[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4501 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4501
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to improve the
performance accountability system.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 11, 2024
Mr. Mullin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to improve the
performance accountability system.
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 ``WIOA Performance Accountability
Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.
(a) State Performance Accountability Measures.--
(1) Primary indicators of performance.--Section
116(b)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A)) is amended--
(A) in clause (i)--
(i) in subclause (II)--
(I) by striking ``fourth'' and
inserting ``second''; and
(II) by inserting ``and remain in
unsubsidized employment during the
fourth quarter after exit from the
program'' after ``the program'';
(ii) in subclause (V)--
(I) by striking ``, during a
program year,'';
(II) by striking ``are in'' and
inserting ``enter into''; and
(III) by inserting before the
semicolon at the end the following:
``within 6 months after the quarter in
which the participant enters into the
education or training program''; and
(iii) by amending subclause (VI) to read as
follows:
``(VI) of the program participants
who received training services and who
exited the program during a program
year, the percentage of such program
participants who completed, prior to
such exit, on-the-job training,
employer-directed skills development,
incumbent worker training, or an
apprenticeship.'';
(B) in clause (ii)--
(i) in subclause (II), by striking ``and''
at the end;
(ii) in subclause (III), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(IV) the percentage of program
participants who, during a program
year, participate in paid or unpaid
work experiences as described in
section 129(c)(2)(C).''; and
(C) by striking clause (iv).
(2) Levels of performance.--Section 116(b)(3)(A) of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3141(b)(3)(A)) is amended--
(A) by amending clause (iii) to read as follows:
``(iii) Identification in state plan.--
``(I) Secretaries.--For each State
submitting a State plan, the
Secretaries of Labor and Education
shall--
``(aa) not later than
December 1 of the calendar year
prior to the calendar year in
which such State plan is
submitted, for the first 2
program years covered by the
State plan, and not later than
December 1 of the year prior to
the third program year covered
by the State plan, for the
third and fourth program years
covered by the State plan,
propose expected levels of
performance for each of the
corresponding primary
indicators of performance for
each of the programs described
in clause (ii) for such State,
which levels shall--
``(AA) be
consistent with the
factors listed in
clause (v); and
``(BB) be proposed
in a manner that
ensures sufficient time
is provided for the
State to evaluate and
respond to such
proposals; and
``(bb) publish, on a public
website of the Department of
Labor, the statistical model
developed under clause (viii)
and the methodology used to
develop each such proposed
level of performance.
``(II) States.--Each State shall--
``(aa) evaluate each of the
expected levels of performance
proposed under subclause (I)
with respect to such State;
``(bb) based on such
evaluation of each such
proposed level of performance--
``(AA) accept the
expected level of
performance as so
proposed; or
``(BB) provide a
counterproposal for
such proposed expected
level of performance,
including an analysis
of how the
counterproposal
addresses factors or
circumstances unique to
the State that may not
have been accounted for
in the proposed
expected level of
performance; and
``(cc) include in the State
plan, with respect to each of
the corresponding primary
indicators of performance for
each of the programs described
in clause (ii) for such State--
``(AA) the expected
level of performance
proposed under
subclause (I);
``(BB) the
counterproposal for
such proposed level, if
any; and
``(CC) the expected
level of performance
that is agreed to under
clause (iv).''; and
(B) in clause (v)(II)--
(i) in the matter preceding item (aa), by
striking ``based on'' and inserting ``based on
(for each of the following factors that is
found to be predictive of performance on an
indicator for a program)''; and
(ii) in item (bb), by inserting ``, foster
care status, school status, education level,
highest grade level completed, low-income
status'' after ``ex-offender status''.
