success Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Sixty-nine percent of students who drop out 

2 of high school say that they were not engaged in 

3 their high school curriculum or experience. 

4 (2) Too many high school graduates are not 

5 prepared for the rigor of post-secondary education or 

6 training and 40 percent of high school seniors who 

7 enrolled in post-secondary education in 2006 had to 

8 take remedial courses. 

9 (3) High schools need to transform to better 

10 serve the needs and interests of a diverse student 

11 population. 

12 (4) Linked learning is an educational reform 

13 model that operates in smaller learning communities, 

14 career academies, themed high schools, regional oc15 cupational partnerships, and other educational con16 texts. 

17 (5) Linked learning pathways have been used 

18 effectively to expose students, especially disadvan19 taged students, to opportunities in a variety of high 

20 pay, high growth, or high skill industries, including 

21 healthcare, science, technology, engineering, mathe22 matics, the arts, law, and government. 

23 (6) Research on career academies, one linked 

24 learning approach, demonstrates an 11 percent de25 crease in student drop out rates. 


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1 (7) Research demonstrates that students ex2 posed to a combination of academic and career re3 lated curriculum that connects classroom learning to 

4 relevant experiences earned 18 percent more over a 

5 4-year period after high school graduation. 

6 (8) Strong intermediaries help to create lasting 

7 partnerships between schools and external stake8 holders, and these partnerships are crucial to stu9 dent success in a linked learning approach. 

10 (9) Evidence on the effectiveness of career 

11 academies indicates that benefits occur— 

12 (A) when students are scheduled to take a 

13 set of classes together each year, including at 

14 least two core academic classes and a career 

15 and technical education class related to the 

16 academy theme; and 

17 (B) when teachers work as a team to inte18 grate instruction across subjects and share re19 sponsibility for students for at least two years. 

20 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

21 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

22 (1) To provide high school students with engag23 ing, challenging, and meaningful secondary school 

24 pathways that integrate academic studies with prac25 tical career-focused opportunities. 


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1 (2) To increase the number of students who 

2 graduate from high school who are well prepared to 

3 pursue the full range of post-secondary education 

4 choices, including 4-year college, 2-year college, ap5 prenticeship, military, technical training, and mean6 ingful careers. 

7 (3) To provide students with high quality public 

8 education options aligned with expectations in high 

9 pay, high growth, or high skill industries through a 

10 system of linked learning pathways. 

11 (4) To turn low-performing schools around and 

12 provide students at these schools with a well round13 ed education. 

14 (5) To prepare students for life-long citizenship. 

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

16 For purposes of this Act: 

17 (a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ 

18 means a local educational agency partnered with a quali19 fied intermediary and at least one stakeholder from 3 of 

20 the following categories, and may include other stake21 holders: 

22 (1) A post-secondary education institution. 

23 (2) A business or industry group in a high pay, 

24 high growth, or high skill industry. 

25 (3) A community based organization. 


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1 (4) A union or trade association. 

2 (5) A parent organization. 

3 (b) HIGH PAY, HIGH GROWTH, OR HIGH SKILL IN4 DUSTRY.—The term ‘‘high pay, high growth, or high skill 

5 industry’’ means an industry identified by the eligible enti6 ty and approved by the Secretary in consultation with the 

7 Secretary of Labor that— 

8 (1) has a significant current or potential impact 

9 on the regional economy; 

10 (2) brings net dollars into a region or is critical 

11 to attracting and sustaining businesses within the 

12 region; 

13 (3) stimulates the growth of other supporting 

14 businesses, or the growth of other industries or eco15 nomic sectors within the region; 

16 (4) provides workers with competitive and fam17 ily-supporting wages and benefits that increase the 

18 strength and vitality of the entire regional economy; 

19 and 

20 (5) provides opportunities for career advance21 ment. 

22 (c) LINKED LEARNING PATHWAYS.—The term 

23 ‘‘linked learning pathways’’ means comprehensive, multi24 year high school programs of study that integrate— 


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1 (1) a rigorous academic core aligned with en2 trance requirements for public colleges and univer3 sities in the State; 

4 (2) a career and technical education component 

5 organized around themes in a high pay, high growth, 

6 or high skill industry or industry sector; 

7 (3) a work-based learning component; and 

8 (4) supplemental services. 

