[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2124 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2124

To direct the Secretary of Labor to enter into contracts with industry 
intermediaries for purposes of promoting the development of and access 
to apprenticeships and related pre-apprenticeships for secondary school 
                               students.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2023

Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Moran) 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 enter into contracts with industry 
intermediaries for purposes of promoting the development of and access 
to apprenticeships and related pre-apprenticeships for secondary school 
                               students.

    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 ``Apprenticeship Pathways Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Apprenticeship.--The term ``apprenticeship'' means an 
        apprenticeship registered under the National Apprenticeship 
        Act.
            (2) Disability.--The term ``disability'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities 
        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102).
            (3) Disconnected youth.--The term ``disconnected youth'' 
        means any individual who--
                    (A) has attained age 16 but not age 25 on the date 
                of selection for an apprenticeship;
                    (B) is not regularly attending any secondary 
                school, area career and technical education school (as 
                defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
                Technical Education Act of 2006 (29 U.S.C. 2302)), or 
                postsecondary school during the 6-month period 
                preceding the date of selection for the apprenticeship; 
                and
                    (C) is not regularly employed during such 6-month 
                period.
            (4) Early college high school.--The term ``early college 
        high school'' has the meaning given such term in section 8101 
        of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 7801).
            (5) Educational service agency.--The term ``educational 
        service agency'' has the meaning given such term in section 
        8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 7801).
            (6) High school.--The term ``high school'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (7) Industry intermediary.--The term ``industry 
        intermediary'' means an entity that--
                    (A) in order to accelerate apprenticeship program 
                development, to help establish new apprenticeship 
                partnerships at the national, State, or regional level, 
                and to promote access to apprenticeships for secondary 
                school students, serves as a conduit between--
                            (i) an employer; and
                            (ii) an entity such as--
                                    (I) an industry partner;
                                    (II) the Department of Labor; and
                                    (III) a State agency responsible 
                                for workforce investment activities;
                    (B) demonstrates a capacity to work with employers 
                and other key partners to identify workforce trends and 
                foster public-private funding to establish new 
                apprenticeship programs; and
                    (C) is an entity such as--
                            (i) a business;
                            (ii) a business-related nonprofit 
                        organization, including industry associations 
                        and business federations;
                            (iii) a private organization functioning as 
                        a workforce intermediary for the express 
                        purpose of serving the needs of businesses, 
                        including community-based nonprofit service 
                        providers and industry-aligned training 
                        providers; or
                            (iv) a consortium of any of the entities 
                        described in clauses (i) through (iii).
            (8) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
        agency'' has the meaning given such term in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
            (9) National apprenticeship act.--The term ``National 
        Apprenticeship Act'' means 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.).
            (10) Pre-apprenticeship program.--The term ``pre-
        apprenticeship program'' means a training model or program 
        that--
                    (A) prepares individuals for acceptance into an 
                apprenticeship program;
                    (B) meets the standards, for such a model or 
                program, established under the National Apprenticeship 
                Act; and
                    (C) is registered under the National Apprenticeship 
                Act.
            (11) Region.--The term ``region'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
        Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
            (12) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 8101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (13) STEM.--The term ``STEM'' means science, technology, 
        engineering, and mathematics.

