To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to develop, administer, and evaluate early childhood education apprenticeships, and for other purposes.
Bill: H.R.702 | Sponsor: Rep. Guthrie, Brett (R-KY)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
This bill requires the Department of Labor to award grants to states to develop, administer, and evaluate registered apprenticeship programs focused on early childhood education.

To direct the Secretary of Labor to award grants to develop, 
administer, and evaluate early childhood education apprenticeships, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. GRANTS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION APPRENTICESHIP 
              PROGRAMS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education, 
shall award grants to States to develop, administer, and evaluate 
apprenticeships.
    (b) Application.--A State seeking a grant under this Act shall 
submit an application to the Secretary for approval at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
require.
    (c) Uses of Funds.--
            (1) Required uses.--A grant under subsection (a) shall be 
        used for activities that develop, administer, and evaluate an 
        apprenticeship, including--
                    (A) equipping apprentices with specialized 
                knowledge, skills, and competencies required to work in 
                early childhood education;
                    (B) increasing the number of apprentices (including 
                apprentices that are in areas that are underserved or 
                rural) with a recognized postsecondary credential, a 
                certificate of completion of an apprenticeship, or a 
                degree from an institution of higher education;
                    (C) promoting recruitment and retention of 
                apprentices;
                    (D) providing a pathway to career advancement for 
                apprentices by assisting such apprentices in completing 
                an apprenticeship and tracking the percent of such 
                completions, including the apprentices who--
                            (i) attend an institution of higher 
                        education after completing an apprenticeship; 
                        and
                            (ii) enter into employment that is 
                        unsubsidized after completing an 
                        apprenticeship;
                    (E) supporting partnerships with institutions of 
                higher education in the State, businesses, and other 
                entities participating in an apprenticeship to provide 
                for academic credit for instruction related to the 
                apprenticeship and the application of such credit 
                toward a degree at an institution of higher education; 
                and
                    (F) developing strategies to hire and retain 
                qualified supervisors for apprentices that support such 
                apprentices through--
                            (i) professional development;
                            (ii) mentorship;
                            (iii) evaluation; and
                            (iv) training.
            (2) Permitted uses.--In addition to the requirements under 
        paragraph (1), a grant under subsection (a) may be used to--
                    (A) coordinate with the State apprenticeship agency 
                to determine and disseminate best practices, 
                recommended curricula, or other resources on 
                administering effective apprenticeships for businesses, 
                institutions of higher education, or other entities 
                participating in an apprenticeship; and
                    (B) establish primary indicators of performance 
                with respect to apprentices and individuals who have 
                completed an apprenticeship to be shared on State and 
                national workforce registries (commonly known as 
                ``Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Data 
                Systems''), including--
                            (i) the percentage of individuals who have 
                        completed an apprenticeship and remain employed 
                        full-time in early childhood education--
                                    (I) 6 months after completing such 
                                apprenticeship; and
                                    (II) 1 year after completing such 
                                apprenticeship;
                            (ii) the median earnings of individuals who 
                        have completed an apprenticeship and are 
                        employed full-time in early childhood education 
                        within 6 months after completing such 
                        apprenticeship;
                            (iii) the percentage of apprentices who 
                        obtain a recognized postsecondary credential, a 
                        secondary school diploma, or the recognized 
                        equivalent of such diploma while participating 
                        in an apprenticeship; and
                            (iv) the percentage of individuals who have 
                        completed an apprenticeship and who begin or 
                        obtain a recognized postsecondary credential or 
                        degree, a secondary school diploma, or the 
                        recognized equivalent of such diploma within 1 
                        year after completing an apprenticeship.
    (d) Priority.--The Secretary shall prioritize State applicants 
that--
            (1) have developed partnerships with--
                    (A) Indian Tribes in such State; or
                    (B) institutions of higher education that serve 
                minority populations;
            (2) have a statewide credit articulation agreement in place 
        that ensures credit transfer between participating institutions 
        of higher education in the State and other relevant credential 
        programs; or
            (3) assure that no less than 25 percent of the grant funds 
        will be used to support apprenticeships in underserved or rural 
        communities.
    (e) Grant Term and Limitation.--
            (1) Term.--The term of a grant made under this Act shall be 
        3 years.
            (2) Limitation.--The Secretary shall award no greater than 
        20 grants each fiscal year.
    (f) Cost-Sharing.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal share of the cost of any 
        activity carried out using a grant made under this Act shall be 
        not more than 75 percent.
            (2) In-kind contributions.--The non-Federal share of the 
        total cost of any activity carried out using a grant made under 
        this Act may be in the form of donations or in-kind 
        contributions of goods or services fairly valued.
    (g) State Evaluation and Report to Secretary.--
            (1) Evaluation and report.--Not later than 1 year after 
        receiving a grant under this Act, and annually thereafter for 
        the duration of the grant, a State shall submit to the 
        Secretary a report containing an evaluation of the 
        apprenticeships to determine which program strategies made 
        progress toward--
                    (A) increasing the aggregate number of apprentices; 
                and
                    (B) increasing the retention rates of apprentices.
            (2) Rule for reporting data.--The disaggregation of data 
        under this Act shall not be required when the number of 
        apprentices in a category is insufficient to yield 
        statistically reliable information or when the results would 
        reveal personally identifiable information about an apprentice.
    (h) Report to Congress.--Not later than 5 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the effectiveness of each State that received a grant under 
this Act to develop, administer, and evaluate apprenticeships, 
including evaluating--
            (1) an increase in the number of apprentices in early 
        childhood education;
            (2) an increase in the retention rates of individuals who 
        work in early childhood education after completing an 
        apprenticeship;
            (3) the career path of apprentices and individuals who have 
        completed an apprenticeship; and
            (4) an increase in the number of credentials and degrees 
        obtained by apprentices.
    (i) Funding.--To carry out the grant program under this Act, the 
Secretary shall use amounts allocated under section 414(c) of the 
American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (29 
U.S.C. 3224a).
    (j) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Apprentice.--The term ``apprentice'' means an 
        individual participating in a registered apprenticeship program 
        focused on early childhood education as that term is defined 
        under section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1003).
            (2) Apprenticeship.--The term ``apprenticeship'' means a 
        registered apprenticeship program that trains apprentices.
            (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term under section 102(a)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)(1)).
            (4) Registered apprenticeship program.--The term 
        ``registered apprenticeship program'' means an apprenticeship 
        program registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly 
        known as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 29 U.S.C. 50 et 
        seq.).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Labor.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico.
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