9 (d) SYSTEM OF PATHWAYS.—The term ‘‘system of 

10 pathways’’ means a district-wide strategy that provides 

11 students with a menu of options to participate in linked 

12 learning pathways. 

13 (e) QUALIFIED INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘‘quali14 fied intermediary’’ means an entity that has demonstrated 

15 expertise to build, sustain, and measure partnerships with 

16 entities such as employers, schools, community-based or17 ganizations, post-secondary education institutions, social 

18 service organizations, economic development organiza19 tions, and workforce systems, to broker services, re20 sources, and supports to youth and the organizations and 

21 systems that are designed to serve them, including con22 necting employers to classrooms, designing and imple23 menting linked learning pathways, developing curricula, 

24 delivering professional development, and connecting stuVerDate Mar 15 2010 16:39 Sep 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6174.IH H6174

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1 dents to internships and other work-based learning oppor2 tunities. 

3 (f) GRADUATION RATE.—The term ‘‘graduation 

4 rate’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

5 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi)), as clari7 fied in section 200.19 of title 34, Code of Federal Regula8 tions. 

9 (g) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

10 Secretary of Education. 

11 SEC. 5. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Labor, and if appropriate other Fed14 eral agencies, shall award competitive grants to eligible en15 tities to establish or expand linked learning pathways and 

16 a system of pathways. 

17 (b) DURATION.—Each grant awarded shall be for a 

18 minimum of a 3-year period and a maximum of a 5-year 

19 period and may be renewed based on performance and rel20 ative financial need as determined by the Secretary. 

21 (c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

22 applications from eligible entities with plans to accomplish 

23 at least 3 of the following: 

24 (1) Serve students who attend persistently low25 performing secondary schools with graduation rates 


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1 below 60 percent and high concentrations of eco2 nomically disadvantaged students. 

3 (2) Offer multiple linked learning pathways. 

4 (3) Encourage students to seek careers in fields 

5 in which the student’s gender, race, or ethnicity is 

6 under-represented, including science, technology, en7 gineering, and mathematics fields. 

8 (4) Increase high school completion levels and 

9 post-secondary education enrollment levels for tradi10 tionally under-represented students. 

11 (5) Reduce the academic achievement gap. 

12 (6) Utilize research-based practices to imple13 ment linked learning pathways. 

14 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

16 each recipient of a grant under this Act to provide 

17 matching funds from non-Federal sources, including 

18 funding from the State, in an amount determined 

19 under paragraph (2). 

20 (2) DETERMINATION OF THE AMOUNT OF

21 MATCH.— 

22 (A) SLIDING SCALE.—Subject to subpara23 graph (B), the Secretary shall determine the 

24 amount of matching funds to require from a 


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1 grantee based on a sliding fee scale that takes 

2 into account— 

3 (i) the relative poverty of the popu4 lation that the grantee targets; and 

5 (ii) the ability of the grantee to obtain 

6 such matching funds. 

7 (B) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary 

8 may not require any grantee to provide match9 ing funds in an amount that exceeds the 

10 amount of the grant award. 

11 (3) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Secretary 

12 shall permit grantees to match funds in whole or in 

13 part with in-kind contributions. 

14 (4) CONSIDERATION.—Notwithstanding this 

15 subsection, the Secretary shall not consider an appli16 cant’s ability to match funds when determining 

17 which applicants will receive grants under this Act. 

18 (5) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

19 matching requirement under this subsection for eli20 gible entities demonstrating financial hardship. 

21 SEC. 6. APPLICATION. 

22 Each eligible entity that desires to receive a grant 

23 under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary 

24 at such time, in such manner, and containing such inforVerDate Mar 15 2010 16:39 Sep 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6174.IH H6174

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1 mation as the Secretary may reasonably require, including 

2 the following: 

3 (1) The quantifiable goals that the eligible enti4 ty intends to achieve through the implementation of 

5 linked learning pathways and a system of pathways, 

6 and a description of the measures of performance 

7 for those goals. 

