Title: Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act of 2017
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act of 2017
This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to revise the requirements for the plan of a state seeking federal assistance for career and technical education programs. The state plan must describe how the eligible state agency will ensure the quality of any program of study culminating in an industry-recognized certificate, credential, or license.
State agency leadership activities must support career academies which:
Local plans for career and technical education programs must describe: (1) how the eligible recipient of assistance will assess local needs related to career and technical education as part of the local plan development process, and (2) how this needs assessment will be updated annually, especially on progress toward specific elements leading to high-quality implementation of career and technical education programs of study.
The bill authorizes the local use of funds for improving such programs to support career academies.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 628 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 628

To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 
to raise the quality of career and technical education programs and to 
   allow local eligible recipients to use funding to establish high-
                       quality career academies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2017

   Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Portman, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Young) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 
to raise the quality of career and technical education programs and to 
   allow local eligible recipients to use funding to establish high-
                       quality career academies.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act 
of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9), (10) 
        through (23), and (24) through (34), as paragraphs (7) through 
        (10), (12) through (25), and (27) through (37), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
            ``(6) Career and technical education program of study.--The 
        term `career and technical education program of study' means a 
        coordinated, non-duplicative sequence of secondary and 
        postsecondary academic and technical courses that--
                    ``(A) incorporate rigorous, State-identified 
                postsecondary education and workforce readiness 
                standards, including State-identified career and 
                technical education standards that address both 
                academic and technical contents;
                    ``(B) support attainment of employability and 
                career readiness skills;
                    ``(C) progress in content specificity (by beginning 
                with all aspects of an industry or career cluster and 
                leading to more occupationally specific instruction or 
                by preparing students for ongoing postsecondary career 
                preparation);
                    ``(D) incorporate multiple entry and exit points 
                with portable demonstrations of technical or career 
                competency, which may include credit-transfer 
                agreements or industry-recognized certifications; and
                    ``(E) culminate in the attainment of--
                            ``(i) an industry-recognized certification, 
                        credential, or license;
                            ``(ii) a registered apprenticeship or 
                        credit-bearing postsecondary certificate; or
                            ``(iii) an associate or baccalaureate 
                        degree.'';
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1), the following:
            ``(11) Credit-transfer agreement.--The term `credit-
        transfer agreement' means an opportunity for secondary students 
        to be awarded transcripted postsecondary credit, supported with 
        a formal agreement between secondary and postsecondary 
        education systems, for--
                    ``(A) technical credit such as dual enrollment, 
                dual credit, or articulated credit, which may include 
                credit by examination or credit by performance on 
                technical assessments; or
                    ``(B) academic credit such as dual enrollment, dual 
                credit, or articulated credit, which may include credit 
                by examination or credit by performance on academic 
                assessments.''; and
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (25), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1), the following:
            ``(26) Registered apprenticeship program.--The term 
        `registered apprenticeship program' means an apprenticeship 
        program--
                    ``(A) registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 
                (commonly known as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 
                50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.); and
                    ``(B) that meets such other criteria as may be 
                established by the Secretary under this section.''.

SEC. 3. STATE PLAN.

    Section 122(c)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2342(c)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking subparagraph (A);
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (L) as 
        subparagraphs (A) through (K), respectively; and
            (3) in subparagraph (A), as redesignated by paragraph (2), 
        by striking ``the career and technical programs of study 
        described in subparagraph (A)'' and inserting ``career and 
        technical education programs of study, including a description 
        of how the eligible agency will ensure the quality of any 
        program of study culminating in an industry-recognized 
        certificate, credential, or license''.

SEC. 4. STATE LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES.

