I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4652 
To provide competitive grants for training court reporters and closed 
captioners to meet requirements for realtime writers under the Commu-
nications Act of 1934, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2021 
Mr. KIND (for himself and Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To provide competitive grants for training court reporters 
and closed captioners to meet requirements for realtime 
writers under the Communications Act of 1934, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Training for Realtime 
Writers Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) As directed by Congress in section 713 of 
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613), 
as added by section 305 of the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104; 110 Stat. 126), 
the Federal Communications Commission began en-
forcing rules requiring full closed captioning of most 
English television programming on January 1, 2006. 
(2) The Federal Communications Commission 
rules also require that video programming be fully 
captioned in Spanish by 2010. 
(3) More than 37,500,000 Americans are con-
sidered deaf or hard of hearing, and many require 
captioning services to participate in mainstream ac-
tivities. 
(4) The National Institute on Deafness and 
other Communication Disorders estimates that one 
in 3 Americans over the age of 60 has already expe-
rienced hearing loss. The 79,000,000 Americans who 
are identified as ‘‘baby boomers’’ represent 39 per-
cent of the population of the United States and most 
baby boomers began to reach age 60 just in the last 
few years. 
(5) Closed captioning is a continuous source of 
emergency information for people in mass transit 
and other congregate settings. 
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(6) Empirical research studies since 1988 dem-
onstrate that captions improve the performance of 
individuals learning to read English. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT PROGRAM TO PRO-
MOTE TRAINING AND JOB PLACEMENT OF 
REALTIME WRITERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 
make competitive grants to eligible entities under sub-
section (b) to promote training and placement of individ-
uals, including individuals who have completed a court re-
porting training program, as realtime writers in order to 
meet the requirements for closed captioning of video pro-
gramming set forth in section 713 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613) and the rules prescribed 
thereunder. 
(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this Act, 
an eligible entity is a court reporting program that— 
(1) can document and demonstrate to the Sec-
retary of Education that it meets minimum stand-
ards of educational and financial accountability, with 
a curriculum capable of training realtime writers 
qualified to provide captioning services; 
(2) is accredited by an accrediting agency or as-
sociation recognized by the Secretary of Education 
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under section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b); and 
(3) is participating in programs under title IV 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070 et seq.). 
(c) PRIORITY IN GRANTS.—In determining whether 
to make grants under this section, the Secretary of Edu-
cation shall give a priority to eligible entities that, as de-
termined by the Secretary— 
(1) possess the most substantial capability to 
increase their capacity to train realtime writers; 
(2) demonstrate the most promising collabora-
tion with local educational institutions, businesses, 
labor organizations, or other community groups hav-
ing the potential to train or provide job placement 
assistance to realtime writers; or 
(3) propose the most promising and innovative 
approaches for initiating or expanding training or 
job placement assistance efforts with respect to 
realtime writers. 
(d) DURATION OF GRANT.—A grant under this sec-
tion shall be for a period of 5 years. 
(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of 
a grant provided under subsection (a) to an entity eligible 
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(4) A description of the manner in which the el-
igible entity intends to continue providing the train-
ing and assistance to be funded by the grant after 
the end of the grant period, including any partner-
ships or arrangements established for that purpose. 
(5) A description of how the eligible entity will 
work with local workforce investment boards to en-
sure that training and assistance to be funded with 
the grant will further local workforce goals, includ-
ing the creation of educational opportunities for in-
dividuals who are from economically disadvantaged 
backgrounds or are displaced workers. 
(6) Additional information, if any, of the eligi-
bility of the eligible entity for priority in the making 
of grants under section 3(c). 
(7) Such other information as the Secretary 
may require. 
SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 
grant under section 3 shall use the grant amount for pur-
poses relating to the recruitment, training and assistance, 
and job placement of individuals, including individuals 
who have completed a court reporting training program, 
as realtime writers, including— 
(1) recruitment; 
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(2) subject to subsection (b), the provision of 
scholarships; 
(3) distance learning; 
(4) further developing and implementing both 
English and Spanish curriculum to more effectively 
train realtime writing skills, and education in the 
knowledge necessary for the delivery of high-quality 
closed captioning services; 
(5) mentoring students to ensure successful 
completion of the realtime writing training and pro-
vide assistance in job placement; 
(6) encouraging individuals with disabilities to 
pursue a career in realtime writing; and 
(7) the employment and payment of personnel 
for all such purposes. 
(b) SCHOLARSHIPS.— 
(1) AMOUNT.—The amount of a scholarship 
under subsection (a)(2) shall be based on the 
amount of need of the recipient of the scholarship 
for financial assistance, as determined in accordance 
with part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.). 
(2) AGREEMENT.—Each recipient of a scholar-
ship under subsection (a)(2) shall enter into an 
agreement with the school in which the recipient is 
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enrolled to provide realtime writing services for a pe-
riod of time appropriate (as determined by the Sec-
retary of Education or the Secretary’s designee) for 
the amount of the scholarship received. 
(3) COURSEWORK
AND
EMPLOYMENT.—The 
Secretary of Education or the Secretary’s designee 
shall establish requirements for coursework and em-
ployment for recipients of scholarships under sub-
section (a)(2), including requirements for repayment 
of scholarship amounts in the event of failure to 
meet such requirements for coursework and employ-
ment. Requirements for repayment of scholarship 
amounts shall take into account the effect of eco-
nomic conditions on the capacity of scholarship re-
cipients to find work as realtime writers. 
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The recipient of a 
grant under section 3 may not use more than 5 percent 
of the grant amount to pay administrative costs associated 
with activities funded by the grant. The Secretary shall 
use not more than 5 percent of the amount available for 
grants under this Act in any fiscal year for administrative 
costs of the program. 
(d) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grants amounts 
under this Act shall supplement and not supplant other 
Federal or non-Federal funds of the grant recipient for 
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purposes of promoting the training and placement of indi-
viduals as realtime writers. 
SEC. 6. REPORTS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each eligible entity receiv-
ing a grant under section 3 shall submit to the Secretary 
of Education, at the end of each year of the grant period, 
a report on the activities of such entity with respect to 
the use of grant amounts during such year. 
(b) REPORT INFORMATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each report of an entity for 
a year under subsection (a) shall include a descrip-
tion of the use of grant amounts by the entity dur-
ing such year, including an assessment by the entity 
of the effectiveness of activities carried out using 
such funds in increasing the number of realtime 
writers. The assessment shall utilize the performance 
measures submitted by the entity in the application 
for the grant under section 4(b). 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—The final report of an en-
tity on a grant under subsection (a) shall include a 
description of the best practices identified by the en-
tity as a result of the grant for increasing the num-
ber of individuals who are trained, employed, and re-
tained in employment as realtime writers. 
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(c) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the 
Department of Education shall conduct an annual review 
of the management, efficiency, and effectiveness of the 
grants made under this Act. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Education to carry out this Act $10,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026. 
SEC. 8. SUNSET. 
This Act is repealed effective the last day of the fifth 
fiscal year in which funds are appropriated to carry out 
this Act. 
Æ 
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