8 (2) A needs and resources assessment, includ9 ing— 

10 (A) an assessment of relevant district and 

11 school board policies; 

12 (B) a demonstration of support from 

13 stakeholders; 

14 (C) the demographic makeup of the stu15 dent body to be served; 

16 (D) student academic performance, grad17 uation, and college attendance data; 

18 (E) information on high pay, high growth, 

19 or high skill industries and job sectors in the 

20 district and surrounding region; and 

21 (F) the industry and community partner22 ship opportunities that can be leveraged to im23 plement the linked learning pathways and the 

24 system of pathways to improve academic 

25 achievement and graduation rates. 


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1 (3) A plan for how the eligible entity will imple2 ment the linked learning pathways and the system 

3 of pathways, including the following: 

4 (A) A description of the partnerships that 

5 are in place or that the eligible entity will de6 velop to provide necessary support services to 

7 students, including partnerships with— 

8 (i) high pay, high growth, or high skill 

9 industries and other business groups; 

10 (ii) post-secondary education institu11 tions and apprenticeship programs; 

12 (iii) partnerships with qualified inter13 mediaries; 

14 (iv) community-based organizations 

15 and educators who are equipped to provide 

16 necessary support services to students; and 

17 (v) other stakeholders, which may in18 clude stakeholders such as parent groups, 

19 organized labor groups, workforce invest20 ment boards, and community-based organi21 zations. 

22 (B) Information about the internal capac23 ity of the eligible entity and its specific plans to 

24 implement linked learning pathways and a sys25 tem of pathways, including— 


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1 (i) a description of the capacity of fa2 cilities the eligible entity plans to use; 

3 (ii) an outreach strategy to inform 

4 parents, students, and community mem5 bers about the opportunities and activities 

6 that will be available to students through 

7 grants under this Act; 

8 (iii) a plan to facilitate effective mid9 dle to high school transitions for partici10 pating students; 

11 (iv) a plan to ensure rigorous aca12 demics, the career and technical education 

13 theme of the Linked Learning pathway, 

14 and subsequent work based learning oppor15 tunities are meaningfully and coherently 

16 integrated as part of each participating 

17 student’s experience; 

18 (v) a plan to ensure that students re19 ceive personalized and coherent learning 

20 experiences through activities such as fa21 cilitating smaller learning communities, co22 hort scheduling, and professional learning 

23 communities among staff that encourages 

24 frequent and effective collaboration for 

25 purposes of program coordination, curVerDate Mar 15 2010 16:39 Sep 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6174.IH H6174

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1 ricular integration, and resolution of stu2 dent problems; 

3 (vi) budgeting, governance, cur4 riculum, and scheduling autonomies that 

5 the eligible entity will grant to partici6 pating schools to ensure that linked learn7 ing pathways will meet individual student 

8 needs and reduce or eliminate barriers to 

9 effective implementation; 

10 (vii) a plan to assign students to a 

11 high school with a career or thematic focus 

12 that, if possible, matches the linked learn13 ing pathway of their choice; 

14 (viii) the means by which the eligible 

15 entity will encourage and support diverse 

16 learners and students with disabilities, in17 cluding students with limited English pro18 ficiency, to participate in the opportunities 

19 and activities funded under this Act; 

20 (ix) a plan to ensure that the eligible 

21 entity will not use the linked learning path22 ways and the system of pathways to track 

23 students into specific career themes or job 

24 placements and that various linked learnVerDate Mar 15 2010 16:39 Sep 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6174.IH H6174

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1 ing pathways that the eligible entity pro2 vides to students are of comparable rigor; 

3 (x) a plan to address the staffing 

4 needs of the eligible entity, including a 

5 plan to hire teachers and staff with spe6 cialized skills, if needed, and to provide 

7 professional development and technical as8 sistance; 

9 (xi) a plan for sustainability, including 

10 plans to leverage non-Federal funding (in11 cluding in-kind resources) to ensure con12 tinuing implementation of linked learning 

