I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3186 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2021 

Ms. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

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 ‘‘21st Century Work3 force 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 or sector partnership, as 

16 defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innova17 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

18 (C) an association of multiple businesses 

19 or other employers in an in-demand industry 

20 sector or occupation, as defined in section 3 of 

21 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

22 (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

23 (D) a community partner; 

24 (E) an intermediary organization; or 

25 (F) a labor management training partner26 ship. 


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

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

3 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

4 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

5 (4) COMMUNITY PARTNER.—The term ‘‘com6 munity partner’’ means a nonprofit organization or 

7 a State, local, or tribal government entity that has 

8 expertise— 

9 (A) in the planning and delivery of edu10 cation, career training, and related programs; 

11 (B) in forging coordination and coopera12 tion between educators and other members of 

13 the community; 

14 (C) in training educators and other 

15 deliverers of educational services; 

16 (D) in development and implementation of 

17 data systems that measure the progress of stu18 dents, schools, and institutions of higher edu19 cation, or career pathways programs; or 

20 (E) in delivering an increase in earnings, 

21 family incomes, or family resources. 

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

23 agency’’ means— 

24 (A) a local educational agency; 


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1 (B) a consortium of local educational agen2 cies or an agent operating on behalf of the con3 sortium; or 

4 (C) a school operated or funded by the Bu5 reau of Indian Education. 

6 (6) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean7 ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self8 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 

9 U.S.C. 5304). 

10 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

12 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

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

14 (8) INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘intermediary organization’’ means a nonprofit orga16 nization that has expertise in training, forging pub17 lic-private partnerships, systems development, capac18 ity-building, improving scalability, and evaluation. 

19 (9) LABOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING PARTNER20 SHIP.—The term ‘‘labor management training part21 nership’’ means an independent organization jointly 

22 controlled by employers and unions that supports 

23 workforce training and development. 

24 (10) NATIVE HAWAIIAN.—The term ‘‘Native 

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1 tion 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 

3 (11) PROGRAM OF STUDY.—The term ‘‘pro4 gram of study’’ means a State approved career and 

5 technical education program of courses that articu6 lates between secondary and postsecondary school. 

7 (12) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PRO8 GRAM.—The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship pro9 gram’’ means a program registered under the Act of 

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

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

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

13 (13) SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘school 

14 partnership’’ means a partnership that— 

15 (A) shall include, at a minimum— 

16 (i) an eligible agency; and 

17 (ii) one or more business or industry 

18 partners; and 

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

20 following partners: 

21 (i) A community-based organization. 

22 (ii) A joint labor-management part23 nership. 

24 (iii) An institution of higher edu25 cation. 


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

2 such terms are defined in section 3 of the 

3 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

4 (29 U.S.C. 3102)). 

5 (v) An apprenticeship college that— 

6 (I) is not eligible to receive funds 

7 under title IV of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 

9 et seq.); 

10 (II) is an institution that pro11 vides instruction related to a reg12 istered apprenticeship program or is a 

13 sponsor of a registered apprenticeship 

14 program; and 

15 (III) meets the requirements of 

16 subsection (a) or (b) of section 101 of 

17 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1001). 

19 (vi) Any other entity that the Sec20 retary, after consultation with the Sec21 retary of Labor, considers appropriate. 

22 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

23 means the Secretary of Education. 


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1 SEC. 3. SECONDARY SCHOOL TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNO2 VATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION GRANT PRO4 GRAM ESTABLISHED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail6 able to carry out this section, the Secretary, after 

7 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall es8 tablish a career pathways innovation grant program, 

9 through which the Secretary shall award grants, on 

10 a competitive basis, to eligible agencies for the pur11 pose of addressing the specialized skill needs of busi12 ness and industry by carrying out programs of study 

13 or career pathways programs, featuring school part14 nerships, that support career pathways in high 

15 school or career exploration in the middle grades, 

16 leading to higher subsequent employment and job 

17 quality. 

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

19 section— 

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

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

22 year period, if the eligible agency demonstrates 

23 sufficient progress in achieving the goals of the 

24 initial grant. 

