[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 184 (Thursday, September 25, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46111-46114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18639]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 75
[Docket ID ED-2025-OS-0679]
Proposed Priority and Definitions--Secretary's Supplemental
Priority and Definitions on Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education.
ACTION: Proposed priority and definitions.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes one additional priority and related
definitions for use in currently authorized discretionary grant
programs or programs that may be authorized in the future. The
Secretary may choose to use the entire priority for a grant program or
a particular competition or use one or more of the priority's component
parts. This priority and definitions augment the initial set of three
Secretary's Supplemental Priorities on Evidence-Based Literacy,
Educational Choice, and Returning Education to the States published as
final priorities on September 9, 2025 (90 FR 43514), the Secretary's
Supplemental Priority on Artificial Intelligence published as a
proposed priority on July 21, 2025 (90 FR 34203), and the Secretary's
Supplemental Priority on Promoting Patriotic Education published as a
proposed priority on September 17, 2025 (90 FR 44788). In addition,
this priority complements the additional Secretary's Supplemental
Priority and Definitions on Meaningful Learning Opportunities published
as a proposed priority elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before October 27, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at Regulations.gov. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
for more details.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Rogers, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 7W213, Washington, DC 20202-
6450. Telephone: (202) 260-1144. Email: [email protected].
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment: We invite you to submit comments regarding
the proposed priority and definitions. Comments must be submitted via
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at Regulations.gov. However, if you
require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your comments via
Regulations.gov, please contact the program contact person listed under
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The Department will not accept
comments by fax or by email, or comments submitted after the comment
period closes. To ensure that the Department does not receive duplicate
copies, please submit your comments only once. Additionally, please
include the Docket ID at the top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.Regulations.gov to submit
your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov,
including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under
``FAQ.'' Also included on Regulations.gov is a commenter checklist that
addresses how to submit effective comments.
In instances where individual submissions appear to be duplicates
or near duplicates of comments prepared
[[Page 46112]]
as part of a writing campaign, the Department may choose to post to
Regulations.gov one representative sample comment along with the total
comment count for that campaign. The Department will consider these
comments along with all other comments received. In instances where
individual submissions are bundled together (submitted as a single
document or packaged together), the Department will post all of the
substantive comments included in the submissions along with the total
comment count for that document or package to Regulations.gov. Comments
containing personal threats will not be posted to Regulations.gov and
may be referred to the appropriate authorities.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect public
comments about the proposed priority and definitions by accessing
Regulations.gov. To inspect comments in person, please contact the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to generally make all
comments received from members of the public available for public
viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
Regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include in
their comments only information that they wish to make publicly
available.
Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record: On request, we will provide an appropriate
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the
public rulemaking record for this document. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3, 3474, and 29 U.S.C. 3101.
Proposed Priority: This document contains one proposed priority.
Proposed Priority: Expanding Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness
Background: At the U.S. Department of Education, prioritizing
access to demand-driven career pathways and workforce preparedness is
essential for equipping students with the knowledge and skills
necessary to thrive in a dynamic and evolving economy. Education should
ensure learning pathways are designed to enable students to master
competencies that are aligned with high-growth, high-wage, and high-
demand careers. This goal is most effectively achieved by integrating
career exploration, career readiness, technical education, and work-
based learning opportunities into the K-12 general and special
education setting. A modern education system must realize that its
primary customers are students and their families, followed by the
employers who will hire them. Moreover, it must prepare students not
only for academic success, but also for active participation in sectors
of the economy shaped by technological advancement, innovation, and
industrial renewal.
For decades, the dominant ``college for all'' narrative has led to
a narrow focus that often leaves students with degrees and debt but
limited job prospects. With only half of bachelor's degree graduates
working in fields that require a bachelor's degree,\1\ there is a
growing need to elevate competency-based pathways that are rigorous,
respected, and responsive to real-world demands.
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\1\ Burning Glass Institute and Strada Institute for the Future
of Work, Talent Disrupted: Underemployment, College Graduates, and
the Way Forward, 2024 (https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6197797102be715f55c0e0a1/t/65d62ebce0cf8f07e3d6e006/1708535486302/Talent+Disrupted+02212024.pdf).