    Section 124 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2344) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(6), by striking ``programs of study, 
        as described in section 122(c)(1)(A)'' and inserting 
        ``education programs of study''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (9), by striking ``, career 
                academies,'';
                    (B) in paragraph (16)(B), by striking ``and'' after 
                the semicolon;
                    (C) in paragraph (17), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(18) support for career academies, which--
                    ``(A) implement a postsecondary education and 
                workforce ready curriculum at the secondary education 
                level that integrates rigorous academic, technical, and 
                employability contents through career and technical 
                education programs of study and high-quality elements, 
                including those described in section 134(b)(7);
                    ``(B) include experiential or work-based learning 
                for secondary school students, in collaboration with 
                local and regional employers;
                    ``(C) include opportunities for secondary school 
                students to earn postsecondary credit while in 
                secondary school, such as through credit transfer 
                agreements including dual enrollment; and
                    ``(D) establish and maintain ongoing partnerships--
                            ``(i) between the local educational agency, 
                        business and industry, and institutions of 
                        higher education or postsecondary vocational 
                        institutions (as defined in section 102(c) of 
                        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                        1002(c))); and
                            ``(ii) which may also include local 
                        government, such as workforce and economic 
                        development entities.''.

SEC. 5. LOCAL PLAN FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

    Section 134(b) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2354(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``programs of study 
        described in section 122(c)(1)(A)'' and inserting ``education 
        programs of study''; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
            ``(7) describe how the eligible recipient will conduct an 
        assessment of local needs related to career and technical 
        education as part of the local plan development process and how 
        such needs assessment will be updated annually in subsequent 
        years of the local plan, including how the needs assessment 
        includes an evaluation of progress toward specific elements 
        leading to high-quality implementation of career and technical 
        education programs of study, including--
                    ``(A) sustained, intensive, and focused 
                professional development for teachers, principals, 
                administrators, and school counselors on both content 
                and pedagogy that--
                            ``(i) supports high-quality academic and 
                        career and technical education instruction; and
                            ``(ii) ensures local, regional, and State 
                        labor market information as applicable is 
                        utilized to make informed decisions about 
                        program offerings and to advise students of 
                        career opportunities and benefits;
                    ``(B) a curriculum aligned with the requirements 
                for a career and technical education program of study;
                    ``(C) teaching and learning strategies focused on 
                the integration of academic and career and technical 
                education content, including supports necessary to 
                implement such strategies;
                    ``(D) ongoing relationships between education, 
                business and industry, and other community 
                stakeholders;
                    ``(E) opportunities for secondary students to earn 
                postsecondary credit while in secondary school, such as 
                through credit transfer agreements including dual 
                enrollment;
                    ``(F) career and technical student organizations or 
                other activities that promote the development of 
                leadership and employability skills;
                    ``(G) appropriate equipment and technology aligned 
                with business and industry needs;
                    ``(H) a continuum of work-based learning 
                opportunities, such as job shadowing, mentorships, 
                internships, apprenticeships, clinical experiences, 
                service learning experiences, and cooperative 
                education;
                    ``(I) valid and reliable technical skills 
                assessments to measure student achievement, which may 
                include industry-recognized certifications or may lead 
                to other credentials;
                    ``(J) support services to ensure equitable 
                participation for all students; and
                    ``(K) recruitment and retention efforts to ensure 
                highly effective educators, principals, and 
                administrators.''.

SEC. 6. LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.

    Section 135 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2355) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``programs of 
                study described in section 122(c)(1)(A)''; and 
                inserting ``education programs of study''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``career and 
                technical program of study described in section 
                122(c)(1)(A)'' and inserting ``career and technical 
                education program of study''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (19)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
                        ``programs of study described in section 
                        122(c)(1)(A)'' and inserting ``education 
                        programs of study''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
                        ``and'' after the semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (20), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(21) to provide support for career academies, as 
        described in section 124(c)(18).''.

SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    Section 113 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2323) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(4)(C)(ii)(I), by striking ``section 
        3(29)'' and inserting ``section 3(32)''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)(2)(A), by striking ``section 3(29)'' 
        and inserting ``section 3(32)''.
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