25 (b) APPLICATION.— 


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

2 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec3 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

4 and containing such information as the Secretary 

5 may require. 

6 (2) CONTENTS; PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.— 

7 The application submitted under paragraph (1) shall 

8 include— 

9 (A) an initial partnership agreement, en10 tered into by the eligible agency and all mem11 bers of the school partnership, that— 

12 (i) specifies the duties and responsibil13 ities of each partner; 

14 (ii) describes the commitment of re15 sources or materials to be provided by each 

16 partner toward the school partnership, en17 suring that the business or industry part18 ners in the school partnership provide an 

19 amount of resources, in cash or in-kind, to20 ward the activities supported under the 

21 grant that equals or exceeds the amount 

22 contributed by the eligible agency and the 

23 amount to be provided by the grant under 

24 this section; and 


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1 (iii) describes how the overall goals of 

2 the school partnership align with any 

3 statewide, regional, or local workforce de4 velopment strategies in existence at the 

5 time of the application, including those es6 tablished under the Workforce Innovation 

7 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 

8 seq.) or the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

9 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

10 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); 

11 (B) a description of how the eligible agency 

12 and members of the school partnership will col13 laborate to ensure the quality of the career 

14 pathways program offered under the grant, in15 cluding any program that leads to an industry16 recognized credential or postsecondary credit 

17 leading to a degree or certification in a career 

18 pathway; 

19 (C) identification of the goals and meas20 ures used to define progress toward student 

21 outcomes, which may align with existing goals 

22 and measurement provided under the Elemen23 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

24 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Ca25 reer and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 


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1 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and the Workforce Inno2 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 

3 seq.); and 

4 (D) a strategic plan describing the role 

5 and activities of the eligible agency and all 

6 members of the school partnership in sup7 porting how the program will be sustained fol8 lowing the end of the grant. 

9 (3) METHODS THAT MEASURE JOB QUALITY.— 

10 The application submitted under paragraph (1) may 

11 include a description of how the school partnership 

12 will experiment with methods that measure job qual13 ity. 

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

15 section, the Secretary shall— 

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

17 on the applications received under subsection (b)— 

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

19 funds available to carry out this section are 

20 awarded to rural eligible agencies; and 

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

22 funds available to carry out this section are 

23 awarded to eligible agencies that serve a sub24 stantial percentage of Indian or Native Hawai25 ian children; and 


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1 (2) except to the extent necessary to comply 

2 with paragraph (1), give priority to— 

3 (A) any eligible agency whose school part4 nership includes an institution of higher edu5 cation offering postsecondary credits, or an en6 tity offering a registered apprenticeship pro7 gram that is articulated through secondary 

8 school programming counting towards the reg9 istered apprenticeship requirements, through 

10 the career pathways program under the grant; 

11 (B) any eligible agency whose career path12 ways program— 

13 (i) in a high school, offers concurrent 

14 enrollment opportunities for postsecondary 

15 credit; or 

16 (ii) leads to a recognized postsec17 ondary credential, as defined in section 3 

18 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor19 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and 

20 (C) any eligible agency whose career path21 ways programs are focused on serving low-in22 come students (defined as eligible for benefits 

23 under the free and reduced price school lunch 

24 program established under the Richard B. Rus25 sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 1751 et seq.)), out-of-school youth, students 

2 with disabilities, students experiencing home3 lessness, students who are English language 

4 learners, students who have low levels of lit5 eracy, or youth who are in or have aged out of 

6 the foster care system. 

7 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

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

9 agency receiving grant funds under this section shall 

10 use grant funds to build or expand a career path11 ways program featuring school partnerships that 

12 supports career pathways in high school or career 

13 exploration in the middle grades. 

