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Obama FY14 Budget Proposal: Impact on CTE

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

President Obama yesterday released his budget for FY14 which detailed his vision and priorities for the year. Career Technical Education (CTE) played a significant part in his proposals, in the U.S. Department of Education (summarized yesterday on our blog) , the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The budget details a $12.1 billion investment for discretionary spending in the DOL, which is a 3.2 percent, or $400 million, decrease from the current fiscal year. The delayed release of the President’s budget, which is traditionally released in February, will likely mean it holds less influence than it normally would because the House and the Senate have already passed their own budgets, but it is still very important. Below are key elements of the budget proposal that would impact CTE. A more detailed summary of the DOL’s proposed budget can be found here.

Impact of Proposed Budget on CTE: U.S. Department of Labor

$8 Billion for a Community College to Career Fund: The budget calls for $4 billion in mandatory spending under the DOL for a Community College to Career Fund to begin in FY15. An additional $4 billion would be authorized under the U.S. Department of Education and the program would be jointly administered by both federal agencies. The fund would aim to:

Forge new partnerships between community colleges and businesses to train two million workers for high-paying jobs in high-growth and high-demand industries such as health care, transportation and advanced manufacturing.
Emphasize strong employer engagement in the development of postsecondary programs to ensure that programs deliver students that meet employer needs. The Community College to Career Fund would provide support for regional or national industry sectors to develop skills consortia that will identify pressing workforce needs.
Expand work-based training and other “earn and learn” opportunities that allow students to earn credit while gaining relevant employment experience in a high-wage, high-skill field. It also aims to promote and expand efforts to make data on student outcomes, including employment and earning, available by program of study.

$3.4 billion for Training and Employment Services: This funding includes programs and policy changes intended to spur innovation in the way training is delivered for workers. Aspects of this program that would impact CTE include:

$150 million for the Workforce Innovation Fund. The Workforce Innovation Fund tests new ideas from states and regions to drive forward systemic reforms and to replicate evidence-based strategies for training and helping workers find jobs. Within the fund, $10 million is dedicated to building knowledge about which interventions are most effective for disconnected youth, and the DOL would continue to work with agencies that support educational and employment strategies.
$80 million set aside for Workforce Investment Act formula grants for states. This funding would increase the statewide reserve allocation from 5 percent to 7.5 percent without reducing the amount of funding allocated to local areas.
$6 million for the Workforce Data Quality Initiative. This funding would be used to support up to six states in expanding their workforce data systems. The funding aims to support the development or expansion of longitudinal administrative databases that would integrate workforce data and link to education data from pre-K through postsecondary education and the workforce.

Impact of Proposed Budget on CTE: U.S. Department of Commerce

$1 billion for Regional Manufacturing Innovation Institutes: A one-off investment of $1 billion has been included to create up to 15 Regional Manufacturing Innovation Institutes that would bring together companies, universities, government, and community colleges to invest in the development of cutting-edge manufacturing. Leveraging the strengths of a particular region, the Institutes will be based on a pilot launched in Youngstown, Ohio, in August 2012.

David Beckett, Advocacy Manager

By David in Legislation, Public Policy
Tags: budget, president

NASDCTEc and ACTE Release Response to President’s Budget

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ACTE CONTACT: Ashley Parker
April 11, 2013 703-683-9312; aparker@acteonline.org

NASDCTEc CONTACT: David Beckett

301-588-9630; dbeckett@careertech.org

President’s Proposed Budget Restores Career Tech Ed Funding but Still Falls Short of Need

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) and the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) are encouraged that the Administration’s proposed $1.1 billion level funding of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) restores cuts made in FY 2013 as a result of sequestration. However, we are concerned that Washington has not prioritized investments in career and technical education (CTE) to meet the growing demand for education and skills in today’s economy.

The Perkins Act is the primary source of federal support for CTE, delivered at both the secondary and postsecondary level, and is a critical investment in developing a highly qualified, globally competitive American workforce. CTE programs utilize Perkins funding to evolve and expand to provide students with the knowledge and skills that are essential for success in high-wage, high-skill and high-demand careers.

Unfortunately, recent cuts to the Perkins Act have had a negative impact on CTE programs’ ability to meet student needs. The Perkins FY 2011 allocation was reduced by $140 million, with additional reductions occurring in FY 2012. As a result of sequestration, Perkins will be further reduced by $58 million in FY 2013. The erosion of Perkins has negatively impacted high schools, CTE centers, community and technical colleges, employers and millions of CTE students nationwide.

