Ensuring Opportunities in Online Training Act
The Ensuring Opportunities in Online Training Act would amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to tighten the rules for online, exclusively web-based training providers. The bill adds a new subsection to the existing eligibility framework, saying that online providers must follow the same eligibility procedures as other providers. Importantly, if a participant chooses an exclusively online provider that is not located in the same state as the local area that approved the training, that provider would generally be ineligible to receive payment from state-administered funds unless the provider is already on the state's approved list of eligible providers for the relevant program. In short, online-only providers must be on the state’s eligible providers list to be funded. The change is aimed at ensuring state oversight and accountability for online training options, and it could affect whether certain online programs can be funded through WIOA-supported activities.
Key Points
- 1The bill adds a new provision (Online providers) to Section 122(c) of WIOA, extending eligibility procedures to providers that deliver training exclusively online.
- 2If a participant uses an online-only provider not located in the participant’s local area’s state, payment from state funds is generally prohibited unless the provider is on the state’s eligible provider list for the relevant program.
- 3The existing procedures under subsection (a) (the standard eligibility process) apply to online providers as well.
- 4The requirement ties to the local area’s approved training and to the state’s list described in subsection (d), linking online providers to state-level eligibility oversight.
- 5The bill does not create a new funding stream; it governs when online providers can be paid with funds allotted to states under WIOA Section 132.