,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ebhe  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #c1 #bjai  
,mr4 ,kind 7for himself and ,mr4 ,rodney
 ,davis of ,illinois7 introduced the    
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,education and ,labor 
,a ,,bill  ,to provide competitive      
grants for training court reporters and 
closed captioners to meet requirements  
for realtime writers under the          
,communications ,act of #aicd1 and for  
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,training for  
,realtime ,writers ,act of #bjai4  #b4  
,findings ,congress makes the following 
findings3  7#a7 ,as directed by         
,congress in section #gac of the        
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #fac71 as added by section    
#cje of the ,telecommunications ,act of 
#aiif 7,public ,law #ajd-ajd2 #aaj      
,stat4 #abf71 the ,federal              
,communications ,commission began       
enforcing rules requiring full closed   

captioning of most ,english television  
programming on ,january #a1 #bjjf4  7#b7
 ,the ,federal ,communications          
,commission rules also require that     
video programming be fully captioned in 
,spanish by #bjaj4  7#c7 ,more than     
#cg1ejj1jjj ,americans are considered   
deaf or hard of hearing1 and many       
require captioning services to          
participate in mainstream activities4   
7#d7 ,the ,national ,institute on       
,deafness and other ,communication      
,disorders estimates that one in #c     
,americans over the age of #fj has      
already experienced hearing loss4 ,the  
#gi1jjj1jjj ,americans who are          
identified as baby boomers represent #ci
 percent of the population of the       
,united ,states and most baby boomers   
began to reach age #fj just in the last 
few years4  7#e7 ,closed captioning is a
 continuous source of emergency         
information for people in mass transit  
and other congregate settings4  7#f7    
,empirical research studies since #aihh 

demonstrate that captions improve the   
performance of individuals learning to  
read ,english4  #c4 ,authorization of   
grant program to promote training and   
job placement of realtime writers  7a7  
,in general ,the ,secretary of          
,education shall make competitive grants
 to eligible entities under subsection  
7b7 to promote training and placement of
 individuals1 including individuals who 
have completed a court reporting        
training program1 as realtime writers in
 order to meet the requirements for     
closed captioning of video programming  
set forth in section #gac of the        
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #fac7 and the rules prescribed
 thereunder4  7b7 ,eligible entities    
,for purposes of this ,act1 an eligible 
entity is a court reporting program     
that--  7#a7 can document and           
demonstrate to the ,secretary of        
,education that it meets minimum        
standards of educational and financial  
accountability1 with a curriculum       

capable of training realtime writers    
qualified to provide captioning         
services2  7#b7 is accredited by an     
accrediting agency or association       
recognized by the ,secretary of         
,education under section #dif of the    
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajii;b72 and  7#c7 is        
participating in programs under title   
,,iv of the ,higher ,education ,act of  
#aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj et seq474    
7c7 ,priority in grants ,in determining 
whether to make grants under this       
section1 the ,secretary of ,education   
shall give a priority to eligible       
entities that1 as determined by the     
,secretary--  7#a7 possess the most     
substantial capability to increase their
 capacity to train realtime writers2    
7#b7 demonstrate the most promising     
collaboration with local educational    
institutions1 businesses1 labor         
organizations1 or other community groups
 having the potential to train or       
provide job placement assistance to     

realtime writers2 or  7#c7 propose the  
most promising and innovative approaches
 for initiating or expanding training or
 job placement assistance efforts with  
respect to realtime writers4  7d7       
,duration of grant ,a grant under this  
section shall be for a period of #e     
years4  7e7 ,maximum amount of grant    
,the amount of a grant provided under   
subsection 7a7 to an entity eligible may
 not exceed #a1ejj1jjj for the #e-year  
period of the grant under subsection    
7d74  #d4 ,application  7a7 ,in general 
,to receive a grant under section #c1 an
 eligible entity shall submit an        
application to the ,secretary of        
,education at such time and in such     
manner as the ,secretary may require4   
,the application shall contain the      
information set forth under subsection  
7b74  7b7 ,information ,information in  
the application of an eligible entity   
under subsection 7a7 for a grant under  
section #c shall include the following3 
7#a7 ,a description of the training and 

assistance to be funded using the grant 
amount1 including how such training and 
assistance will increase the number of  
realtime writers4  7#b7 ,a description  
of performance measures to be utilized  
to evaluate the progress of individuals 
receiving such training and assistance  
in matters relating to enrollment1      
completion of training1 and job         
placement and retention4  7#c7 ,a       
description of the manner in which the  
eligible entity will ensure that        
recipients of scholarships1 if any1     
funded by the grant will be employed and
 retained as realtime writers4  7#d7 ,a 
description of the manner in which the  
eligible entity intends to continue     
providing the training and assistance to
 be funded by the grant after the end of
 the grant period1 including any        
partnerships or arrangements established
 for that purpose4  7#e7 ,a description 
of how the eligible entity will work    
with local workforce investment boards  
to ensure that training and assistance  