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

15 agency receiving grant funds under this section may 

16 use grant funds either during or outside of the 

17 school day or school year— 

18 (A) to hire a designated career pathways 

19 partnership coordinator to seek out and build 

20 relationships with business or industry partners 

21 to foster and manage the school partnerships 

22 supported under the grant; 

23 (B) for the costs of new equipment, infra24 structure (such as facilities, technology, and 


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1 staffing), or transportation related to the career 

2 pathways program; 

3 (C) to recruit, or assist with State licen4 sure and credential requirements, career and 

5 technical education teachers, and others imple6 menting career pathways programs; 

7 (D) to train or support the professional de8 velopment of career and technical education 

9 teachers, and others implementing career path10 ways programs, including providing externship 

11 opportunities for educators to spend time in in12 dustry; 

13 (E) for youth apprenticeship, pre-appren14 ticeship training, internship, or experiential 

15 learning opportunities; 

16 (F) to provide, as part of the career path17 ways program, coursework that awards postsec18 ondary credit at no cost to high school students; 

19 (G) to support development of curricula 

20 that offer industry-recognized credentials; and 

21 (H) to experiment with methods that 

22 measure job quality. 

23 (e) REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

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1 ward the cost of the activities assisted under the 

2 grant and from non-Federal sources, an amount 

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

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

5 (including leveraged staff time) and shall include 

6 support from business or industry partners of a 

7 school partnership in accordance with the partner8 ship agreement described in subsection (b)(2). 

9 (2) PARTICIPATION OF BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY

10 PARTNER.—In any case where a business or indus11 try partner included in an initial partnership agree12 ment described in subsection (b)(2)(A) withdraws 

13 from a school partnership supported under a grant 

14 under this section, the eligible agency shall notify 

15 the Secretary immediately of the withdrawal and of 

16 the eligible agency’s plan for obtaining a comparable 

17 business or industry partner. 

18 (f) REPORTS.— 

19 (1) ELIGIBLE AGENCY REPORTS.— 

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

21 18 months after receiving a grant under this 

22 section, the eligible agency shall submit a report 

23 to the Secretary demonstrating that the eligible 

24 agency is achieving sufficient progress toward 

25 the goals of the grant. 


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1 (B) FINAL REPORTS.—Each eligible agen2 cy receiving a grant under this section shall 

3 prepare and submit to the Secretary a final re4 port regarding the use of funds for the grant, 

5 including the outcomes of the activities assisted 

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

7 the end of the grant period. 

8 (2) SECRETARY REPORTS.—The Secretary shall 

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

10 a report regarding the grant program under this sec11 tion that includes a summary of the reports received 

12 under paragraph (1) during the preceding year and 

13 the outcomes resulting from the use of grant funds. 

14 SEC. 4. CAREER PATHWAYS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

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

16 Assistant Secretary of Career, Technical, and Adult Edu17 cation, shall— 

18 (1) administer and manage the career pathways 

19 innovation grants awarded under section 3; 

20 (2) provide technical assistance to eligible agen21 cies preparing grant applications under section 3(b); 

22 and 

23 (3) support career pathways partnership coordi24 nators, or other personnel of eligible agencies that 


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

2 ensure that— 

3 (A) the eligible agency participates in the 

4 required school partnership; and 

5 (B) the grant results in positive program 

6 outcomes. 

7 (b) DESIGNATED PERSONNEL FOR RURAL AND NA8 TIVE-SERVING APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall des9 ignate not less than 1 employee of the Office of Career, 

10 Technical, and Adult Education who will exclusively sup11 port rural and native-serving eligible agencies with the 

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

13 the development of school partnerships necessary to apply 

14 for and implement a grant under section 3. 

15 SEC. 5. COLLEGE TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION 

16 GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

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

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘PART H—COLLEGE TO CAREER PATHWAYS 

21 INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM 

22 ‘‘SEC. 399A. COLLEGE AND INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS PRO23 GRAM. 

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

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


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1 the 21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act, from funds 

2 appropriated under section 399B, the Secretary (in coordi3 nation with the Secretary of Labor) shall award competi4 tive grants to eligible entities described in subsection (b) 

5 for the purpose of developing, offering, improving, and 

6 providing educational or career training programs for stu7 dents, including working students. The grants shall be 

8 awarded for periods of 3 years and may be renewed for 

9 1 additional 2-year period, if the eligible entity dem10 onstrates sufficient progress in achieving the goals of the 

11 initial grant period. 

