Title: Skilled Labor Education Act of 2018
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Skilled Labor Education Act of 2018
This bill authorizes cancelling Perkins Loans for public service as part-time teachers. It also authorizes grants to institutions of higher education to improve career and technical education for teachers or teacher candidates.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5944 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5944

    To improve career and technical education by providing improved 
   educational opportunities and financial assistance for career and 
                          technical educators.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2018

  Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To improve career and technical education by providing improved 
   educational opportunities and financial assistance for career and 
                          technical educators.

    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 ``Skilled Labor Education Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. SCHOLARSHIPS TO PREPARE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 
              TEACHERS.

    Part B of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1031 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 230, by inserting ``, except subpart 6,'' 
        after ``this part''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subpart:

  ``Subpart 6--Scholarships to Prepare Career and Technical Education 
                               Teachers.

``SEC. 259. SCHOLARSHIPS TO PREPARE CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 
              TEACHERS.

    ``(a) Grants by Secretary.--
            ``(1) Authorization.--The Secretary is authorized to award 
        grants to eligible institutions to enable such institutions to 
        make scholarship awards to qualified teacher candidates in 
        accordance with the provisions of this section.
            ``(2) Designation.--A scholarship under this section--
                    ``(A) for a teacher candidate pursuing a 
                baccalaureate or master's degree in education shall be 
                known as a `Career and Technical Educator Scholarship' 
                or a `CTE Scholarship'; and
                    ``(B) for a teacher candidate pursuing an 
                associate's degree, certification in education, or 
                industry-recognized certification or licensure, shall 
                be known as a `Skilled Labor Educator Scholarship' or a 
                `SLE Scholarship'.
            ``(3) Considerations.--In awarding grants and contracts 
        under this subsection the Secretary shall make every effort to 
        ensure--
                    ``(A) the equitable distribution of scholarship 
                funds to teacher candidates pursuing baccalaureate 
                degrees, master's degrees, and associate's degrees or 
                certifications;
                    ``(B) the equitable participation of public and 
                private nonprofit institutions of higher education 
                (including community colleges); and
                    ``(C) the equitable geographic participation of 
                such institutions.
    ``(b) Eligible Institutions.--In this section, the term eligible 
institution means an institution of higher education, as defined in 
section 101 or section 102(c), that--
            ``(1) offers a program of undergraduate or graduate 
        education awarding a baccalaureate or master's degree in 
        education; or
            ``(2) is a community college that offers a program of 
        undergraduate education awarding an associate's degree, 
        certification in education, or industry-recognized 
        certification or licensure.
    ``(c)  Applications.--An eligible institution that desires a grant 
under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may reasonably require.
    ``(d) Types of Scholarships Supported.--
            ``(1) In general.--An eligible institution that receives a 
        grant under this section shall use the grant funds to provide 
        scholarships to qualified teacher candidates who are preparing 
        to become teachers of qualified career and technical education 
        courses for secondary school students.
            ``(2) Types of study.--A scholarship provided under this 
        section shall support a teacher candidate in pursuing--
                    ``(A) a baccalaureate or master's degree in 
                education; or
                    ``(B) an associate's degree, certification in 
                education, or industry-recognized certification or 
                licensure.
    ``(e) Scholarship Terms and Conditions.--
            ``(1) Selection of scholarship recipients.--The Secretary 
        shall ensure that an eligible institution that receives a grant 
        under this section--
                    ``(A) shall provide scholarship awards to qualified 
                teacher candidates who plan to pursue a career teaching 
                qualified career and technical education courses;
                    ``(B) shall select scholarship recipients from 
                qualified teacher candidates based on academic merit 
                and demonstrated financial need; and
                    ``(C) may not provide a scholarship to an otherwise 
                eligible individual--
                            ``(i) during periods in which such 
                        individual is enrolled at an institution of 
                        higher education unless such individual is 
                        maintaining satisfactory academic progress in, 
                        and devoting full-time study or research to, 
                        the pursuit of the degree or certificate for 
                        which the scholarship support was provided; or
                            ``(ii) if the individual is engaged in 
                        gainful employment, other than part-time 
                        employment related to teaching, research, or a 
                        similar activity determined by the institution 
                        to be consistent with and supportive of the 
                        individuals's progress toward the degree or 
                        certificate for which the scholarship support 
                        was provided.
            ``(2) Amount of scholarship awards.--An eligible 
        institution that receives a grant under this section shall 
        award to each teacher candidate who is provided a scholarship 
        under this section $5,000 for each academic year of the 
        scholarship, not to exceed $10,000 in total.
            ``(3) Scholarship period.--The period for which a teacher 
        candidate may receive a scholarship under this section shall be 
        one academic year, and such scholarship may be renewed for one 
        additional academic year.
            ``(4) Service requirement.--
                    ``(A) Teaching required.--Upon completion of the 
                program for which a teacher candidate receives a 
                scholarship under this section, the teacher candidate 
                shall, for each year of scholarship support received 
                under this section, be employed full-time for one year 
