[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2403 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2403

   To ensure that programs of training services under the Workforce 
Investment Act of 1998 make better use of participants' prior learning 
so as to better assist the participants in obtaining degrees and other 
     recognized postsecondary credentials, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 22, 2014

  Mr. Warner (for himself, Mr. Pryor, and Mr. Begich) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure that programs of training services under the Workforce 
Investment Act of 1998 make better use of participants' prior learning 
so as to better assist the participants in obtaining degrees and other 
     recognized postsecondary credentials, 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 ``Leverage Prior Skills Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) A recognized postsecondary credential is key to an 
        individual's self-sufficiency and upward mobility, and to 
        higher levels of family well-being.
            (2) Jobseekers often come to programs providing training 
        services with skills acquired through noncredit employment and 
        training programs, such as corporate or military training 
        programs, workplace-based learning programs, volunteer 
        activities, and other activities.
            (3) Workforce investment systems do not take into account 
        prior learning. Workers and students who have persisted through 
        demanding noncredit employment and training programs often have 
        to repeat courses when they attempt to earn a recognized 
        postsecondary credential through a workforce investment system, 
        wasting both money and time.
            (4) At a time when unemployment remains relatively high, 
        training services should be geared to allow participants to 
        quickly achieve recognized postsecondary credentials that lead 
        directly to employment.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to encourage States and 
local boards to develop competency-based workforce investment systems, 
to validate learning through noncredit employment and training programs 
and to award recognized postsecondary credentials.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.

    Section 122 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
2842) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(2)(D)--
                    (A) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period and 
                inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) if the provider proposes to provide 
                        a program of training services that leads to a 
                        recognized postsecondary credential, shall 
                        include in the application information on the 
                        quality of the services that lead to the 
                        credential.''; and
            (2) in subsection (c)(5)(A), by inserting ``the information 
        described in subsection (b)(2)(D)(iv) (for a program described 
        in that subsection) and'' after ``submit''.

SEC. 4. COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING.

    Section 134(a)(2)(B) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 
U.S.C. 2864(a)(2)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (v), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (iv), by striking the period and inserting 
        ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(vii) identifying and implementing a 
                        process by which local boards will enter into 
                        contracts with providers of training services 
                        under subsection (d)(4), or identify providers 
                        as eligible providers of training services 
                        under section 122, only if the providers 
                        involved agree to--
                                    ``(I) use direct assessments to 
                                assess, to the extent practical, the 
                                prior learning of the participants in 
                                noncredit employment and training 
                                programs; and
                                    ``(II) take that prior learning 
                                into account, to the extent practical, 
                                when determining whether such a 
                                participant has earned credit hours or 
                                made progress toward earning a degree 
                                from at an institution of higher 
                                education, or has earned or made 
                                progress towards earning a recognized 
                                postsecondary credential.''.
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