DIVISION J – Committee on Education and Labor

Contains the National Apprenticeship Act of 2022, which is a slightly revised version of the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which the House passed on February 5, 2021.
Registered Apprenticeships – which provide workers with paid, on-the-job-training – are the nation’s most successful approach to a workforce training program.
According to the Department of Labor, apprentices earn an average of $15 an hour during their earnand-learn program, and 94 percent of people who complete Registered Apprenticeships are employed upon completion and earn an average starting wage of more than $70,000 annually.
The National Apprenticeship Act of 2022 will create nearly 1 million additional apprenticeship opportunities over the next five years.
This legislation would also accelerate our economic recovery by providing employers a pipeline of talented workers they need to succeed and grow.

Authorizes a new competitive grant program operated by the U.S. Department of Education to support equitable access to postsecondary STEM pathways that expose students to high-quality STEM coursework, reduce college costs, and improve postsecondary credit transfers. Under this program, an eligible entity (which includes the state educational agency, one or more school districts, and the state’s public higher education system) will be eligible to receive a grant to support the development and implementation of postsecondary STEM pathways.

Authorizes a new competitive grant program operated by the U.S. Department of Education to improve the United States’ global competitiveness by increasing equitable access to computer science education and computational thinking skills for students enrolled in elementary schools and secondary schools operated by local educational agencies. Under this new program, state educational agencies will be eligible to receive a grant.

Reauthorizes the international education programs under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase and expand existing foreign language and area studies programs across the country; build international education capacity at minority-serving institutions; and promote opportunities for students and professionals to increase their knowledge of world regions, international business, and over 200 foreign languages at all levels of higher education.

Creates new transparency requirements and protections related to Confucius Institutes.
Requires the U.S. Department of Education, in collaboration with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, to review Confucius Institutes to ensure they protect academic freedom, and for institutions to post their agreements with Confucius Institutes publicly. Institutions that fail to comply would lose access to federal grants provided under the Higher Education Act, except for federal student aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act.

Comprehensively updates requirements of institutional reporting of foreign gifts and contracts.
Amends Section 117 of the Higher Education Act to capture additional foreign gifts and contracts received by institutions of higher education totaling more than $100,000 in any given year and $250,000 in three years.
Adds a new reporting requirement for faculty and staff that receive gifts or enter into a contract with a foreign entity of which the value is $50,000 or more.
Under this section, both institutions of higher education and the U.S. Department of Education will see new requirements designed to promote compliance and provide clarity and consistency to institutions to ensure appropriate reporting.

Authorizes a telecommunications sector workforce training program entitled the Improving Minority Participation and Careers Telecommunications Act (IMPACT) administered by the Department of Labor in coordination with the Commerce Department’s Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives and the Secretary of Education.
Authorizes $100 million to be available over 6 years for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUS), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to develop job training programs in partnership with industry, Registered Apprenticeships, or labor organizations to prepare students for jobs in the telecommunications workforce.