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Existing federal funding in this area should therefore shift to
ensuring that all students have access to a wide range of high-quality
education pathways that meet the needs of a rapidly changing economy.
By expanding the range of options so that a broader array of education
providers can access existing funding in a manner that aligns outcomes
with the demands of today's workforce, the government can foster both
economic mobility for students and sustained competitiveness for the
nation.
Proposed Priority: Projects or proposals designed to do one or more
of the following:
(a) Support workforce development programs that are aligned with
State priorities. This may include one or more of the following:
(i) Activities aligned to State and local workforce priorities.
(ii) Activities that support alignment of workforce activities
across State agencies that support workforce development (e.g.,
education, higher education, workforce transformation, job and family
services, vocational rehabilitation services including pre-employment
transition services and transition services, etc.).
(iii) Activities that support States in identifying in-demand and
high-value industry-recognized credentials and/or re-evaluating
existing lists of credentials.
(iv) Providing support for the skilled trades.
(v) Developing industry-led sector partnerships.
(vi) Promoting the attainment by individuals of an in-demand and
high-value industry-recognized postsecondary credential.
(vii) Providing work-based learning opportunities (e.g.,
internships, externships, pre-apprenticeships, and registered
apprenticeships) for which a student receives wages, academic credit,
or both.
(viii) Expanding the availability of pre-apprenticeships and
registered apprenticeships, including through dual or concurrent
enrollment (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 7801(15)), by doing one or more of
the following:
(1) Supporting apprenticeship intermediaries.
(2) Creating pre-apprenticeships.
(3) Creating new registered apprenticeships to include
apprenticeships for in-school and out-of-school youth.
(4) Providing technical assistance for states to create new
registered apprenticeships to include apprenticeships for in-school and
out-of-school youth.
(b) Provide career and/or college exploration and advising
opportunities to promote greater awareness of the range of
postsecondary educational and career options.
(c) Provide opportunities for students to use financial tools to
compare the cost and benefits of the career options and educational
pathways they are considering, including the long-term impact of taking
out student loans on their financial security, including likely entry
and mid-career earnings in fields selected by students as compared to
entry and mid-career earnings in high wage, high growth, and high
demand occupations in each of the career clusters.
(d) Support the development of talent marketplaces (including
credential registries, skills-based job description generators, and
learning and employment records) that connect employers, students, and
jobseekers by converting job descriptions and learning assertions into
discrete, industry-recognized competencies.
Types of Priorities: When inviting applications for a competition
using one or more priorities, we designate the type of each priority as
absolute, competitive preference, or invitational through a notice in
the Federal Register. The effect of each type of priority follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority, we consider only
applications
[[Page 46113]]
that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority, we give competitive preference to an application by (1)
awarding additional points, depending on the extent to which the
application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2)
selecting an application that meets the priority over an application of
comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority, we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the priority.
However, we do not give an application that meets the priority a
preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
Proposed Definitions
Background: The Secretary proposes the following definitions for
use in any Department discretionary grant program in which the proposed
priority is used.
Credential Registry, with respect to a component of a Talent
Marketplace, means a digital repository and database, maintained by a
State or State Workforce Agency, as defined at 29 U.S.C. 3225a(a)(8).
In-demand Industry Sector or Occupation, as defined in section
3(23) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), means (i)
an industry sector that has a substantial current or potential impact
(including through jobs that lead to economic self-sufficiency and
opportunities for advancement) on the State, regional, or local
economy, as appropriate, and that contributes to the growth or
stability of other supporting businesses, or the growth of other
industry sectors; or (ii) an occupation that currently has or is
projected to have a number of positions (including positions that lead
to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement) in an
industry sector so as to have a significant impact on the State,
regional, or local economy, as appropriate.
Learning and Employment Record - The term ``Learning and Employment
Record,'' with respect to a Talent Marketplace, means a digital tool
maintained by a State or State Workforce Agency, as defined at 29
U.S.C. 3225a(a)(8).
Recognized Postsecondary Credential means credential consisting of
an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a certificate of
completion of an apprenticeship, a license recognized by the State
involved or Federal Government, or an associate or baccalaureate
degree, as defined in section 3(53) of WIOA.