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PARTNERSHIPS WITH EMPLOYERS OR AN

14 EMPLOYER OR INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP.— 

15 ‘‘(A) GENERAL DEFINITION.—For pur16 poses of this section, an ‘eligible entity’ means 

17 any of the entities described in subparagraph 

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

19 partnership with employers or an employer or 

20 industry partnership representing multiple em21 ployers. 

22 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF ENTITIES.—The en23 tities described in this subparagraph are— 

24 ‘‘(i) a community college; 


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

2 higher education (as defined in section 

3 101(a)) that offers 2-year degrees, and 

4 that will use funds provided under this sec5 tion for activities at the certificate and as6 sociate degree levels; 

7 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University 

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

9 ‘‘(iv) an apprenticeship college (as de10 fined as an institution partnership that is 

11 registered under the Act of August 16, 

12 1937 (commonly known as the ‘National 

13 Apprenticeship Act’; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 

14 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.) and is an insti15 tution of higher education (as defined in 

16 section 101(a))); or 

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

18 year institution of higher education (as de19 fined in section 102) in the Commonwealth 

20 of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States 

21 Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Com22 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is23 lands, the Republic of the Marshall Is24 lands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 

25 or the Republic of Palau. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PARTNERS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL

3 PARTNERS.—In addition to partnering with em4 ployers or an employer or industry partnership 

5 representing multiple employers as described in 

6 paragraph (1)(A), an entity described in para7 graph (1) may include in the partnership de8 scribed in paragraph (1) one or more of the or9 ganizations described in subparagraph (B). 

10 Each eligible entity that includes one or more 

11 such organizations shall collaborate with the 

12 State board or local board in the area served by 

13 the eligible entity. 

14 ‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONS.—The organizations 

15 described in this subparagraph are as follows: 

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

17 defined in section 203 of the Adult Edu18 cation and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 

19 3272)) or an institution of higher edu20 cation (as defined in section 101). 

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

22 ‘‘(iii) A joint labor-management part23 nership. 

24 ‘‘(iv) A State board or local board. 

25 ‘‘(v) A State higher education board. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) An elementary school or sec2 ondary school, as defined in section 8101 

3 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Any other organization that the 

6 Secretaries consider appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(c) EDUCATIONAL OR CAREER TRAINING PRO8 GRAM.—For purposes of this section, the Governor of the 

9 State in which at least one of the entities described in sub10 section (b)(1)(B) of an eligible entity is located shall es11 tablish criteria for an educational or career training pro12 gram leading to a recognized postsecondary credential that 

13 leads to higher subsequent employment and job quality for 

14 which an eligible entity submits a grant proposal under 

15 subsection (d). 

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

17 grant under this section shall submit an application con18 taining a grant proposal, for an educational or career 

19 training program leading to a recognized postsecondary 

20 credential, to the Secretaries at such time and containing 

21 such information as the Secretaries determine is required, 

22 including— 

23 ‘‘(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, regional, or local 

7 workforce development plan in existence at 

8 the time of the application, including a 

9 plan established under the Workforce Inno10 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

11 3101 et seq.) or the Carl D. Perkins Ca12 reer and Technical Education Act of 2006 

13 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); 

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

15 occupations, as defined by the State or 

16 designated governing board, as appro17 priate, or postsecondary credit leading to a 

18 degree or certification in a career pathway; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(iv) goals and measurement used to 

21 define progress toward student outcomes 

22 in existence on the date of submission, 

23 which may align with the Carl D. Perkins 

24 Career and Technical Education Act of 

25 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and the 


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1 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

2 (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); 

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

4 meet the needs of employers in the area for 

5 skilled workers in in-demand industry sectors or 

6 occupations; 

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

8 meet the educational or career training needs of 

9 students in the area; 

10 ‘‘(D) the specific educational or career 

11 training program and how the program meets 

12 the criteria established under subsection (e), in13 cluding the manner in which the grant will be 

