Early Educators Apprenticeship Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3445 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 MARCH 11, 2020 Mr. YOUNG (for himself, Mr. CASEY, and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the fol- lowing 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 ap- prenticeships, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Early Educators Ap- 4 prenticeship Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) APPRENTICE.—The term ‘‘apprentice’’ 8 means an individual participating in a registered ap- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3445 IS prenticeship program focused on early childhood 1 education. 2 (2) APPRENTICESHIP.—Except when used in 3 referring to or defining the term ‘‘registered appren- 4 ticeship program’’, the term ‘‘apprenticeship’’ means 5 a registered apprenticeship program that trains ap- 6 prentices. 7 (3) CREDENTIAL OR DEGREE.—The term ‘‘cre- 8 dential or degree’’ means a recognized secondary or 9 postsecondary credential, a high school diploma or 10 its recognized equivalent, or a postsecondary degree 11 (including an associate, baccalaureate, or other de- 12 gree). 13 (4) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi- 14 ble partnership’’ means a partnership that— 15 (A) includes an individual employer or a 16 consortium of employers (including schools and 17 child care centers and family child care pro- 18 viders), and an institution of higher education; 19 and 20 (B) may include one or more— 21 (i) labor organizations; 22 (ii) workforce intermediaries; 23 (iii) economic development agencies; 24 (iv) community-based organizations; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3445 IS (v) State educational agencies or local 1 educational agencies, as such terms are de- 2 fined in section 8101 of the Elementary 3 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 4 U.S.C. 7801); and 5 (vi) providers of support or specialized 6 services for apprentices. 7 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 8 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 9 meaning given the term in section 101, and subpara- 10 graphs (A) and (B) of section 102(a)(1), of the 11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 12 1002(a)(1)). 13 (6) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 14 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 15 means an apprenticeship program registered under 16 the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as 17 the ‘‘National Apprenticeship Act’’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et 18 seq.), including any requirement, standard, or rule 19 promulgated under such Act as in effect on Decem- 20 ber 30, 2019. 21 (7) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise specifi- 22 cally provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 23 retary of Labor. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3445 IS (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 1 the several States, the District of Columbia, and the 2 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta- 4 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 5 and the Secretary of Education, shall award grants to eli- 6 gible partnerships to pay the Federal share of the costs 7 of developing, administering, and evaluating apprentice- 8 ships. 9 (c) APPLICATION.—An eligible partnership seeking a 10 grant under this Act shall submit an application to the 11 Secretary for approval at such time, in such manner, and 12 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 13 (d) USES OF FUNDS.— 14 (1) REQUIRED USES.—A grant under sub- 15 section (b) shall be used for activities that develop, 16 administer, and evaluate an apprenticeship, includ- 17 ing— 18 (A) equipping apprentices with specialized 19 knowledge, skills, and competencies required to 20 work in early childhood education; 21 (B) increasing the number of individuals 22 who complete an apprenticeship program and 23 obtain a credential or degree or a certificate of 24 completion of an apprenticeship program, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3445 IS cluding increasing such number in areas that 1 are underserved or rural; 2 (C) promoting recruitment and retention of 3 apprentices; 4 (D) providing a pathway to career ad- 5 vancement for apprentices by assisting such ap- 6 prentices in completing an apprenticeship; 7 (E) providing for evaluation and longitu- 8 dinal data regarding apprentices participating 9 in the program to determine long-term out- 10 comes, including information needed for pur- 11 poses of subsections (g) and (i); 12 (F) supporting partnerships with institu- 13 tions of higher education in the State in which 14 the eligible partnership serves, or will serve, ap- 15 prentices, businesses, and other entities partici- 16 pating in an apprenticeship to provide for— 17 (i) the award of postsecondary aca- 18 demic credit for related instruction or on- 19 the-job training provided through the ap- 20 prenticeship; and 21 (ii) the application of such credit to- 22 ward a credential or degree from an insti- 23 tution in the partnership; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3445 IS (G) developing strategies to hire and retain 1 qualified supervisors for apprentices that sup- 2 port such apprentices through— 3 (i) professional development; 4 (ii) mentorship; 5 (iii) evaluation; and 6 (iv) training. 7 (2) PERMITTED USES.