(b) Performance Reports.--Section 116(d) of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(d)) is amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Template for performance reports.--Not later
than 12 months after the date of enactment of the WIOA
Performance Accountability Improvement Act, the
Secretary of Labor, in conjunction with the Secretary
of Education, shall develop, or review and modify, as
appropriate, to comply with the requirements of this
subsection, the template for performance reports that
shall be used by States (including by States on behalf
of eligible providers of training services under
section 122) and local boards to produce a report on
outcomes achieved by the core programs. In developing,
or reviewing and modifying, such templates, the
Secretary of Labor, in conjunction with the Secretary
of Education, shall take into account the need to
maximize the value of the templates for workers,
jobseekers, employers, local elected officials, State
officials, Federal policymakers, and other key
stakeholders.
``(B) Standardized reporting.--In developing, or
reviewing and modifying, the template under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Labor, in
conjunction with the Secretary of Education, shall
ensure that States and local areas, in producing
performance reports for core programs and eligible
training providers, collect and report, in a comparable
and uniform format, information on common data
elements, which use terms that are assigned identical
meanings across all such reports.
``(C) Additional reporting.--The Secretary of
Labor, in conjunction with the Secretary of Education--
``(i) in addition to information on the
common data elements described in subparagraph
(B), may require a core program to provide
additional information as necessary for
effective reporting; and
``(ii) shall periodically review any
requirement for additional information to
ensure the requirement is necessary and does
not impose an undue reporting burden.'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (J) through (L)
as subparagraphs (K) through (M), respectively and
inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
``(J) the median earnings gain of participants who
received training services, calculated as the
difference between--
``(i) median participant earnings in
unsubsidized employment during the second
quarter after program exit; and
``(ii) median participant earnings in
unsubsidized employment in the second quarter
prior to entering the program;''; and
(B) in subparagraph (L), as so redesignated, by
striking clause (ii); and
(C) by striking ``strategies for programs'' and all
that follows through ``the performance'', and inserting
``strategies for programs, the performance'';
(3) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as
subparagraph (E); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the
following:
``(C) the percentage of the local area's allocation
under section 133(b) that the local area spent on
services paid for through an individual training
account described in section 134(c)(3)(F)(iii) or a
training contract described in section
134(c)(3)(G)(ii);
``(D) the percentage of the local area's allocation
under section 133(b) that the local area spent on
supportive services; and'';
(4) by amending paragraph (4) to read as follows:
``(4) Contents of eligible training providers performance
report.--
``(A) In general.--The State shall use the
information submitted by the eligible providers of
training services under section 122 and administrative
records, including quarterly wage records, of the
participants of the programs offered by the providers
to produce a performance report on the eligible
providers of training services in the State, which
shall include, subject to paragraph (6)(C)--
``(i) with respect to each program of study
(or the equivalent) of such a provider--
``(I) information specifying the
levels of performance achieved with
respect to the primary indicators of
performance described in subclauses (I)
through (IV) of subsection (b)(2)(A)(i)
with respect to all individuals
engaging in the program of study (or
the equivalent); and
``(II) the total number of
individuals exiting from the program of
study (or the equivalent);
``(ii) with respect to all such providers--
``(I) the total number of
participants who received training
services through each of the adult
program, and the dislocated worker
program, authorized under chapter 3 of
subtitle B, disaggregated by the type
of entity that provided the training,
during the most recent program year and
the 3 preceding program years;
``(II) the total number of
participants who exited from training
services, disaggregated by the type of
entity that provided the training,
during the most recent program year and
the 3 preceding program years;
``(III) the average cost for the
participants who received training
services, divided by the average
earnings received by such participants
during the second quarter after exit
from the program, disaggregated by the
type of entity that provided the
training, during the most recent
program year and the 3 preceding
program years; and
``(IV) the number of individuals
with barriers to employment served by
each of the adult program, and the
dislocated worker program, authorized
under chapter 3 of subtitle B,
disaggregated by each subpopulation of
such individuals, and by race,
ethnicity, sex, and age; and
``(iii) with respect to each recognized
postsecondary credential on the list of
credentials awarded by eligible providers in
the State described in section 122(d)--
``(I) information specifying the
levels of performance achieved with
respect to the primary indicators of
performance described in subclauses (I)