to be funded with the grant will further
 local workforce goals1 including the   
creation of educational opportunities   
for individuals who are from            
economically disadvantaged backgrounds  
or are displaced workers4  7#f7         
,additional information1 if any1 of the 
eligibility of the eligible entity for  
priority in the making of grants under  
section #c7;c74  7#g7 ,such other       
information as the ,secretary may       
require4  #e4 ,use of funds  7a7 ,in    
general ,an eligible entity receiving a 
grant under section #c shall use the    
grant amount for purposes relating to   
the recruitment1 training and           
assistance1 and job placement of        
individuals1 including individuals who  
have completed a court reporting        
training program1 as realtime writers1  
including-- 7#a7 recruitment2  7#b7     
subject to subsection 7b71 the provision
 of scholarships2  7#c7 distance        
learning2  7#d7 further developing and  
implementing both ,english and ,spanish 

curriculum to more effectively train    
realtime writing skills1 and education  
in the knowledge necessary for the      
delivery of high-quality closed         
captioning services2  7#e7 mentoring    
students to ensure successful completion
 of the realtime writing training and   
provide assistance in job placement2    
7#f7 encouraging individuals with       
disabilities to pursue a career in      
realtime writing2 and  7#g7 the         
employment and payment of personnel for 
all such purposes4  7b7 ,scholarships   
7#a7 ,amount ,the amount of a           
scholarship under subsection 7a77#b7    
shall be based on the amount of need of 
the recipient of the scholarship for    
financial assistance1 as determined in  
accordance with part ,f of title ,,iv of
 the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife   
7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajhgkk et seq474  7#b7  
,agreement ,each recipient of a         
scholarship under subsection 7a77#b7    
shall enter into an agreement with the  
school in which the recipient is        

enrolled to provide realtime writing    
services for a period of time           
appropriate 7as determined by the       
,secretary of ,education or the         
,secretary's designee7 for the amount of
 the scholarship received4  7#c7        
,coursework and employment ,the         
,secretary of ,education or the         
,secretary's designee shall establish   
requirements for coursework and         
employment for recipients of            
scholarships under subsection 7a77#b71  
including requirements for repayment of 
scholarship amounts in the event of     
failure to meet such requirements for   
coursework and employment4 ,requirements
 for repayment of scholarship amounts   
shall take into account the effect of   
economic conditions on the capacity of  
scholarship recipients to find work as  
realtime writers4  7c7 ,administrative  
costs ,the recipient of a grant under   
section #c may not use more than #e     
percent of the grant amount to pay      
administrative costs associated with    

activities funded by the grant4 ,the    
,secretary shall use not more than #e   
percent of the amount available for     
grants under this ,act in any fiscal    
year for administrative costs of the    
program4  7d7 ,supplement not supplant  
,grants amounts under this ,act shall   
supplement and not supplant other       
,federal or non-,federal funds of the   
grant recipient for purposes of         
promoting the training and placement of 
individuals as realtime writers4  #f4   
,reports  7a7 ,annual reports ,each     
eligible entity receiving a grant under 
section #c shall submit to the          
,secretary of ,education1 at the end of 
each year of the grant period1 a report 
on the activities of such entity with   
respect to the use of grant amounts     
during such year4  7b7 ,report          
information  7#a7 ,in general ,each     
report of an entity for a year under    
subsection 7a7 shall include a          
description of the use of grant amounts 
by the entity during such year1         

including an assessment by the entity of
 the effectiveness of activities carried
 out using such funds in increasing the 
number of realtime writers4 ,the        
assessment shall utilize the performance
 measures submitted by the entity in the
 application for the grant under section
 #d7;b74  7#b7 ,final report ,the final 
report of an entity on a grant under    
subsection 7a7 shall include a          
description of the best practices       
identified by the entity as a result of 
the grant for increasing the number of  
individuals who are trained1 employed1  
and retained in employment as realtime  
writers4  7c7 ,annual review ,the       
,inspector ,general of the ,department  
of ,education shall conduct an annual   
review of the management1 efficiency1   
and effectiveness of the grants made    
under this ,act4  #g4 ,authorization of 
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to the ,secretary of    
,education to carry out this ,act       
#aj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    

#bjba1 #bjbb1 #bjbc1 #bjbd1 and #bjbe4  
#h4 ,sunset ,this ,act is repealed      
effective the last day of the fifth     
fiscal year in which funds are          
appropriated to carry out this ,act4