Title: Early Educators Apprenticeship Act
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Early Educators Apprenticeship Act
This bill establishes a grant program to award to partnerships—which may include employers, institutions of higher education, labor unions, and community-based organizations—the federal share of the costs of apprenticeship programs focused on early childhood education.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 186 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 186

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 2, 2021

  Mr. Young (for himself, Mr. Casey, and Mrs. Capito) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Early Educators Apprenticeship 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Apprentice.--The term ``apprentice'' means an 
        individual participating in a registered apprenticeship program 
        focused on early childhood education.
            (2) Apprenticeship.--Except when used in referring to or 
        defining the term ``registered apprenticeship program'', the 
        term ``apprenticeship'' means a registered apprenticeship 
        program that trains apprentices.
            (3) Credential or degree.--The term ``credential or 
        degree'' means a recognized secondary or postsecondary 
        credential, a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent, 
        or a postsecondary degree (including an associate, 
        baccalaureate, or other degree).
            (4) Eligible partnership.--The term ``eligible 
        partnership'' means a partnership that--
                    (A) includes an individual employer or a consortium 
                of employers (including schools and child care centers 
                and family child care providers), and an institution of 
                higher education; and
                    (B) may include one or more--
                            (i) labor organizations;
                            (ii) workforce intermediaries;
                            (iii) economic development agencies;
                            (iv) community-based organizations;
                            (v) State educational agencies or local 
                        educational agencies, as such terms are defined 
                        in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
                        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and
                            (vi) providers of support or specialized 
                        services for apprentices.
            (5) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101, and subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 
        102(a)(1), of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 
        1002(a)(1)).
            (6) 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''; 50 Stat. 664, 
        chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), including any requirement, 
        standard, or rule promulgated under such Act as in effect on 
        December 30, 2019.
            (7) Secretary.--Except as otherwise specifically provided, 
        the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Labor.
            (8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico.
    (b) Establishment.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education, 
shall award grants to eligible partnerships to pay the Federal share of 
the costs of developing, administering, and evaluating apprenticeships.
    (c) Application.--An eligible partnership 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.
    (d) Uses of Funds.--
            (1) Required uses.--A grant under subsection (b) 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 individuals who 
                complete an apprenticeship program and obtain a 
                credential or degree or a certificate of completion of 
                an apprenticeship program, including increasing such 
                number in areas that are underserved or rural;
                    (C) promoting recruitment and retention of 
                apprentices;
                    (D) providing a pathway to career advancement for 
                apprentices by assisting such apprentices in completing 
                an apprenticeship;
                    (E) providing for evaluation and longitudinal data 
                regarding apprentices participating in the program to 
                determine long-term outcomes, including information 
                needed for purposes of subsections (g) and (i);
                    (F) supporting partnerships with institutions of 
                higher education in the State in which the eligible 
                partnership serves, or will serve, apprentices, 
                businesses, and other entities participating in an 
                apprenticeship to provide for--
                            (i) the award of postsecondary academic 
                        credit for related instruction or on-the-job 
                        training provided through the apprenticeship; 
                        and
                            (ii) the application of such credit toward 
                        a credential or degree from an institution in 
                        the partnership; and
                    (G) 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 (b) may be used--
                    (A) in cooperation with the State agency 
                responsible for apprenticeships in the State in which 
                the eligible partnership serves or will serve 
                apprentices, to create or maintain a statewide resource 
                database for businesses, institutions of higher 
                education, or other entities participating in an 
                apprenticeship to share best practices, curricula, and 
                other resources that directly contribute to 
                administering an effective apprenticeship;
                    (B) to establish primary indicators of performance 
                with respect to apprentices and individuals who have 
                completed an apprenticeship to be shared on any 
                workforce registry of such State and the registered 
                apprenticeship program data system maintained by the 
                Secretary of Labor, 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 credential or degree while 
                        participating in an apprenticeship; and
                            (iv) the percentage of individuals who have 
                        completed an apprenticeship and who begin or 
                        obtain a credential or degree within 1 year 
                        after completing the apprenticeship; and
                    (C) to pay the costs of tuition and fees for 
                apprentices enrolled in programs of education leading 
                to a credential or degree.
    (e) Priority.--The Secretary shall prioritize eligible partnerships 
that--
            (1) include in the eligible partnership, or have developed 
        partnerships with--
                    (A) Indian Tribes in the State in which the 
                eligible partnership serves or will serve apprentices; 
                or
                    (B) institutions of higher education that serve 
                minority populations;
            (2) operate or serve an apprenticeship program in a State 
        that has 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) provide an assurance that not less than 25 percent of 
        the grant funds will be used to support apprenticeships in 
        underserved or rural communities.
    (f) 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 under this section each fiscal year.
    (g) Grant Recipient Evaluation and Report.--Not later than 1 year 
after receiving a grant under this Act, and annually thereafter for the 
duration of the grant, an eligible partnership shall submit to the 
Secretary a report containing--
            (1) an evaluation of the eligible partnership's 
        apprenticeships to determine which program strategies made 
        progress toward--
                    (A) increasing the aggregate number of apprentices; 
                and
                    (B) increasing the retention rates of apprentices; 
                and
            (2) the number of individuals served by the grant who are 
        enrolled in, or completed, an educational credential, in the 
        aggregate and disaggregated by type of credential or degree 
        (including secondary school diploma, the recognized equivalent 
        of a secondary school diploma, a certificate, a credential, an 
        associate degree, a baccalaureate degree, and any other 
        category of secondary or postsecondary credential) and as 
        applicable, by specific educational program within the 
        credential or degree (including, if applicable, a child 
        development associate credential).
    (h) 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.
    (i) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 
effectiveness of each eligible partnership 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.
    (j) 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).

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOAN RESTRICTIONS.

    The Secretary of Agriculture shall revise section 3555.102(c) of 
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, to exclude a business that is a 
licensed child care provider.
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