                as a teacher of qualified career and technical 
                education courses.
                    ``(B) Agreement required.--Prior to receiving an 
                initial scholarship award, and upon renewal of the 
                scholarship award, a teacher candidate selected to 
                receive a scholarship under this section shall sign an 
                agreement with the Secretary agreeing to--
                            ``(i) promptly obtain the applicable State 
                        certification and licensure requirements, 
                        including any requirements for certification 
                        obtained through alternative routes to 
                        certification, necessary to teach secondary 
                        school students;
                            ``(ii) serve as a full-time teacher of 
                        secondary school students in accordance with 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(iii) submit evidence of such service in 
                        the form of a certification by the chief 
                        administrative officer of the teacher's 
                        employer upon completion of each year of such 
                        service.
                    ``(C) Institutional obligation.--Each eligible 
                institution that receives a grant under this section 
                shall provide--
                            ``(i) to each teacher candidate applying 
                        for a scholarship under this section a plain-
                        language disclosure form developed by the 
                        Secretary that clearly describes the nature of 
                        the scholarship award, the service obligation, 
                        and the loan repayment requirements that are 
                        the consequence of the failure to complete such 
                        service obligation; and
                            ``(ii) an assurance to the Secretary that 
                        the institution has inquired of and determined 
                        the decision of each teacher candidate who has 
                        received a scholarship to, within 2 years of 
                        completing the program for which a teacher 
                        candidate receives a scholarship under this 
                        section, begin employment as a teacher, as 
                        required by this section.
                    ``(D) Failure to comply.--If an individual who 
                receives a scholarship award under this section fails 
                to comply with the agreement signed pursuant to 
                subparagraph (C), the sum of the amounts of any 
                scholarship award received by such recipient shall, 
                upon a determination of such a failure, be treated as a 
                Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D 
                of title IV, and shall be subject to repayment, 
                together with interest thereon accruing from the date 
                of the scholarship award, in accordance with terms and 
                conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations 
                under this section.
                    ``(E) Modified service requirement.--The Secretary 
                may waive or modify the service requirement of this 
                paragraph in accordance with regulations promulgated by 
                the Secretary with respect to the criteria to determine 
                the circumstances under which compliance with such 
                service requirement is inequitable or represents a 
                substantial hardship. The Secretary may waive the 
                service requirement if compliance by the scholarship 
                recipient is determined to be inequitable or represent 
                a substantial hardship--
                            ``(i) because the individual is permanently 
                        and totally disabled at the time of the waiver 
                        request;
                            ``(ii) because the individual was unable to 
                        complete the necessary program of study due to 
                        natural disaster; or
                            ``(iii) based on documentation presented to 
                        the Secretary of substantial economic or 
                        personal hardship.
            ``(5) Qualified educational expenses.--Scholarship funds 
        available to a teacher candidate under this section may be used 
        for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for 
        the completion of the undergraduate baccalaureate or graduate 
        course of study being pursued by the teacher candidate at the 
        institution of higher education at which the teacher candidate 
        is in attendance.
            ``(6) Relation to other assistance.--Scholarships provided 
        under this section shall not be considered for the purpose of 
        awarding Federal grant assistance under title IV, except that 
        in no case shall the total amount of student financial 
        assistance awarded to a teacher candidate under this section 
        and title IV exceed such candidate's total cost of attendance 
        (as defined in section 472).
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Community college.--The term `community college' has 
        the meaning given the term `junior or community college' in 
        section 312(f).
            ``(2) Qualified career and technical education courses.--
        The term `qualified career and technical education courses' 
        means courses offered by a secondary school or an area career 
        and technical education school (as defined in section 3 of the 
        Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006) 
        that are offered as part of a career and technical education 
        (as defined in section 3 of such Act).
            ``(3) Qualified teacher candidate.--The term `qualified 
        teacher candidate' means an individual who--
                    ``(A) is (or will be) an eligible student for 
                purposes of section 484;
                    ``(B) has a cumulative grade point average (or the 
                equivalent as determined under regulations prescribed 
                by the Secretary) of--
                            ``(i) 3.0, in the case of an individual who 
                        is or was enrolled in a secondary school and 
                        has not yet enrolled in an undergraduate 
                        program of education;
                            ``(ii) 2.5, in the case of an individual 
                        who is or was enrolled in an undergraduate 
                        program of education and has not yet enrolled 
                        in a graduate program of education; or
                            ``(iii) 3.0, in the case of an individual 
                        who is or was enrolled in a graduate program of 
                        education; and
                    ``(C) is (or will be) enrolled full-time at an 
                eligible institution.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 
and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.''.