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

15 educational or career training program; 

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

17 entity in providing educational or career train18 ing programs, the absence of which shall not 

19 automatically disqualify an eligible institution 

20 from receiving a grant under this section; 

21 ‘‘(F) how the program leading to the cre22 dential meets the criteria described in sub23 section (c); and 


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1 ‘‘(G) how attaining the credential will help 

2 participants reach higher subsequent employ3 ment and job quality; and 

4 ‘‘(2) a detailed plan on how the entity will en5 sure that the program will meet the performance 

6 measures described in subsection (g), and an assur7 ance that the entity will annually submit to the Sec8 retary information on the performance of the pro9 gram on the performance measures described in sub10 section (g). 

11 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR AWARD.— 

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

13 shall be awarded based on criteria established by the 

14 Secretaries, that include the following: 

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

16 grant proposal submitted by the eligible entity 

17 involved to develop, offer, improve, and provide 

18 an educational or career training program to be 

19 made available to students. 

20 ‘‘(B) An assessment of the likely employ21 ment opportunities available in the area to indi22 viduals who complete an educational or career 

23 training program that the eligible entity pro24 poses to develop, offer, improve, and provide. 


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

2 training programs by individuals eligible for 

3 training and served by the eligible entity, as 

4 well as availability and capacity of existing (as 

5 of the date of the assessment) training pro6 grams to meet future demand for training pro7 grams. 

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

9 section, the Secretaries shall give priority to eligible 

10 entities that— 

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

12 or an employer or industry partnership, that— 

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

14 educational or career training programs; 

15 ‘‘(ii) agrees to hire individuals who 

16 have attained a recognized postsecondary 

17 credential resulting from the educational or 

18 career training program of the eligible en19 tity; or 

20 ‘‘(iii) include an educational entity 

21 that has sought and received bonding au22 thority to fund partnerships program; 

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

24 organization or labor-management training pro25 gram to provide, through the program, techVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186

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1 nical expertise for occupationally specific edu2 cation necessary for a recognized postsecondary 

3 credential leading to a skilled occupation in an 

4 in-demand industry sector or occupation; 

5 ‘‘(C) are focused on serving individuals 

6 with barriers to employment, students who are 

7 veterans, spouses of members of the Armed 

8 Forces, individuals who are basic-skills defi9 cient, and first-generation college students; 

10 ‘‘(D) include any eligible entities serving 

11 areas with high unemployment rates; 

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

13 institution of higher education eligible for as14 sistance under this title or title V; and 

15 ‘‘(F) ensure geographic diversity, including 

16 appropriate representation of rural areas. 

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

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

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

20 and provision of educational or career training pro21 grams, that provide relevant job training for skilled 

22 occupations, that lead to recognized postsecondary 

23 credentials, that will meet the needs of employers in 

24 in-demand industry sectors or occupations, and that 

25 may include registered apprenticeship programs, onVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186

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1 the-job training programs, and programs that sup2 port employers in upgrading the skills of their work3 force. 

4 ‘‘(2) The development and implementation of 

5 policies and programs to expand opportunities for 

6 students to earn a recognized postsecondary creden7 tial, including a degree, in in-demand industry sec8 tors or occupations, including by— 

9 ‘‘(A) facilitating the transfer of academic 

10 credits between institutions of higher education, 

11 including the transfer of academic credits for 

12 courses in the same field of study; 

13 ‘‘(B) expanding access to college-level, 

14 transferable coursework, which may include co15 ordination related to transfers of credit between 

16 institutions or common course numbering or 

17 use of a general core curriculum; 

18 ‘‘(C) developing or enhancing student sup19 port services programs; and 

20 ‘‘(D) establishing policies and processes for 

21 assessing and awarding course credit for work22 related learning. 

