,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bhee ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ah 7legislative day1 ,september #af71 #bjbe,ms4 ,blunt ,rochester 7for herself and ,mrs4 ,britt7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,labor to carry out a competitive grant program to support community colleges and area career and technical education centers in developing immersive technology education and training services programs for workforce development1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,immersive ,technology for the ,american ,workforce ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,grants for immersive technology education and training services programs 7such as career pathways7 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 from the amounts appropriated to carry out this section1 the ,secretary of ,labor shall award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to eligible entities to carry out immersive technology education and training services programs through activities described in subsection 7b74 7b7 ,use of funds ,an eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall use such grant for the creation or alignment1 and implementation1 of a career pathway that provides1 through immersive technology1 a sequence of education and training services that provides the necessary skills for employment leading to economic self-sufficiency1 and that includes integrated education and training services that use immersive technology1 including a program that-- 7#a7 is designed to increase the provision of training services for students 7including individuals who are members of the ,armed ,forces or are veterans7 in order to facilitate the entry of such students into in-demand industry sectors or occupations2 7#b7 is accessible to individuals with barriers to employment1 which shall be in accordance with the requirements under title ,,ii of the ,americans ,with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaca et seq47 and in accordance with paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 of section #ahh7;a7 of the ,workforce ,innovation and ,opportunity ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #cbdh7;a772 or 7#c7 enables the training of instructors in the use of immersive technology for immersive technology education and training services programs4 7c7 ,duration of grants ,a grant awarded to an eligible entity under this section shall be awarded for a period of not more than #e years4 ,an eligible entity awarded a grant under this section may not receive a subsequent grant for the same purpose4 7d7 ,application ,an eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the ,secretary an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require1 including1 in the case of a program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential1 a description of the quality of the program leading to the credential4 7e7 ,priority ,in awarding grants under this section1 the ,secretary shall give priority to any eligible entity that-- 7#a7 is working with1 or in carrying out a program to be funded with such a grant plans to work with1 an employer that has demonstrated an interest in1 or commitment to1 the hiring of individuals who have obtained the necessary skills for employment as a result of the program2 7#b7 includes a covered community college or an area career and technical education school2 or 7#c7 submits an application under subsection 7d7 that demonstrates #a of the following 7with additional priority given to an eligible entity that demonstrates more than #a of the following73 7,a7 ,alignment with-- 7i7 the ,state plan under section #ajb or #ajc of the ,workforce ,innovation and ,opportunity ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #caab1 #caac7 of the ,state in which the eligible entity will be carrying out a program to be funded with such a grant2 7ii7 the local plan under section #ajh of the ,workforce ,innovation and ,opportunity ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #cabc7 of the local area in which the eligible entity will be carrying out such a program2 or 7iii7 the ,state plan under section #abb of the ,carl ,d4 ,perkins ,career and ,technical ,education ,act of #bjjf 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #bcdb7 of the ,state in which the eligible entity will be carrying out such a program4 7,b7 ,using quantitative data and evidence1 the extent to which the program to be funded by such a grant will meet the needs of employers4 7,c7 ,how such a program will target a specific in-demand industry sector or occupation4 7,d7 ,how such a program will retrain workers from an industry sector that is experiencing decreasing employment at the national or ,state level4 7,e7 ,how such a program will target and service individuals with barriers to employment4 7,f7 ,how such a program will serve a rural community4 7f7 ,reports 7#a7 ,report to the ,secretary ,each eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall submit to the ,secretary a report1 not later than the date that is #b years after the beginning of the initial grant period for such grant1 and annually thereafter 7so the report is last submitted during the year following the final grant period for the grant7 that includes a description of each program