I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3892 
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to award competi-
tive grants for the purpose of developing, offering, improving, and pro-
viding educational or career pathway programs for workers, and for 
other purposes. 
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 amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
to award competitive grants for the purpose of devel-
oping, offering, improving, and providing educational or 
career pathway programs for workers, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Short-Term Acceler-
ated Reskilling Tracks Career Pathways Act’’ or the 
‘‘START Career Pathways Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. START PATHWAYS TO CAREERS FUND. 
Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act (29 U.S.C. 3111 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘Subtitle F—START Pathways to 
Careers Fund 
‘‘SEC. 199. START PATHWAYS TO CAREERS PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than the end 
of the first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of 
the START Career Pathways Act, from funds appro-
priated under section 199A, the Secretary of Labor (in 
coordination with the Secretary of Education) shall award 
competitive grants to eligible entities described in sub-
section (c) for the purpose of developing, offering, improv-
ing, and providing educational or career pathway pro-
grams for workers. 
‘‘(b) DURATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries may award 
a grant to an eligible entity for not more than a 6- 
year period. 
‘‘(2) CONTINUATION OF GRANTS.—At the end 
of the initial 3-year grant period for a grant award-
ed to an eligible entity under this section, the Sec-
retary shall evaluate, using the performance indica-
tors under subsection (h), each program for which 
the eligible entity was awarded such grant to deter-
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mine if eligible entity is eligible to receive such grant 
for an additional 3-year grant period. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 
‘‘(1) PARTNERSHIPS WITH EMPLOYERS OR AN 
EMPLOYER OR INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP.— 
‘‘(A) GENERAL
DEFINITION.—For pur-
poses of this section, an ‘eligible entity’ means 
any of the entities described in subparagraph 
(B) (or a consortium of any of such entities) in 
partnership with local employers or a local em-
ployer or local industry partnership rep-
resenting multiple employers. 
‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION OF ENTITIES.—The en-
tities described in this subparagraph are— 
‘‘(i) a junior college or a community 
college (as defined under section 316 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1059c) to mean public 2-year State 
institutions of higher education at which 
the highest degree that is predominantly 
awarded to students is an associate’s de-
gree, including 2-year tribally controlled 
colleges); 
‘‘(ii) a 4-year public institution of 
higher education (as defined in section 
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101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) that offers 2- 
year degrees, and that will use funds pro-
vided under this section for activities at 
the certificate and associate degree levels; 
or 
‘‘(iii) a postsecondary vocational insti-
tution, as defined in section 102(c) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PARTNERS.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION
OF
ADDITIONAL 
PARTNERS.—In addition to partnering with 
local employers or a local employer or local in-
dustry partnership representing multiple em-
ployers as described in paragraph (1)(A), an 
entity described in paragraph (1) may include 
in the partnership described in paragraph (1) 
one or more of the organizations described in 
subparagraph (B). Each eligible entity that in-
cludes one or more such organizations shall col-
laborate with the State or local board in the 
area served by the eligible entity. 
‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONS.—The organizations 
described in this subparagraph are as follows: 
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‘‘(i) A provider of adult education (as 
defined in section 203) or an institution of 
higher education (as defined in section 101 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001)). 
‘‘(ii) A community-based organization. 
‘‘(iii) A joint labor-management part-
nership. 
‘‘(iv) A State board that oversees 
higher education. 
‘‘(v) A State educational agency (as 
defined in section 8101 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801)). 
‘‘(vi) An elementary school or sec-
ondary school (as such terms are defined 
in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801)). 
‘‘(vii) A local educational agency (as 
defined in section 8101 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 7801)). 
‘‘(viii) A State-based education fo-
cused nonprofit. 
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‘‘(ix) An educational service agency 
(as defined in section 8101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801)). 
‘‘(x) Any other not-for-profit or com-
munity-based organization, with a proven 
record on job training (as determined by 
the Secretaries), that the Secretaries con-
sider appropriate. 
‘‘(d) EDUCATIONAL
OR CAREER PATHWAY PRO-
GRAM.—For purposes of this section, the Governor of the 
State in which at least 1 of the entities described in sub-
section (c) of an eligible entity is located shall establish 
criteria for an educational or career training pathway pro-
gram leading to a recognized postsecondary credential for 
which an eligible entity submits a grant proposal under 
subsection (e). 
‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a 
grant under this section shall submit an application con-
taining a grant proposal, for an educational or career 
pathway program leading to a recognized postsecondary 
credential, to the Secretaries at such time and containing 
such information as the Secretaries determine is required, 
including— 
‘‘(1) a detailed description of— 
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‘‘(A) the extent to which the educational or 
career pathway program described in the grant 
proposal fits within an overall strategic plan 
consisting of— 
‘‘(i) the State plan described in sec-
tion 102 or 103, for the State involved; 
‘‘(ii) the local plan described in sec-
tion 108, for each local area that com-
prises a significant portion of the area to 
be served by the eligible entity; and 
‘‘(iii) a strategic local plan developed 
by the eligible entity; 
‘‘(B) the extent to which the program will 
meet the needs of employers in the area for 
workers in high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand 
sectors or occupations; 
‘‘(C) the extent to which the program will 
meet the educational or career training needs of 
workers in the area; 
‘‘(D) the specific educational or career 
pathway program and how the program meets 
the criteria established under subsection (f), in-
cluding the manner in which the grant will be 
used to develop, offer, improve, and provide the 
educational or career pathway program; 
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‘‘(E) any previous experience of the eligible 
entity in providing educational or career path-
way programs, the absence of which shall not 
automatically disqualify an eligible institution 
from receiving a grant under this section; and 
‘‘(F) how the program leading to the cre-
dential meets the criteria described in sub-
section (f); and 
‘‘(2) a detailed plan on how the entity will en-
sure that the program will meet the performance 
measures described in subsection (h), and an assur-
ance that the entity will annually submit to the Sec-
retary information on the performance of the pro-
gram on such performance measures. 
‘‘(f) CRITERIA FOR AWARD.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under this section 
shall be awarded based on criteria established by the 
Secretaries, that include the following: 
‘‘(A) A determination of the merits of the 
grant proposal submitted by the eligible entity 
involved to develop, offer, improve, and provide 
an educational or career pathway program to be 
made available to local workers. 
‘‘(B) An assessment of the likely employ-
ment opportunities available in the area to indi-
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viduals who complete an educational or career 
pathway program that the eligible entity pro-
poses to develop, offer, improve, and provide. 
‘‘(C) An assessment of prior demand for 
training programs by individuals eligible for 
training and served by the eligible entity, as 
well as availability and capacity of existing (as 
of the date of the assessment) training pro-
grams to meet future demand for training pro-
grams. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
section, the Secretaries shall give priority to eligible 
entities that— 
‘‘(A) include a partnership, with local em-
ployers or a local employer or local industry 
partnership, that— 
‘‘(i) pays a portion of the costs of 
educational or career pathway programs; 
or 
‘‘(ii) creates a career pathway by sup-
porting employers who hire individuals who 
have attained a recognized postsecondary 
credential resulting from the educational or 
career training pathway program of the eli-
gible entity; 
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‘‘(B) enter into a partnership with a labor 
organization or labor-management training pro-
gram to provide, through the program, tech-
nical expertise for occupationally specific edu-
cation necessary for a recognized postsecondary 
credential leading to an occupation in a local 
high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry 
sector or occupation; 
‘‘(C) are focused on serving individuals 
with barriers to employment, students who are 
veterans including, active duty servicemembers 
who are otherwise eligible for educational assist-
ance under chapter 30 of title 38, United 
States Code, spouses of members of the Armed 
Forces, children of members of the Armed 
Forces, and incumbent workers who are low- 
skilled and who need to increase their work-re-
lated skills; 
‘‘(D) include any eligible entities serving 
areas with high unemployment rates; and 
‘‘(E) are eligible entities that include an 
institution of higher education eligible for as-
sistance under title III or V of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.; 20 
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 
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‘‘(g) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded under 
this section shall be used for one or more of the following: 
‘‘(1) The development, offering, improvement, 
and provision of educational or career pathway pro-
grams, that provide relevant job training for skilled 
occupations, that lead to recognized postsecondary 
credentials, that will meet the needs of employers in 
high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand sectors or occu-
pations (such as nursing, health care, agriculture, 
horticulture, food, natural resources, fire science, 
building trades, and labor) and that may include 
registered apprenticeship programs, on-the-job train-
ing programs, and programs that support employers 
in upgrading the skills of their workforce. 
‘‘(2) The development and implementation of 
policies and programs to expand opportunities for 
students to earn a recognized postsecondary creden-
tial, including a degree, in high-skill, high-wage, or 
in-demand industry sectors or occupations, including 
by— 
‘‘(A) facilitating the transfer of academic 
credits between institutions of higher education, 
including the transfer of academic credits for 
courses in the same field of study; 
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‘‘(B) expanding articulation agreements 
and policies that guarantee transfers between 
such institutions, including through common 
course numbering and use of a general core 
curriculum; 
‘‘(C) developing or enhancing student sup-
port services; and 
‘‘(D) establishing policies and processes for 
assessing and awarding course credit for work- 
related learning. 
