S. 2855

119 S2855 IS: Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act of 2025
 U.S. Senate
 2025-09-18
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 2855  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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act of 2025  .
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.