13 pathways and the system of pathways once 

14 the eligible entity exhausts federal funds; 

15 (xii) a plan to create an advisory 

16 group or reconstitute an existing advisory 

17 group that meets not less than once per 

18 quarter and includes district personnel, 

19 members of teachers’ unions, school staff, 

20 industry partners, community partners, 

21 post secondary partners, parents, students, 

22 and others identified by the Secretary; and 

23 (xiii) a plan to measure the progress 

24 of students in each linked learning path25 way and compare their progress with the 


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1 progress of other students using longitu2 dinal data on individual student outcomes. 

3 (C) A description of how grants awarded 

4 under this Act will compliment, reinforce, and 

5 not duplicate existing efforts, including— 

6 (i) a description of how the eligible 

7 entity will leverage, coordinate, and inte8 grate Federal, State, and local private and 

9 public funds to implement linked learning 

10 pathways and the system of pathways; and 

11 (ii) a description of how a grant under 

12 this Act strengthens, leverages, does not 

13 duplicate, and aligns with efforts in the 

14 community that the eligible entity serves 

15 that are funded under the Workforce In16 vestment Act of 1998, the Carl D. Perkins 

17 Career and Technical Education Improve18 ment Act of 2006, and the No Child Left 

19 Behind Act of 2001. 

20 (D) A description of how funds will facili21 tate a systemic approach to meet the com22 prehensive needs of students in order to facili23 tate students’ success in college, in their ca24 reers, and as citizens. 


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1 SEC. 7. ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS. 

2 Any student who attends a secondary school served 

3 by a local educational agency, including any student who 

4 attends a charter school, is eligible to participate in the 

5 linked learning pathways and the system of pathways 

6 funded under this Act that are available in the student’s 

7 school district. 

8 SEC. 8. USES OF FUNDS. 

9 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—The eligible entity shall 

10 use grants awarded under this Act for the following: 

11 (1) The eligible entity shall provide the plan12 ning time and resources necessary to design the 

13 linked learning pathways and the system of path14 ways. 

15 (2) To facilitate high quality teaching and 

16 learning experiences to ensure that students have ac17 cess to linked learning pathways, the eligible entity 

18 shall implement— 

19 (A) a multidisciplinary and integrated cur20 riculum, curriculum mapping, and curriculum 

21 alignment; 

22 (B) professional development for teachers, 

23 school leaders, and staff, such as project based 

24 learning, interdisciplinary teaching and cur25 riculum development, integration of career and 

26 technical education and thematic components 


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1 with rigorous academic curricula and instruc2 tion, master scheduling, and interacting with 

3 and leveraging community and industry part4 nerships; 

5 (C) technological support, including invest6 ments in data systems, performance based as7 sessments to monitor and evaluate student 

8 progress, and investments in equipment and 

9 technology either relevant to a specific pathway 

10 or used to assign students to a pathway; and 

11 (D) activities that support effective imple12 mentation of Linked Learning pathways, such 

13 as common planning time, teacher release time, 

14 induction, and externships. 

15 (3) To connect students to quality work-based 

16 learning opportunities, the eligible entity shall— 

17 (A) develop coordinated, sequenced, and 

18 scaled work-based learning opportunities for 

19 students that are integrated with academic and 

20 technical coursework, which may include oppor21 tunities such as semester-long service-learning 

22 projects, mentorships, job shadowing, school en23 terprises, internships, and virtual apprentice24 ships; 


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1 (B) facilitate capacity building activities, 

2 which may include activities such as hiring full 

3 or part time district or school work-based learn4 ing coordinators to provide needed outreach to 

5 industry and community partners in order to 

6 encourage active community and business in7 volvement in school and work-based learning ac8 tivities or using funds to support such outreach 

9 with existing staff and existing staff scheduling; 

10 and 

11 (C) provide technical assistance to employ12 ers to help them design work-based learning op13 portunities. 

