Bill Details

HR.2058 - 119th Congress

Track To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to define the term evidence-based.? Stop tracking To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to define the term evidence-based.?

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Status
  1. Introduced
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. To President
  5. Law
Latest action
2025-03-11 - Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced Date
2025-03-11
Policy Area
Labor and Employment
Committees
7
0

AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.

This bill would add a clear definition of “evidence-based” to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which is the main law for federal workforce training and job programs. In plain terms, it says that a program, service, strategy, or material should count as evidence-based if research shows it helps people get better outcomes, such as better job results or other relevant gains. The bill also updates state planning rules so states must explain how much their workforce activities are evidence-based and how they will give priority to funding programs that are backed by evidence.

  • It sets out what counts as evidence-based by pointing to different levels of research support, including strong, moderate, or promising evidence from well-designed studies.
  • It also allows a program to qualify if there is a good research-based reason to believe it will help, as long as the results are tracked and studied over time.
  • States would have to describe how evidence-based their workforce activities are when submitting their plans under the law.
  • States would also need to explain any strategy they will use to direct funding toward evidence-based programs for statewide workforce development activities.

Official Summaries

No summaries available

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2058 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2058

  To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to define the 
                          term evidence-based.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2025

  Mrs. Houchin (for herself and Mr. Messmer) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to define the 
                          term evidence-based.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EVIDENCE-BASED DEFINITION.

    (a) In General.--Section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph:
            ``(72) Evidence-based.--The term `evidence-based', when 
        used with respect to an activity, service, strategy, or 
        intervention, or content of materials, means an activity, 
        service, strategy, or intervention, or content of materials 
        that--
                    ``(A) demonstrates a statistically significant 
                effect on improving participant outcomes or other 
                relevant outcomes based on--
                            ``(i) strong evidence from at least 1 well-
                        designed and well-implemented experimental 
                        study;
                            ``(ii) moderate evidence from at least 1 
                        well-designed and well-implemented quasi-
                        experimental study; or
                            ``(iii) promising evidence from at least 1 
                        well-designed and well-implemented 
                        correlational study with statistical controls 
                        for selection bias; or
                    ``(B)(i) demonstrates a rationale based on high-
                quality research findings or positive evaluation that 
                such activity, service, strategy, or intervention is 
                likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant 
                outcomes; and
                            ``(ii) includes ongoing efforts to examine 
                        the effects of such activity, service, 
                        strategy, or intervention.''.
    (b) Description of Evidence-Based Programs.--Section 102(b)(1) of 
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112(b)(1)) is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (C) by inserting ``the extent to which 
        such activities are evidence-based,'' after ``of such 
        activities,'';
            (2) in subparagraph (D), at the end, by striking ``and'';
            (3) in subparagraph (E) by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(F) a description of any strategies the State 
                will use to prioritize the funding of evidence-based 
                programs through the funds available for statewide 
                workforce development activities described in section 
                128(a).''.
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