‘‘(3) The creation of career pathway programs 
that provide a sequence of education and occupa-
tional training that leads to a recognized postsec-
ondary credential, including a degree, including pro-
grams that— 
‘‘(A) blend basic skills and occupational 
training; 
‘‘(B) facilitate means of transitioning par-
ticipants from non-credit occupational, basic 
skills, or developmental coursework to for-credit 
coursework within and across institutions; 
‘‘(C) build or enhance linkages, including 
the development of dual enrollment programs 
and early college high schools, between sec-
ondary education or adult education programs 
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(including programs established under the Carl 
D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act 
of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and title II 
of this Act); 
‘‘(D) are innovative programs designed to 
increase the provision of training for students, 
including students who are members of the Na-
tional Guard or Reserves, to enter high-skill, 
high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or oc-
cupations; 
‘‘(E) support paid internships that will 
allow students to simultaneously earn credit for 
work-based learning and gain relevant employ-
ment experience in a high-skill, high-wage, or 
in-demand industry sector or occupation, which 
shall include opportunities that transition indi-
viduals into employment; and 
‘‘(F) develop competency-based education 
programs that offer an outcome-oriented ap-
proach through which recognized postsecondary 
credentials are awarded based on successful 
demonstration of skills and proficiency. 
‘‘(4) A Pay-for-Success program that leads to a 
recognized postsecondary credential, for which an el-
igible entity— 
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‘‘(A) enters into a partnership with an in-
vestor, such as a philanthropic organization 
that provides funding for a specific project to 
address a clear and measurable educational or 
career training need in the area to be served 
under the grant; and 
‘‘(B) agrees to be reimbursed under the 
grant only if the project achieves specified per-
formance outcomes and criteria agreed to by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(h) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish performance measures for the programs carried 
out under this section. 
‘‘(2) MEASURES.—The performance measures 
shall consist of— 
‘‘(A) indicators of performance, including 
the number of program participants who are in 
unsubsidized employment during the second 
quarter after exit from the program; and 
‘‘(B) a level of performance for each indi-
cator described in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(3) MONITORING
PROGRESS.—The Secretary 
shall monitor the progress of eligible entities that re-
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ceive grants under this section in ensuring that their 
programs meet the performance measures. 
‘‘SEC. 199A. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to 
carry out the program established by section 199. 
Funds appropriated under this subsection shall re-
main available until the end of the 5th full fiscal 
year after the date of enactment of the START Ca-
reer Pathways Act. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COST.—Not more than 5 
percent of the amounts made available under para-
graph (1) may be used by the Secretaries for Fed-
eral administration of the program described in that 
subsection, including providing technical assistance 
and carrying out evaluations for the program de-
scribed in that subsection. 
‘‘(3) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The funds ap-
propriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal 
year shall be available for Federal obligation for that 
fiscal year and the succeeding 4 fiscal years. 
‘‘(b) SECRETARIES DEFINED.—In this subtitle, the 
term ‘Secretaries’ means the Secretary of Labor and the 
Secretary of Education.’’. 
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SEC. 3. START (SHORT-TERM ACCELERATED RESKILLING 
TRACKS) PATHWAYS TO CAREERS FEDERAL 
PELL GRANTS. 
Section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1070a–1) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k) START
FEDERAL
PELL
GRANT
APPLICA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the award years begin-
ning on October 1, 2019, the Secretary shall carry 
out a program through which the Secretary shall 
award START Federal Pell Grants to students in el-
igible short-term programs. 
‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Each START 
Federal Pell Grant awarded under this subsection 
shall have the same terms and conditions, and be 
awarded in the same manner, as a Federal Pell 
Grant awarded under subsection (a), except as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(A) STUDENT
ELIGIBILITY.—A student 
who is eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant 
under this subsection is a student who— 
‘‘(i) has not yet attained a bacca-
laureate degree or postbaccalaureate de-
gree; and 
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‘‘(ii) is enrolled, or accepted for en-
rollment, in an eligible short-term program 
at an institution of higher education. 
‘‘(B) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a 
START Federal Pell Grant awarded under this 
subsection for an eligible student shall be deter-
mined 
under 
subsection 
(b)(2)(A), 
except 
that— 
‘‘(i) subsection (b)(4) shall be applied 
by substituting ‘5 percent’ for ‘ten per-
cent’; and 
‘‘(ii) no increase shall be calculated 
under subsection (b)(7)(B) for such stu-
dent. 
‘‘(C) INCLUSION IN DURATION LIMITS.— 
Any period during which a student receives a 
START Federal Pell Grant under this sub-
section shall be included in calculating the stu-
dent’s period of eligibility for Federal Pell 
Grants under subsection (c), and any regula-
tions under such subsection regarding students 
who are enrolled in an undergraduate program 
on less than a full-time basis shall similarly 
apply to students who are enrolled in an eligible 
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