14 (4) To ensure students have access to supple15 mental support services as part of linked learning 

16 pathways, the eligible entity shall facilitate the devel17 opment of— 

18 (A) academic intervention; 

19 (B) student supports, which may include 

20 supports such as health services, mental health 

21 services, child care, substance abuse treatment 

22 and prevention, housing, and other services to 

23 meet students’ comprehensive needs; 

24 (C) transportation to linked learning path25 way associated activities; and 


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1 (D) post-secondary education and career 

2 counseling. 

3 (b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The eligible entity 

4 may use grants awarded under this Act for the following: 

5 (1) Activities designed to begin and sustain re6 forms by— 

7 (A) providing students, employers, commu8 nity based organizations, and other partners 

9 with outreach and recruitment activities; 

10 (B) building a broad based coalition; and 

11 (C) facilitating online and distance learn12 ing. 

13 (2) Activities designed to leverage innovative 

14 ways to expand and enhance learning time, includ15 ing— 

16 (A) after school programs; 

17 (B) extended day; 

18 (C) applied learning opportunities both in 

19 and outside of school time; 

20 (D) short-term service learning projects 

21 and other project-based learning; 

22 (E) paid year-round and summer work op23 portunities; and 


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1 (F) summertime opportunities that help 

2 over-aged and under-credited students catch up 

3 and re-engage in their education. 

4 (3) Other activities that the Secretary approves 

5 to implement the linked learning pathways and the 

6 system of pathways. 

7 SEC. 9. REPORTS AND EVALUATION. 

8 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—An eligible entity that re9 ceives a grant under this Act shall submit an annual re10 port to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

11 providing such information as the Secretary may reason12 ably require, including— 

13 (1) characteristics of the eligible entity; 

14 (2) information about the system of pathways 

15 created, including leveraging of existing dollars and 

16 resources; 

17 (3) the number of linked learning pathways cre18 ated; 

19 (4) the services and supports provided; 

20 (5) data about student participation in work21 based learning, service-learning, project-based learn22 ing, and other applied learning opportunities; and 

23 (6) the educational and career related outcomes 

24 resulting from the activities funded under this Act, 

25 including— 


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1 (A) student academic achievement; 

2 (B) student attendance; 

3 (C) graduation rates; 

4 (D) college attendance rates; 

5 (E) success levels on performance-based 

6 tasks that demonstrate preparation for careers 

7 in high pay, high growth, or high skill indus8 tries; and 

9 (F) progress of students in each linked 

10 learning pathway compared to other students in 

11 the district. 

12 (b) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall provide for 

13 an independent evaluation of the grants awarded under 

14 this Act that shall— 

15 (1) include an analysis and documentation of 

16 the strategies implemented and the key lessons 

17 learned related to program design, systems coordina18 tion, and implementation; 

19 (2) measure the outcomes and progress of the 

20 strategies implemented, including student enrollment 

21 in various school settings, academic gains (including 

22 literacy and numeracy gains as well as results on 

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1 ment, wages, and job and college retention over 2 

2 years; and 

3 (3) document the incremental progress of stu4 dents over time based on the measures in paragraph 

5 (2). 

6 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

7 The Secretary shall provide technical assistance to an 

8 eligible entity that receives a grant under this Act if the 

9 Secretary determines that such assistance is needed. 

10 SEC. 11. BEST PRACTICES AND INFORMATION DISSEMINA11 TION. 

12 The Secretary shall determine and disseminate best 

13 practices that emerge to support linked learning pathways 

14 to ensure that all high schools are aware of the program 

15 and the opportunities it provides to students to gain the 

16 knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in post-sec17 ondary education, careers, and as citizens. 

18 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro20 priated to carry out this Act— 

21 (1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

22 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

23 fiscal years 2012 through 2015. 


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1 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts appropriated to 

2 carry out this Act for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

3 use— 

4 (1) 90 percent for grants to eligible entities; 

5 and 

6 (2) 10 percent for— 

7 (A) the evaluation of grants described in 

8 section 9(b); 

9 (B) the technical assistance described in 

10 section 10; and 

11 (C) the evaluation and dissemination of 

12 best practices described in section 11. 

Æ 


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