[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 235 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 235
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
January 23, 2025
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
2025''.
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) health care, 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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