funded under the grant1 including the levels of performance achieved for each indicator of performance under section #aaf7;b77#b77;,a77i7 of the ,workforce ,innovation and ,opportunity ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #cada7;b77#b77;,a77i771 disaggregated1 with respect to the participants of such program1 as described in section #aaf7;d77#b77;,b74 7#b7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #b years after the first grant is awarded under this section and biennially thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report that includes a summary of the information submitted under paragraph 7#a7 for the most recent #b-year period4 7g7 ,evaluation ,the ,secretary shall reserve not less than #a percent and not more than #e percent of any amounts made available for each fiscal year to conduct a rigorous1 independent evaluation of1 and provide technical assistance for1 the programs carried out under this section4 7h7 ,best practices ,the ,secretary1 in coordination each eligible entity that receives funds under a grant awarded under this section1 not later than #cj days after the third year of the grant period1 as described in subsection 7c71 shall-- 7#a7 establish a description of best practices for using immersive technology for immersive technology education and training services programs2 and 7#b7 publish such description of best practices on a publicly available website of the ,department of ,labor4 7i7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered community college ,the term covered community college means-- 7,a7 a public institution of higher education 7as defined in section #aja7;a7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja7;a7771 at which-- 7i7 the highest degree awarded is an associate degree2 or 7ii7 an associate degree is the most frequently awarded degree2 7,b7 a branch campus of a #d-year public institution of higher education 7as defined in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja771 if1 at such branch campus-- 7i7 the highest degree awarded is an associate degree2 or 7ii7 an associate degree is the most frequently awarded degree2 7,c7 a #b-year ,tribal ,college or ,university 7as defined in section #caf7;b77#c7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajei;c7b77#c7772 or 7,d7 a degree-granting ,tribal ,college or ,university 7as defined in section #caf7;b77#c7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajei;c7b77#c777 at which-- 7i7 the highest degree awarded is an associate degree2 or 7ii7 an associate degree is the most frequently awarded degree4 7#b7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means an industry or sector partnership1 which shall include representatives of #a or more of the following3 7,a7 ,an institution of higher education4 7,b7 ,a covered community college4 7,c7 ,an area career and technical education school4 7,d7 ,a postsecondary vocational institution 7as defined in section #ajb7;c7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb7;c7774 7,e7 ,a consortium of such colleges1 schools1 or institutions4 7#c7 ,immersive technology 7,a7 ,in general ,the term immersive technology means the technology of tools 7including extended reality1 virtual reality1 augmented reality1 and mixed reality7 that integrate the physical environment with digital content to support user engagement4 7,b7 ,augmented ,reality ,the term augmented reality means an immersive technology tool that layers computer-generated imagery onto a user's view of the physical world1 thus providing a composite view4 7,c7 ,mixed reality ,the term mixed reality means an immersive technology tool that blends augmented reality and virtual reality1 allowing users to experience simulated content within their physical worlds and to manipulate and interact with virtual elements in real time4 7,d7 ,virtual reality ,the term virtual reality means an immersive technology tool that occludes a user's physical surroundings with a simulated environment4 7#d7 ,immersive technology education and training services program ,the term immersive technology education and training services program-- 7,a7 means a program of education and training services provided1 in part or in whole1 through immersive technology2 and 7,b7 includes a career pathway described in subsection 7b7 that is so provided4 7#e7 ,rural 7,a7 ,in general ,the term rural community means a jurisdiction or population not located within an urban area4 7,b7 ,urban area ,in this paragraph1 the term urban area1 means a gathered jurisdiction that-- 7i7 contains #ej1jjj or more people2 or 7ii7 is comprised of clusters consisting of at least #b1ejj gathered jurisdictions but contains fewer than #ej1jjj people4 7#f7 ,training services ,notwithstanding paragraph 7#g71 the term training services means training services as described in section #c of the ,workforce ,innovation and ,opportunity ,act 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #cajb71 provided through classroom instruction4 7#g7 ,,wioa terms ,except as otherwise provided in this section1 any term used in this section that is defined in section #c of that ,act shall have the meaning given that term in that section #c4 7j7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #ej1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years #bjbf through #bjce4