SEC. 3. CANCELLATION OF FEDERAL PERKINS LOANS FOR CERTAIN PART-TIME 
              PUBLIC SERVICE.

    Section 465(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087ee(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (L), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end of clause (ii);
                    (B) in subparagraph (M), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (M) the 
                following new subparagraph:
                    ``(N) described in subparagraphs (A) through (M) 
                that is performed on a part-time basis, as determined 
                in accordance with paragraph (8), provided that the 
                individual performing such service is not engaging in 
                gainful employment other than such eligible part-time 
                service.'';
            (2) in paragraph (3)(A)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (ii);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of clause 
                (iii) and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(iv) in the case of service described in 
                        subparagraph (N) of paragraph (2), at the rate 
                        of 5 percent for the first or second year of 
                        such service, 10 percent for the third or 
                        fourth year of such service, and 15 percent for 
                        the fifth year of such service.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) For the purpose of this section, the term `part-time' 
        means less than full-time service--
                    ``(A) for at least 20 hours per week for a complete 
                year; or
                    ``(B) for at least 3 full days per week, or for 
                partial days equaling at least 3 full days per week, 
                for a complete year.''.

SEC. 4. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATOR ENHANCEMENT COMPETITIVE GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    Title VIII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1161a et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

          ``PART BB--CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATOR ENHANCEMENT

``SEC. 899. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATOR ENHANCEMENT COMPETITIVE GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--From the amounts appropriated under subsection 
(h), the Secretary shall award competitive grants to 10 eligible 
institutions for the purpose of improving career and technical 
education by developing and carrying out programs that provide ongoing 
training and professional development to educators who teach career and 
technical education courses at the secondary and postsecondary levels.
    ``(b) Eligible Institutions.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under subsection (a), an institution shall--
            ``(1) be an institution of higher education as defined in 
        section 101 or section 102(c); and
            ``(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an application, 
        at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
        as the Secretary may require.
    ``(c) Consideration of Applications.--The Secretary shall establish 
procedures to ensure that applications under subsection (b)(2) are 
rigorously reviewed and that grants are competitively awarded based 
on--
            ``(1) the ability of the applicant to increase the number 
        of qualified individuals that serve as teachers in career and 
        technical education programs for secondary and postsecondary 
        students;
            ``(2) the ability of the applicant to provide training for 
        individuals to become career and technical education teachers 
        and teacher aids at secondary and postsecondary schools;
            ``(3) the ability of the applicant to provide training to 
        improve the skills of experienced career and technical 
        education teachers and teacher aids at secondary and 
        postsecondary schools; and
            ``(4) any other consideration the Secretary determines 
        necessary.
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--Amounts received under a grant under this 
section--
            ``(1) shall be used by the eligible institution to develop 
        and operate a training and professional development program 
        to--
                    ``(A) prepare individuals to become teachers of 
                career and technical education courses at the secondary 
                or postsecondary level; and
                    ``(B) enhance the knowledge and skills of 
                individuals who are employed as teachers of career and 
                technical education courses at the secondary or 
                postsecondary level; and
            ``(2) may be used by the eligible institution to improve 
        facilities and equipment used to train career and technical 
        educators, except that the eligible institution shall not use 
        more than 30 percent of such amounts to carry out this 
        paragraph.
    ``(e) Duration of Grant.--A grant under this section shall be for a 
period of 5 years.
    ``(f) Maximum Amount of Grant.--The amount of a grant provided 
under this section to an eligible institution may not exceed $100,000 
for the period of the grant.
    ``(g) Definition.--In this section, the term `career and technical 
education' has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Carl D. 
Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302).
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal year 2020 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years. Amounts 
appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until 
expended.''.
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