[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2855 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2855
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 development, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025
Ms. Blunt Rochester (for herself and Mrs. Britt) 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 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 development, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Immersive Technology for the
American Workforce Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERVICES
PROGRAMS (SUCH AS CAREER PATHWAYS).
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this section, from the amounts appropriated to carry out this
section, the Secretary of Labor shall award grants, on a competitive
basis, to eligible entities to carry out immersive technology education
and training services programs through activities described in
subsection (b).
(b) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under this
section shall use such grant for the creation or alignment, and
implementation, of a career pathway that provides, through immersive
technology, a sequence of education and training services that provides
the necessary skills for employment leading to economic self-
sufficiency, and that includes integrated education and training
services that use immersive technology, including a program that--
(1) is designed to increase the provision of training
services for students (including individuals who are members of
the Armed Forces or are veterans) in order to facilitate the
entry of such students into in-demand industry sectors or
occupations;
(2) is accessible to individuals with barriers to
employment, which shall be in accordance with the requirements
under title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) and in accordance with paragraphs (1)
and (2) of section 188(a) of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3248(a)); or
(3) enables the training of instructors in the use of
immersive technology for immersive technology education and
training services programs.
(c) Duration of Grants.--A grant awarded to an eligible entity
under this section shall be awarded for a period of not more than 5
years. An eligible entity awarded a grant under this section may not
receive a subsequent grant for the same purpose.
(d) Application.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under this
section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require, including, in the case of a program that leads to a recognized
postsecondary credential, a description of the quality of the program
leading to the credential.
(e) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary
shall give priority to any eligible entity that--
(1) is working with, or in carrying out a program to be
funded with such a grant plans to work with, an employer that
has demonstrated an interest in, or commitment to, the hiring
of individuals who have obtained the necessary skills for
employment as a result of the program;
(2) includes a covered community college or an area career
and technical education school; or
(3) submits an application under subsection (d) that
demonstrates 1 of the following (with additional priority given
to an eligible entity that demonstrates more than 1 of the
following):
(A) Alignment with--
(i) the State plan under section 102 or 103
of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3112, 3113) of the State in which
the eligible entity will be carrying out a
program to be funded with such a grant;
(ii) the local plan under section 108 of
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3123) of the local area in which the
eligible entity will be carrying out such a
program; or
(iii) the State plan under section 122 of
the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical
Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2342) of the
State in which the eligible entity will be
carrying out such a program.
(B) Using quantitative data and evidence, the
extent to which the program to be funded by such a
grant will meet the needs of employers.
(C) How such a program will target a specific in-
demand industry sector or occupation.
(D) How such a program will retrain workers from an
industry sector that is experiencing decreasing
employment at the national or State level.
(E) How such a program will target and service
individuals with barriers to employment.
(F) How such a program will serve a rural
community.
(f) Reports.--
(1) Report to the secretary.--Each eligible entity
receiving a grant under this section shall submit to the
Secretary a report, not later than the date that is 2 years
after the beginning of the initial grant period for such grant,
and annually thereafter (so the report is last submitted during
the year following the final grant period for the grant) that
includes a description of each program funded under the grant,
including the levels of performance achieved for each indicator
of performance under section 116(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A)(i)),
disaggregated, with respect to the participants of such
program, as described in section 116(d)(2)(B).
(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 2 years after the
first grant is awarded under this section and biennially
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report
that includes a summary of the information submitted under
paragraph (1) for the most recent 2-year period.
(g) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall reserve not less than 1
percent and not more than 5 percent of any amounts made available for
each fiscal year to conduct a rigorous, independent evaluation of, and
provide technical assistance for, the programs carried out under this
section.
(h) Best Practices.--The Secretary, in coordination each eligible
entity that receives funds under a grant awarded under this section,
not later than 30 days after the third year of the grant period, as
described in subsection (c), shall--
(1) establish a description of best practices for using
immersive technology for immersive technology education and
training services programs; and
(2) publish such description of best practices on a
publicly available website of the Department of Labor.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered community college.--The term ``covered
community college'' means--
(A) a public institution of higher education (as
defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), at which--
(i) the highest degree awarded is an
associate degree; or
(ii) an associate degree is the most
frequently awarded degree;
(B) a branch campus of a 4-year public institution
of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), if, at
such branch campus--
(i) the highest degree awarded is an
associate degree; or
(ii) an associate degree is the most
frequently awarded degree;
(C) a 2-year Tribal College or University (as
defined in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3))); or
(D) a degree-granting Tribal College or University
(as defined in section 316(b)(3) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3))) at
which--
(i) the highest degree awarded is an
associate degree; or
(ii) an associate degree is the most
frequently awarded degree.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an
industry or sector partnership, which shall include
representatives of 1 or more of the following:
(A) An institution of higher education.
(B) A covered community college.
(C) An area career and technical education school.
(D) A postsecondary vocational institution (as
defined in section 102(c) of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(c))).
(E) A consortium of such colleges, schools, or
institutions.
(3) Immersive technology.--
(A) In general.--The term ``immersive technology''
means the technology of tools (including extended
reality, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed
reality) that integrate the physical environment with
digital content to support user engagement.
(B) Augmented reality.--The term ``augmented
reality'' means an immersive technology tool that
layers computer-generated imagery onto a user's view of
the physical world, thus providing a composite view.
(C) Mixed reality.--The term ``mixed reality''
means an immersive technology tool that blends
augmented reality and virtual reality, allowing users
to experience simulated content within their physical
worlds and to manipulate and interact with virtual
elements in real time.
(D) Virtual reality.--The term ``virtual reality''
means an immersive technology tool that occludes a
user's physical surroundings with a simulated
environment.
(4) Immersive technology education and training services
program.--The term ``immersive technology education and
training services program''--
(A) means a program of education and training
services provided, in part or in whole, through
immersive technology; and
(B) includes a career pathway described in
subsection (b) that is so provided.
(5) Rural.--
(A) In general.--The term ``rural community'' means
a jurisdiction or population not located within an
urban area.
(B) Urban area.--In this paragraph, the term
``urban area'', means a gathered jurisdiction that--
(i) contains 50,000 or more people; or
(ii) is comprised of clusters consisting of
at least 2,500 gathered jurisdictions but
contains fewer than 50,000 people.
(6) Training services.--Notwithstanding paragraph (7), the
term ``training services'' means training services as described
in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3102), provided through classroom instruction.
(7) WIOA terms.--Except as otherwise provided in this
section, any term used in this section that is defined in
section 3 of that Act shall have the meaning given that term in
that section 3.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2026 through 2035.
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