Skills-Based Job Description Generator--The term ``Skills-Based Job
Description Generator,'' with respect to a Talent Marketplace, means a
digital tool, maintained by a State or a State Workforce Agency, as
defined at 29 U.S.C. 3225a(a)(8).
Talent marketplace means a digital, interconnected system of
technologies maintained by a State or State Workforce Agency, as
defined at 29 U.S.C. 3225a(a)(8), that
(a) is publicly available;
(b) includes an integrated:
(i) Learning and Employment Record;
(ii) Credential Registry; and
(iii) Skill-Based Job Description generator;
(c) utilizes artificial intelligence to enable students and
jobseekers, employers, and education and training providers to
transform, transcribe, and transact earned learning assertions, job
descriptions, and degree and non-degree credentials into discrete
competency statements; and
(d) may be curated into interoperable individual records of
achievement and learning and employment recommendations
Work-based learning is used in accordance with 20 U.S.C. 2302(55),
to mean sustained interactions with industry or community professionals
in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated
environments at an educational institution that foster in-depth,
firsthand engagement with the tasks required in a given career field,
that are aligned to curriculum and instruction.
Final Priority and Definitions: The Department will announce the
final priority and definitions in a document in the Federal Register.
We will determine the final priority and definitions after considering
responses to the proposed priority and definitions and other
information available to the Department. This document does not
preclude us from proposing additional priorities, requirements, or
definitions, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking requirements.
Note: This document does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use any of the final priority and definitions, we
invite applications through a notice in the Federal Register.
Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14192
Regulatory Impact Analysis
This proposed regulatory action is not a significant regulatory
action subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget under
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. Since this regulatory action is
not a significant regulatory action under section 3(f) of Executive
Order 12866, it is not considered an ``Executive Order 14192 regulatory
action.''
We have also reviewed this proposed regulatory action under
Executive Order 13563. We are issuing the proposed priority and
definitions only on a reasoned determination that their benefits would
justify their minimal costs. The Department believes that this
regulatory action is consistent with the principles in Executive Order
13563.
We also have determined that this regulatory action would not
unduly interfere with State, local, and Tribal governments in the
exercise of their governmental functions.
In accordance with these Executive orders, the Department has
assessed the potential costs and benefits, both quantitative and
qualitative, of this regulatory action. The potential costs are those
resulting from statutory requirements and those we have determined are
necessary for administering the Department's programs and activities.
Discussion of Costs and Benefits: The proposed priority would
impose no or minimal costs on entities that receive discretionary grant
award funds from the Department. Additionally, the benefits of
implementing the proposed priority outweigh any associated costs, to
the extent these de minimis costs even exist, because the proposed
priority would result in higher quality grant application submissions.
Application submission and participation in competitive grant
programs that might use this proposed priority and definitions is
voluntary. We believe, based on the Department's administrative
experience, that entities preparing an application would not need to
expend more resources than they otherwise would have in the absence of
this proposed priority. Therefore, any potential costs to applicants
would be de minimis. Moreover, because the costs of carrying out
activities would be paid for with program funds, the costs of
implementation would not be a burden for any eligible applicants that
earn a grant award, including small entities. We invite the public to
comment on this discussion of estimated costs and benefits. We are
specifically interested in high quality comments supported with
quantitative data.
Intergovernmental Review: This action is subject to Executive Order
12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. This document provides
early notification of our specific plans and actions for this program.
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Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
This section considers the effects that the final regulations may
have on small entities in the educational sector as required by the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. The Secretary
certifies that this proposed regulatory action would not have a
substantial economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The U.S. Small Business Administration Size Standards define
proprietary institutions as small businesses if they are independently
owned and operated, are not dominant in their field of operation, and
have total annual revenue below $7,000,000. Nonprofit institutions are
defined as small entities if they are independently owned and operated
and not dominant in their field of operation. Public institutions are
defined as small organizations if they are operated by a government
overseeing a population below 50,000.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The proposed priority and definitions do not contain information
collection requirements or affect any currently approved data
collection.
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file,
braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or another accessible
format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. You may also access documents
of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the
article search feature at www.federalregister.gov.
Linda McMahon,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2025-18639 Filed 9-24-25; 8:45 am]
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