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

24 that provide a sequence of education and occupa25 tional training that leads to a recognized postsecVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3186.IH H3186

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1 ondary credential, including a degree, including pro2 grams that— 

3 ‘‘(A) blend basic skills and occupational 

4 training; 

5 ‘‘(B) facilitate means of transitioning par6 ticipants from non-credit occupational, basic 

7 skills, or developmental coursework to for-credit 

8 coursework within and across institutions; 

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

10 the development of dual enrollment programs 

11 and early college high schools, between sec12 ondary education or adult education programs 

13 (including programs established under the Carl 

14 D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act 

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

16 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

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

18 ‘‘(D) are innovative programs designed to 

19 increase the provision of training for students, 

20 including students who are members of the Na21 tional Guard or Reserves, to enter skilled occu22 pations in in-demand industry sectors or occu23 pations; 

24 ‘‘(E) support paid internships that will 

25 allow students to simultaneously earn credit for 


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1 work-based learning and gain relevant employ2 ment experience in an in-demand industry sec3 tor or occupation, which shall include opportu4 nities that transition individuals into employ5 ment; and 

6 ‘‘(F) develop competency-based education 

7 programs that offer an outcome-oriented ap8 proach through which recognized postsecondary 

9 credentials are awarded based on successful 

10 demonstration of skills and proficiency. 

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

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

13 leads to a recognized postsecondary credential, 

14 for which an eligible entity agrees to be reim15 bursed under the grant primarily on the basis 

16 of achievement of specified performance out17 comes and criteria agreed to by the Secretary; 

18 or 

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

20 to a recognized postsecondary credential, for 

21 which an eligible entity— 

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

23 investor, such as a philanthropic organiza24 tion that provides funding for a specific 

25 project to address a clear and measurable 


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•HR 3186 IH

1 educational or career training need in the 

2 area to be served under the grant; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) agrees to be reimbursed under 

4 the grant only if the project achieves speci5 fied performance outcomes and criteria 

6 agreed to by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(5) The development of a multiple measures of 

8 job quality dashboard that experiments with dif9 ferent metrics to measure job quality. 

10 ‘‘(g) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab12 lish performance measures for the programs carried 

13 out under this section. 

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

15 shall consist of— 

16 ‘‘(A) indicators of performance, including 

17 the number of program participants who are in 

18 unsubsidized employment during the second 

19 quarter after exit from the program; 

20 ‘‘(B) a level of performance for each indi21 cator described in subparagraph (A); and 

22 ‘‘(C) analysis of the income of program 

23 participants during the second quarter after 

24 exit from the program compared to the dis25 tribution of earnings across the workforce in 


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1 the State and the region during that same time 

2 period. 

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

4 shall monitor the progress of eligible entities that re5 ceive grants under this section in ensuring that their 

6 programs meet the performance measures. 

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

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap9 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

10 the program established by section 399A. Funds appro11 priated under this subsection shall remain available until 

12 the end of the 5th full fiscal year after the date of enact13 ment of the 21st Century Workforce Partnerships Act. 

14 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COST.—Not more than 5 per15 cent of the amounts made available under subsection (a) 

16 may be used by the Secretaries for Federal administration 

17 the program described in that subsection, including pro18 viding technical assistance and carrying out evaluations 

19 for the program described in that subsection. 

20 ‘‘(c) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The funds appro21 priated pursuant to subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall 

22 be available for Federal obligation for that fiscal year and 

23 the succeeding 4 fiscal years. 

24 ‘‘SEC. 399C. DEFINITIONS. 

25 ‘‘In this part: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The terms ‘basic skills defi2 cient’, ‘in-demand industry sector or occupation’, ‘in3 dividual with a barrier to employment’, ‘local board’, 

4 ‘recognized postsecondary credential’, and ‘State 

5 board’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

6 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

7 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

8 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘com9 munity college’ has the meaning given the term ‘jun10 ior or community college’ in section 312(f). 

11 ‘‘(3) EDUCATIONAL OR CAREER TRAINING PRO12 GRAM.—The term ‘educational or career training 

13 program’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a career pathways program, as de15 fined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

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

17 ‘‘(B) a program with an integrated edu18 cation and training approach, as defined in sec19 tion 203 of the Adult Education and Family 

20 Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3272).’’. 

Æ 


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