According to LeAnn Wilson, ACTE Executive Director, “Failing to provide a robust federal investment in Perkins is detrimental to the 12 million CTE students nationwide, the business community that relies on a qualified workforce, and the future economic competitiveness of our country.”

Kimberly Green, Executive Director of NASDCTEc, said, “The President’s proposal to return Perkins funding to pre-sequester levels is a step in the right direction. However, with pressures of the global economy intensifying, greater investment in CTE is needed to bolster the U.S. economy, close the skills gap, and help more students be college and career ready. The existing funding for Perkins falls short of meeting the needs of communities across the country, where employers are still struggling to find well-qualified technicians and students often face waiting lists or find that CTE programs have closed due to lack of funding.”

While several new programs proposed in the Administration’s budget have the potential to benefit CTE programs and provide students robust career readiness skills—such as the high school redesign program, STEM initiatives and Community College to Career Fund – scarce resources would be better directed toward proven programs like Perkins that increase all students’ access to high-quality CTE.

CTE is working with business and industry partners to help fill positions that are available today while preparing a qualified workforce for the jobs of tomorrow. If further reductions to Perkins continue, many effective education and employment training opportunities will disappear. In order to meet the needs of students, educators and employers, Congress must make investing in Perkins a top priority.

About ACTE

The Association for Career and Technical Education is the largest national association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. For 85 years, we have been committed to enhancing the job performance and satisfaction of our members, to increasing public awareness and appreciation of career and technical programs, and to assuring growth in local, state and federal funding for these programs by communicating and working with legislators and government leaders.

About NASDCTEc

The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education (NASDCTEc) was established in 1920 to represent the state and territory heads of secondary, postsecondary and adult career technical education (CTE) across the nation. NASDCTEc, through leadership, advocacy and partnerships, aims to support an innovative CTE system that prepares individuals to succeed in education and their careers, and poises the United States to flourish a global, dynamic economy.

David Beckett, Advocacy Manager

By David in Public Policy
Tags: budget, president

Legislative Update: Education Community Anticipates Progress on Key Issues with Obama and New Congress

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

After an intense election campaign, President Barack Obama won his second term for president last night. In the process, he was supported by battleground states — Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Wisconsin — to secure at least 303 electoral votes over Mitt Romney’s 206 electoral votes. With the election period over, the education community will be watching to see if key legislation moves forward.

In Congress, Democrats kept control of the Senate, winning a total of 54 seats including two to be held by Independents. Republicans kept their majority in the House with 218 seats. With no change in congressional control in the House and Senate, the current leadership for education – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and U.S. Representative John Kline – will stay the same. However, there will be 11 new Senators and 76 new House members. View House and Senate election winners here.

Over the last four years, a divided Congress has not made much progress on education policy. Committees from both the House and Senate have approved bills to renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, but it is unclear whether both sides will agree on the terms of the act. The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 is due for reauthorization next year along with laws for higher education, special education, and workforce development.

With Obama in the White House for another four years, the President and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will likely continue with the Administration’s major education initiatives. The Department’s CTE Blueprint, introduced earlier this year, therefore still has the possibility of influencing Perkins reauthorization.

We will keep you updated as we learn more about the election results and possible implications for CTE.

Kara Herbertson, Research and Policy Manager

By Kara in Legislation, Public Policy
Tags: president, Secretary Duncan

First Presidential Debate Addresses Economy, Education and Deficit

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Last night President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney met in Denver for the first of three presidential debates. This debate, moderated by Jim Lehrer, focused on domestic issues, with both candidates frequently citing the need to improve public education in order to prepare students with the skills they need to succeed. When asked about how he would go about creating new jobs, President Obama stated that we have improve our education system, hire more math and science teachers, keep college affordable, and create two million more openings at community colleges so that people can get trained for the jobs that exist today.

Governor Romney explained that his plan for economic recovery would include streamlining workforce training programs. He referenced the finding from a GAO report that there are 47 job training programs (including Perkins, according to GAO) reporting to eight different federal agencies. Romney suggested that these programs would be better managed at the state level, saying, “Overhead is overwhelming. We’ve got to get those dollars back to the states and go to the workers so they can create their own pathways to get in the training they need for jobs that will really help them.”

Lehrer then moved on to how each candidate would tackle the growing deficit. Romney said that, firstly, he would apply the following test to all federal programs: Is the program so critical it’s worth borrowing money from China to pay for it? And if not, he would eliminate it. Second, he would move programs that he believes could be run more efficiently at the state level and send them to the state. Finally, he would increase government efficiency by reducing the number of employees, and combining some agencies and departments. President Obama stated that, in addition to raising revenues, he would cut programs that are not helping the economy grow. He pointed out his Administration has already eliminated a number of federal programs, including 18 ineffective education programs.

