I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3893 
To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a program that awards 
grants to State coalitions that build or expand career pathways programs 
in schools within the State, and to direct the Secretary of Education 
to establish a program that awards grants to eligible agencies to carry 
out career pathways programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 23, 2019 
Mr. HARDER 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 establish a program 
that awards grants to State coalitions that build or ex-
pand career pathways programs in schools within the 
State, and to direct the Secretary of Education to estab-
lish a program that awards grants to eligible agencies 
to carry out career pathways programs. 
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 ‘‘School to Career Path-
ways Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In every congressional district, career and 
technical education programs and career-connected 
pathways programs play a vital role in ensuring 
workers remain competitive in high-wage, high-skill, 
and in-demand career fields, including information 
technology, health care, and the skilled trades, all of 
which have hundreds of thousands of job openings 
across the United States. 
(2) Every student should have access to career 
and technical education opportunities to learn how 
their academic background will prepare them for 
postsecondary education and a career. 
(3) Curriculum and course offerings should not 
be based on the assumption that every student has 
the same academic needs, interests, and goals. In-
stead, schools should prepare students for their indi-
vidualized career goals by providing opportunities for 
students to discover and delve into their interests. 
These opportunities may include career and tech-
nical education, personalized learning, apprentice-
ships, early college and dual enrollment, and lan-
guage immersion programs. 
(4) Specifically, career and technical education 
and dual enrollment programs integrate classroom 
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learning with technical, job-specific skills to prepare 
students for high-skill careers in industries such as 
information 
technology, 
manufacturing, 
health 
science, nursing, medical professions, construction, 
engineering, and more. Under the Carl D. Perkins 
Vocational and Technical Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
2301), States receive funding to integrate career 
pathway programs with academic learning for stu-
dents who choose to enroll in career and technical 
education programs. 
(5) Career and technical education programs 
currently serve 12,500,000 high school and college 
students and boast a graduation rate of about 90 
percent, which is 15 percent higher than the na-
tional average. 
(6) Career-connected learning programs, which 
integrate college preparatory academics, technical 
training, work-based learning, and support, have had 
positive outcomes for students. 
(7) Six out of ten students plan to pursue a ca-
reer related to the career-connected learning pro-
grams they are exploring in high school. 
(8) According to the Census Bureau 33.4 per-
cent of individuals in the United States hold college 
degrees as of 2017, which falls drastically short of 
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meeting the national need for skilled labor and dem-
onstrates that traditional college career paths only 
work for about 30 percent of individuals in the 
United States. 
(9) While career and technical education models 
have been piloted across the United States, grant 
programs need to be expanded to encourage addi-
tional school districts to offer students opportunities 
for career-connected learning, including apprentice-
ships, and project-based learning pathways. 
(10) Career and technical education programs 
should incentivize school districts to offer summer 
internships or course credit through opportunities 
created by business and community partnerships. 
SEC. 3. STATE SKILLS EDUCATION COALITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Education shall award grants to States to establish a 
statewide career pathways coalition (in this section re-
ferred to as a ‘‘coalition’’). 
(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Any State agency respon-
sible for carrying out educational programs in a State 
shall be eligible for a grant awarded under subsection (a). 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available under 
such a grant shall be used for— 
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(1) convening employers to discuss local work-
force needs and trends; 
(2) reaching out to local and regional public or 
private partners and conducting research into local 
workforce needs and trends; 
(3) promoting skill standards and career paths 
that match local employers’ needs; 
(4) helping to improve and govern the work-
force development system; 
(5) bringing together businesses, faith-based 
and community organizations, educational institu-
tions, labor unions, social service agencies, and other 
providers to implement programs and policies to im-
prove labor market outcomes; 
(6) increasing economic mobility for workers; 
and 
(7) increasing awareness of programs and re-
lated economic opportunities. 
(d) CONDITIONS.—As a condition for receipt of funds 
under such a grant, a State agency shall require a coali-
tion to do the following: 
(1) Develop State plans for how to expand on 
existing evidence-based programs that are effectively 
providing nontraditional paths to students and rec-
ommendations on new programs that would provide 
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both academic and real-world work experience (such 
as student apprenticeships, dual programs, career- 
connected or integrated programs that provide con-
current credit). 
(2) Establish a statewide career-connected 
learning system. 
(3) Promote diversity among apprentices by 
promoting outreach to underrepresented populations 
such as women and minorities, youth, individuals 
with disabilities (as defined in section 3 of the Amer-
icans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12102)), and veterans. 
(4) Provide the Governor of the State and Sec-
retary a list of findings and recommendations of the 
coalition regarding the elements of a successful 
statewide career-connected learning system. 
(5) Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, create a detailed and spe-
cific 4-year action plan for how the State school sys-
tem can implement a statewide career-connected 
learning system, with a timeline for the implementa-
tion, and projected funding requirements of such 
system. 
(6) Not later than 2 years after the provision 
of such plan, the coalition shall report on the imple-
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mentation and success of its plan, including best 
practices, and recommendations for improvement. 
(e) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—Each coali-
tion established through funds received under such 
a grant shall be comprised of— 
(A) at least one individual recommended 
by the State’s Public University Board or its 
equivalent representatives (as determined by the 
Governor); and 
(B) a minimum of 9 individuals who have 
public and private career or technical education 
experience, including course instruction, se-
lected by the chief State school officer with ap-
proval from the State Board of Education or its 
equivalent and State Public University Board 
or its equivalent. 
(2) COMPOSITION.—The coalition shall be rep-
resentative of the State’s geographical diversity. All 
geographical regions (as determined by the chief 
State school officer) must be represented by a min-
imum of one education stakeholder and one public or 
private industry stakeholder. A regional representa-
tive may be determined by residence or location of 
primary employment. 
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(f) TERMINATION.—Federal funds received under 
such a grant shall terminate on the day after 6 years from 
the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 4. SECONDARY SCHOOL TO CAREER PATHWAYS INNO-
VATION GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) CAREER PATHWAYS INNOVATION GRANT PRO-
GRAM ESTABLISHED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail-
able to carry out this section, the Secretary, after 
consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall es-
tablish a career pathways innovation grant program, 
through which the Secretary shall award grants, on 
a competitive basis, to eligible agencies for the pur-
pose of addressing the specialized skill needs of busi-
ness and industry by carrying out programs of study 
and career pathways programs through school part-
nerships that support career pathways in high school 
and career exploration in the middle grades. 
(2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 
section— 
(A) shall be for a period of 3 years; and 
(B) may be renewed for one additional 2- 
year period, if the eligible agency demonstrates 
sufficient progress in achieving the goals of the 
initial grant. 
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(b) APPLICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible agency desiring a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Sec-
retary an application at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, and in accordance with requirements 
under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.). 
(2) CONTENTS; PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENT.— 
The application submitted under paragraph (1) shall 
include— 
(A) an initial partnership agreement, en-
tered into by the eligible agency and all mem-
bers of the school partnership, that— 
(i) specifies the duties and responsibil-
ities of each partner; 
(ii) describes the commitment of re-
sources or materials to be provided by each 
partner toward the school partnership, en-
suring that the business or industry part-
ners in the school partnership provide an 
amount of resources, in cash or in-kind, to-
ward the activities supported under the 
grant that equals or exceeds the amount 
contributed by the eligible agency and the 
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