SEC. 3. SECONDARY EDUCATION APPRENTICESHIP CONTRACTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor (referred to in this 
section as ``the Secretary''), in consultation with the Secretary of 
Education, shall enter into contracts with industry intermediaries for 
the purpose of promoting the development of and access to 
apprenticeships for secondary school students, from amounts 
appropriated under subsection (f).
    (b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to be awarded a contract under 
this section, an industry intermediary shall submit an application to 
the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as may be required by 
the Secretary, that identifies proposed activities designed to further 
the purpose described in subsection (a).
    (c) Selection.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall award contracts under 
        this section based on competitive criteria to be prescribed by 
        the Secretary.
            (2) Priority consideration for contracts.--In awarding 
        contracts under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 
        consideration to intermediaries proposing contracts targeting--
                    (A) engagement with students from secondary schools 
                in which 40 percent of the students the local 
                educational agency serves are eligible for free or 
                reduced price lunches under the Richard B. Russell 
                National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.);
                    (B) engagement with students served by--
                            (i) rural high-need local educational 
                        agencies with locale codes of 32, 33, 41, 42, 
                        or 43; or
                            (ii) educational service agencies serving 
                        rural high-need local educational agencies with 
                        locale codes of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43;
                    (C) engagement with students residing in a Census 
                tract that is a high-poverty area, as defined in 
                section 681.260 of title 20, Code of Federal 
                Regulations, or a successor regulation;
                    (D) engagement with disconnected youth;
                    (E) engagement with an Indian child, as defined in 
                section 4 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 
                U.S.C. 1903);
                    (F) increasing participation of women in building 
                trades and technology; and
                    (G) engagement with individuals with disabilities.
    (d) Use of Funds.--
            (1) General activities.--An industry intermediary that is 
        awarded a contract under this section may only use the funds 
        made available through such contract to carry out activities 
        designed to further the purpose described in subsection (a), 
        including--
                    (A) facilitating the development and provision of 
                apprenticeships and related pre-apprenticeships, in the 
                occupations of high need listed in subsection (e), 
                through collaborations with public and private entities 
                that provide job-related instruction, such as on-the-
                job training, pre-apprenticeship training, and 
                technical training;
                    (B) encouraging entities to establish such 
                apprenticeships and related pre-apprenticeships;
                    (C) identifying, assessing, and training applicants 
                for such apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships who 
                are--
                            (i) enrolled in secondary school;
                            (ii) enrolled in an early college high 
                        school that focuses on education in STEM 
                        subjects;
                            (iii) individuals age 18 or older who meet 
                        appropriate qualification standards; or
                            (iv) enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship, or a 
                        training initiative for an apprenticeship, that 
                        allow adults to concurrently increase academic 
                        and workforce skills through proven, evidence-
                        based models that connect all learning to the 
                        specific apprenticeship involved and 
                        significantly accelerate completion of 
                        preparation for the apprenticeship;
                    (D) tracking the progress of such applicants who 
                participate in such apprenticeships;
                    (E) orientation and training prior to the 
                apprenticeship, and ongoing support;
                    (F) recruitment and retention of employer partners;
                    (G) administrative and operational activities;
                    (H) coaching, including development of life skills, 
                social-emotional skills, soft skills, employability 
                skills, and workforce readiness;
                    (I) wraparound support services, including 
                monitoring of academic progress of the apprentice, and 
                provision to the apprentice of financial incentives of 
                payments for child and family care costs (such as 
                transportation assistance or a gas card), and of free 
                tutoring and career services (which may include benefit 
                counseling), in order to create a community of 
                apprentices participating in the activities described 
                in subsection (b); and
                    (J) paying 50 percent of the wages of an apprentice 
                for the duration of the apprenticeship involved.
            (2) Goods and services.--An industry intermediary that 
        receives a contract under this section may use the funds made 
        available through such contract for goods and services, 
        including--
                    (A) related educational goods and services, 
                including provision of tuition assistance, books, and 
                fees associated with any related instruction;
                    (B) equipment and tools related to the 
                apprenticeship occupation;
                    (C) clothing, including construction boots, 
                kneepads, hard hats, and visibility vests, related to 
                the apprenticeship occupation; and
                    (D) technology and internet access.
    (e) Occupations of High Need.--The occupations of high need 
referred to in subsection (d)(1)(A) are occupations that relate to--
            (1) building trades, including--
                    (A) carpentry;
                    (B) plumbing;
                    (C) welding;
                    (D) electrician occupations;
                    (E) machinist occupations;
                    (F) mechanic occupations;
                    (G) pipe fitting;
                    (H) heating, ventilation, and air conditioning 
                occupations;
                    (I) operating engineer and equipment operator 
                occupations;
                    (J) cement mason occupations;
                    (K) sheet metal work occupations;
                    (L) boilermaker occupations;
                    (M) solar installation; and
                    (N) roofing;
            (2) architectural and engineering drafting and design;
            (3) healthcare, including the occupations of--
                    (A) emergency medical technicians;
                    (B) phlebotomists;
                    (C) pharmacy technicians;
                    (D) respiratory therapists;
                    (E) home health aides;
                    (F) radiologic technologists;
                    (G) licensed practical nurses;
                    (H) nurse technicians; and
                    (I) laboratory technicians;
            (4) teaching, including early childhood educators;
            (5) technology, including--
                    (A) computer science occupations;
                    (B) fabrication laboratory technician;
                    (C) telecommunications occupations;
                    (D) data science occupations; and
                    (E) product management; and
            (6) manufacturing.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be necessary for the 
purposes of carrying out this section.
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