In response to a question about the role of the federal government in public education, Governor Romney said that he thinks that federal education funds should follow the student, allowing parents to decide where to send their child to school. President Obama stated that the great work being done by community colleges with business support to train people for jobs, also requires some federal support.

Obama and Romney then sparred over budget proposals and how they can impact choices about support for federal education programs. Obama questioned how Romney would be able to pay for his support of education programs when his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan’s, budget proposal would cut federal education spending by 20 percent. Romney countered by saying, “I’m not going to cut education funding. I don’t have any plan to cut education funding and—and grants that go to people going to college…I don’t want to cut our commitment to education. I want to make it more effective and efficient.” However, if Romney were to implement Ryan’s budget plan, and keeps his promise to not cut education that would mean deeper cuts for other areas of the federal government.

The next Presidential debate will take place on October 16, 2012 and will focus on foreign and domestic policy. Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Ryan will meet for their only debate next Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST and will also cover foreign and domestic policy.

Nancy Conneely, Director of Public Policy

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: budget, business and industry, community colleges, funding, Job training, Post Secondary Access and Affordability, postsecondary, president, teachers, workforce

OMB Delays Release of Sequestration Report

Friday, September 7th, 2012

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was scheduled to release a report on the impact of sequestration yesterday, as required by the Sequester Transparency Act. However, that did not happen, and it is now looking like it will not be released until late next week. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had this to say:

“Given the time needed to address the complex issues involved in preparing the report, the administration will be submitting that report to Congress late next week. No amount of planning changes the fact that sequester would have devastating consequences. We need to deal with our fiscal challenges in a balanced way.”

We will let you know when the report is released, and what it has to say about the impact of sequestration on Perkins Act funding.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: budget, Congress, president, Public Policy

Election 2012: Candidates’ Education Positions

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Yesterday we told you about the newly unveiled Republican party platform which supports local CTE programs at the secondary and postsecondary levels. While this platform reveals where the party as a whole stands on various issues, it does not necessarily reflect the position of an individual candidate. In a new publication from NASDCTEc, Election 2012: Candidates’ Education Positions, we take a closer look at the policy positions of both Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama. This document does not cover every education policy issue, but those that the candidates have made public.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By Nancy in Public Policy, Publications
Tags: postsecondary, president, Public Policy, Secondary

Republican Platform Highlights CTE

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

With the presidential election just around the corner, convention season is upon us. Republicans are meeting in Tampa this week to formally nominate Governor Mitt Romney as the party’s candidate for President. Part of the convention process includes releasing the party’s “platform” or statement of principles. The Republican party’s platform covers a broad swath of issues, including education, jobs and the economy, agriculture, and government reform. The party’s education plank underscores the value of CTE in preparing students for the workplace:

School choice—whether through charter schools, open enrollment requests, college lab schools, virtual schools, career and technical education programs, vouchers, or tax credits—is important for all children, especially for families with children trapped in failing schools…We support the promotion of local career and technical educational programs and entrepreneurial programs that have been supported by leaders in industry and will retrain and retool the American workforce, which is the best in the world.

The platform also states the party’s belief that the status quo is not working for the higher education system, and calls for “new systems of learning” that can compete with traditional four-year institutions, including community and technical colleges, private training schools, and work-based learning in the private sector. The party also believes that the acquisition of advanced skills is necessary for the 21^st century economy, and should focus on STEM fields.

Democrats will convene in Charlotte next week to officially nominate President Obama as their candidate, at which time they are expected to release their party’s platform.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: business and industry, community colleges, economy, entreprenuer, Job training, postsecondary, president, Public Policy, Secondary, skilled workforce, STEM, workforce

More Information on President’s Career Academy Proposal

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

As we told you a few weeks ago, in his FY13 budget, President Obama proposed a $1 billion investment in career academies. In a fact sheet released by the Department of Education, there are new details to share. According to the Department:

“Through this new initiative, States would award competitive grants to partnerships of school districts and local employers, creating 3,000 new career academies and increasing the number of students served by 50 percent. This means that half a million more students would have access to programs that studies suggest can lead to higher earnings and better academic outcomes.”

As we learn more about this and other proposals in the President’s budget, we will be sure to share that information with you.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: budget, career academies, college and career readiness, federal grants, funding, president, Secondary

Budget Level Funds Perkins; Invests in Career Academies and Community Colleges

Monday, February 13th, 2012

President Obama released his FY13 budget today, and there is good news for CTE! The President proposed level funding for the Perkins Basic State Grants, and plans to release a reauthorization proposal that “would restructure CTE to align what students learn in school with the demands of 21^st Century jobs.” While the budget does not include specifics about what this proposal will look like, a budget summary released by the Department of Education states that their proposal would increase the rigor and relevance of CTE and strengthen connections between secondary and postsecondary education. In addition to Perkins Act funding, the budget proposes an investment of $1 billion over three years to scale up career academies.

Some other highlights of the budget that may be of interest:

Community Colleges – The budget includes funding for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAA CCCT) program, which provides $2 billion over four years to help community colleges improve and expand their programs to meet local and regional labor market demands. The Budget also funds a new Community College to Career Fund at $8 billion over three years, which is designed to improve access to job training for two million individuals across the nation through State and community college partnerships with businesses.
Elementary and Secondary Education – The budget would fund programs such as Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation, and Promise Neighborhoods. The Administration also seeks to consolidate 38 programs into 11 competitive grant programs “designed to allow States and districts more flexibility to use resources where they will have the greatest impact.”
STEM – The budget provides $80 million to prepare 100,000 effective STEM teachers, and $30 million for a math education initiative, jointly administered by the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation, to support evidence-based approaches.
Pathways Back to Work Fund – The budget includes $12.5 billion to support summer and year-round jobs for low-income youth, and will help connect the long-term unemployed and low-income adults to subsidized employment and work-based training opportunities.
Workforce Innovation Fund – The budget proposes $125 million to spur job training innovation among States and localities through this program which will be jointly administered by the Departments of Labor and Education. This competitive grant will be available to States and regions to implement “bold systemic reforms that break down barriers between programs and provide rewards based on outcomes, particularly in serving disadvantaged populations.

We are continuing to analyze the budget, and will update you on any additional information that could impact CTE.

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By Nancy in Public Policy
Tags: budget, business and industry, career academies, community colleges, federal grants, funding, innovation grants, Job training, Perkins, postsecondary, president, Public Policy, race to the top, Secondary, STEM, teachers, workforce, youth employment

President Focuses on Education and Skills Training in State of the Union

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

In his State of the Union address last night President Obama called keeping the middle class alive “the defining issue of our time.” Throughout his speech, he set out proposals to foster an economy “built to last” predicated on education, a skilled workforce, high-paying jobs, energy independence and fairness that would help bolster the middle class.

The President highlighted the skills gap that exists in industries such as manufacturing, information technology and clean energy: “Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job.” In an effort to solve this problem, he called for a national commitment to train two million individuals with the skills they need to land a job, with a focus on partnerships between businesses and community colleges. The President is scheduled to release his FY13 budget on February 13. We hope that his commitment to address the skills gap and provide resources for unemployed individuals will be reflected in his proposal for Perkins Act funding.

President Obama also focused on the current job training system, saying that he wants “to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people…have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need.” His hope is that streamlining the system will get people back to work more quickly in the jobs that exist today, and better prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. While he does not mention the Workforce Investment Act specifically, the program has been due for reauthorization since 2003 and has been top priority for the both the House and the Senate this session. Given the President’s mention of the workforce system, we are hopeful that this signals a desire to reauthorize WIA in the coming year.

The President also touched on other education issues such as high school dropouts, calling on states to require students to stay in school until graduation or until they turn 18. In terms of college access and affordability, the President urged Congress to keep student interest rates low and extend the tuition tax credit. He also asked institutions of higher education to keep costs down and was blunt in his commitment to making postsecondary education more affordable, saying, “If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down.”

Nancy Conneely, Public Policy Manager

By Nancy in Legislation, Public Policy
Tags: budget, community colleges, Congress, funding, Graduation Rates, Job training, manufacturing, middle class, Perkins, Post Secondary Access and Affordability, postsecondary, president, skills gap, WIA, workforce

Posts Tagged ‘president’

Obama FY14 Budget Proposal: Impact on CTE

NASDCTEc and ACTE Release Response to President’s Budget

Legislative Update: Education Community Anticipates Progress on Key Issues with Obama and New Congress

First Presidential Debate Addresses Economy, Education and Deficit

OMB Delays Release of Sequestration Report

Election 2012: Candidates’ Education Positions

Republican Platform Highlights CTE

More Information on President’s Career Academy Proposal

Budget Level Funds Perkins; Invests in Career Academies and Community Colleges

President Focuses on Education and Skills Training in State of the Union

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