—In addition to the re- 8 quirements under paragraph (1), a grant under sub- 9 section (b) may be used— 10 (A) in cooperation with the State agency 11 responsible for apprenticeships in the State in 12 which the eligible partnership serves or will 13 serve apprentices, to create or maintain a state- 14 wide resource database for businesses, institu- 15 tions of higher education, or other entities par- 16 ticipating in an apprenticeship to share best 17 practices, curricula, and other resources that di- 18 rectly contribute to administering an effective 19 apprenticeship; 20 (B) to establish primary indicators of per- 21 formance with respect to apprentices and indi- 22 viduals who have completed an apprenticeship 23 to be shared on any workforce registry of such 24 State and the registered apprenticeship pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3445 IS gram data system maintained by the Secretary 1 of Labor, including— 2 (i) the percentage of individuals who 3 have completed an apprenticeship and re- 4 main employed full-time in early childhood 5 education— 6 (I) 6 months after completing 7 such apprenticeship; and 8 (II) 1 year after completing such 9 apprenticeship; 10 (ii) the median earnings of individuals 11 who have completed an apprenticeship and 12 are employed full-time in early childhood 13 education within 6 months after com- 14 pleting such apprenticeship; 15 (iii) the percentage of apprentices who 16 obtain a credential or degree while partici- 17 pating in an apprenticeship; and 18 (iv) the percentage of individuals who 19 have completed an apprenticeship and who 20 begin or obtain a credential or degree with- 21 in 1 year after completing the apprentice- 22 ship; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3445 IS (C) to pay the costs of tuition and fees for 1 apprentices enrolled in programs of education 2 leading to a credential or degree. 3 (e) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize eligible 4 partnerships that— 5 (1) include in the eligible partnership, or have 6 developed partnerships, with— 7 (A) Indian Tribes in such State; or 8 (B) institutions of higher education that 9 serve minority populations; 10 (2) operate or serve an apprenticeship program 11 in a State that has a statewide credit articulation 12 agreement in place that ensures credit transfer be- 13 tween participating institutions of higher education 14 in the State and other relevant credential programs; 15 or 16 (3) provide an assurance that not less than 25 17 percent of the grant funds will be used to support 18 apprenticeships in underserved or rural commu- 19 nities. 20 (f) GRANT TERM AND LIMITATION.— 21 (1) TERM.—The term of a grant made under 22 this Act shall be 3 years. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3445 IS (2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall award no 1 greater than 20 grants under this section each fiscal 2 year. 3 (g) GRANT RECIPIENT EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 4 Not later than 1 year after receiving a grant under this 5 Act, and annually thereafter for the duration of the grant, 6 an eligible partnership shall submit to the Secretary a re- 7 port containing— 8 (1) an evaluation of the eligible partnership’s 9 apprenticeships to determine which program strate- 10 gies made progress toward— 11 (A) increasing the aggregate number of ap- 12 prentices; and 13 (B) increasing the retention rates of ap- 14 prentices; and 15 (2) the number of individuals served by the 16 grant who are enrolled in, or completed, an edu- 17 cational credential, in the aggregate and disaggre- 18 gated by type of credential or degree (including sec- 19 ondary school diploma, the recognized equivalent of 20 a secondary school diploma, a certificate, a creden- 21 tial, an associate degree, baccalaureate degree, and 22 any other category of secondary or postsecondary 23 credential) and as applicable, by specific educational 24 program within the credential or degree (including, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3445 IS if applicable, a child development associate creden- 1 tial). 2 (h) COST-SHARING.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 4 cost of any activity carried out using a grant made 5 under this Act shall be not more than 75 percent. 6 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Fed- 7 eral share of the total cost of any activity carried 8 out using a grant made under this Act may be in 9 the form of donations or in-kind contributions of 10 goods or services fairly valued. 11 (i) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 12 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 13 Congress a report on the effectiveness of each eligible 14 partnership that received a grant under this Act to de- 15 velop, administer, and evaluate apprenticeships, including 16 evaluating— 17 (1) an increase in the number of apprentices in 18 early childhood education; 19 (2) an increase in the retention rates of individ- 20 uals who work in early childhood education after 21 completing an apprenticeship; 22 (3) the career path of apprentices and individ- 23 uals who have completed an apprenticeship; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3445 IS (4) an increase in the number of credentials 1 and degrees obtained by apprentices. 2 (j) FUNDING.—To carry out the grant program 3 under this Act, the Secretary shall use amounts allocated 4 under section 414(c) of the American Competitiveness and 5 Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3224a). 6 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOAN RESTRIC- 7 TIONS. 8 The Secretary of Agriculture shall revise section 9 3555.102(c) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, to ex- 10 clude a business that is a licensed child care provider. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Mar 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3445.IS S3445 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS