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Legislative Update: Congress Passes Last-Minute Funding Extension

October 2nd, 2023

After weeks of fruitless negotiations on Capitol Hill the last few months regarding a pathway forward on full-year federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriations, lawmakers emerged with a temporary deal to avert an expected government shutdown this past weekend. Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently published anticipated postsecondary regulations. 

Lawmakers Narrowly Avert Government Shutdown

In a surprising turn of events Saturday morning, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced a 45-day legislative extension of federal funding to provide Congress more time to negotiate a pathway forward on longer-term appropriations legislation. For the last few months, Speaker McCarthy and his leadership team have repeatedly indicated that they would not allow the House to consider such an extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), without significant spending and policy concessions demanded by conservative factions within the House Republican caucus. However, Speaker McCarthy abruptly set these demands aside Saturday morning, several hours before a government shutdown was set to begin, and introduced a CR that would simply extend current FY23 funding for federal programs and operations for the next 45 days. 

This measure was subsequently advanced by the full House of Representatives on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, 335-91. Following a contentious debate in the House, the bill was quickly sent to the Senate, where it was advanced by a margin of 88-9, before being sent to President Biden and signed into law. 

In the short term, this legislation prevents a government shutdown and will provide more time for lawmakers to continue to negotiate a pathway forward on full-year FY24 funding. However, with 90 House Republicans voting no on the measure, and with concessions Speaker McCarthy was forced to give earlier this year to conservative lawmakers in his party, this group of lawmakers may seek to force a vote to remove McCarthy from this leadership role as these efforts continue to get underway. Equally as important, Democrats’ and Republicans’ respective visions for FY24 funding still remain significantly far apart– despite the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) which established, in part, a framework intended to facilitate the passage of a full-year FY24 funding measure this year. 

Consensus on FY24 funding is likely to prove contentious in the weeks ahead. As these negotiations progress, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for the passage of full-year FY24 appropriations legislation, including a strengthened investment in CTE via the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act’s (Perkins V) basic state grant program as proposed by the Senate earlier this year. 

ED Finalizes Gainful Employment Rule

Earlier this year, ED proposed a new iteration of gainful employment (GE) rules– regulations that apply to certain postsecondary programs and are intended to ensure that learners are able to pay back federal financial aid obligations. Advance CTE and partners submitted comments to the department during this time and encouraged the agency to consider alternative ways to measure learners’ earnings as well as other suggestions to improve the proposal. Following this comment period, which attracted more than 7,500 responses from the public, ED published a preview of its final GE rule which will be formally published in the Federal Register on October 10. 

The final rule mirrors this earlier proposal closely and would apply to postsecondary career education programs that are otherwise eligible for aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The rule includes a debt-to-earnings measure that would compare learners’ debt burdens to their total and discretionary income. In addition, the final rule includes a high school earnings measure which would compare the earnings of those that complete a program with the median earnings of a high school graduate in their state. If a program fails on the same measure twice within a three-year period, it would lose eligibility to receive Title IV funding. 

In addition, the rulemaking also includes a new financial value transparency framework (FVT). This component of the rules package is intended to provide learners and families with greater information and insights into the value proposition of enrolling in a postsecondary program prior to enrollment. The FVT would proactively disclose information related to program costs and potential return on investment with learners prior to receiving federal financial aid. This is intended to prevent learners from enrolling in a program that has the potential to leave them with unaffordable debt obligations. The FVT would also require learners to proactively affirm that they understand these risks prior to enrolling and using federal financial aid.

The final GE rules are set to go into effect July 1, 2024. The FVT requires the collection of new student outcomes information over the next two years and is expected to come into full effect mid-2026. However, as with previous ED regulatory efforts on this issue, there is a strong possibility that litigation may delay the implementation of one or both components of this rules package in the future. Advance CTE is continuing to analyze this proposal for wider implications for the CTE community and will be closely monitoring its implementation in the coming months. Additional information related to this rulemaking can be found in this factsheet. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

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Legislative Update: Stalemate on Funding Continues While House Examines WIOA

September 22nd, 2023

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill remained in session this week but have continued to struggle to find a pathway forward on federal funding for the upcoming fiscal year. Elsewhere, the House held a hearing to formally examine updating workforce development legislation. 

Congress Remains Deadlocked on FY24 Funding

This week the House and the Senate continued to struggle to find consensus on a pathway forward on federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) funding. With FY24 set to begin on October 1, lawmakers must pass stopgap spending legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to extend current federal funding levels as negotiations on longer-term FY24 legislation continue. House Republican leaders, however, are struggling to build consensus within their own caucus about the duration and content of the CR as well as longer-term FY24 spending proposals. As a result, a government shutdown is appearing increasingly likely on October 1. While the Senate was expected to advance several more FY24 measures this week, those efforts have also failed to move forward as initially scheduled.

Both impasses are due to opposition from conservative Republicans demanding significant spending and policy concessions in exchange for their support for both a CR and, more broadly, full-year FY24 funding legislation. In addition, Republican lawmakers in the House have only considered spending proposals that dramatically reduce current federal funding, including funding for wider education and workforce development investments, by amounts far beyond the requirements of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) approved earlier this year. With the margins of control in both chambers extremely narrow, continued conservative opposition and demands to further cut domestic programs land exact other concessions have stalled Congress’ ability to reach a consensus. As this impasse continues, Advance CTE will continue to engage with partners in Congress to advocate for robust funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*) and other funding streams important to the Career Technical Education (CTE) community.

House Holds Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Hearing

On Wednesday, September 20, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing titled “Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for Jobseekers, Employers, and Taxpayers.” The hearing, which was framed by the committee as a formal first step towards a bipartisan effort to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), focused extensively on a number of issues including potential reforms to the law that would increase access to training opportunities. The hearing also focused extensively on ways to better promote employer engagement and to improve data transparency and accountability within the legislation. Lawmakers and witnesses also discussed strategies and approaches to better support youth populations and provide them with more robust training and employment options. Witness testimony and opening statements can be accessed in the recording of the hearing.

*As amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

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Funding Career Technical Education: Using the 2023 State of CTE Funding Report Resources

September 21st, 2023

Advance CTE’s newly released 2023 State of CTE: An Analysis of State Secondary CTE Funding Models highlights how states and the District of Columbia provide high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) through various secondary CTE funding models and approaches. This blog, the second in a series, describes ways to use the website and supporting resources. 

Overview

This resource builds on baseline research conducted in 2014 by RTI International, with the support of Advance CTE, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, and is generously supported by the Walton Family Foundation. Advance CTE is committed to supporting states as they design equitable funding models that direct funding where it is needed most, as described in Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits). Expanding knowledge about funding models and approaches for state secondary CTE is critical for state leaders to provide high-quality CTE for diverse learners. The website consists of an executive summary, research report and three case studies, interactive national funding landscape map and downloadable state-by-state funding table. Below are tips on using and sharing this research with your colleagues and stakeholders, with links to the resources in each header.

Executive Summary

Read the executive summary to get a background of CTE funding foundational basics, a project overview and recommendations for revising and implementing more equitable funding models. This is a great resource for you to pass along to policymakers, legislative staff, state budget staff, partner agencies or local CTE leaders in your state. Consider adding the summary as a pre-reading assignment or an agenda item during your next meeting about state funding.

Research Report and Case Studies

The research report provides a 50-state landscape of state secondary CTE funding, highlights key trends in state funding models, and provides recommendations to advance equitable, learner-centered funding designs. You can learn about some of the ways states made adjustments to their models in the past decade and read examples of how states have designed elements of their funding models to address CTE program quality, access and completion. Case studies from Massachusetts, North Dakota and Texas showcase how three states implement different categorical funding models. 

These case-use examples provide ideas for you to maximize the website and supporting resources in conversations about CTE funding. 

National Funding Landscape Map

The interactive map provides a comparison of secondary CTE models across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Identify your state’s funding model and then compare it to other states with the same funding model. You can also compare your state’s allocation to other states with similar demographics and CTE learner participation numbers. Use the information for benchmarking purposes when discussing – or advocating for – secondary CTE funding in your state. 

State-by-State Funding Table

The state-by-state funding table provides descriptions of each state’s funding approach, allocations from fiscal year 2022 and sources for legislative and regulatory documents. You have the option of downloading the table for additional analysis. Run keyword searches in the descriptions for “enrollment” or “average daily membership” or “ADM” to identify how states structure funding around learner enrollment. Run a keyword search for “grants” to identify which states are using competitive or one-time grants to support secondary CTE. Compare models and approaches from 2012 and 2022 to identify states that have changed their model and/or approach in the last decade. This is helpful information to reference if your state is considering or is in the process of changing its secondary CTE funding model and/or approach. 

ACTION: Bookmark the website for easier future access, watch the explainer video and share this blog with your colleagues. 

Be sure to read the first blog in this series, Funding Career Technical Education: Secondary CTE Funding Basics, which provides a background on CTE funding and describes various models and approaches states use to fund secondary CTE. In the next blog in this series, we will explore how states have incorporated equity elements into their funding models to address CTE program quality, access and completion.

You can read more about funding in the following Advance CTE resources:

Dr. Laura Maldonado, Senior Research Associate

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Legislative Update: Congress Struggles to Find Agreement on Funding

September 15th, 2023

Both the House and the Senate were in session this week as lawmakers struggled to find consensus on a pathway forward on federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) funding. With only a few legislative days left on the Congressional calendar until the start of FY24, the status of federal funding is currently uncertain. 

FY24 Funding Remains in Focus

On Tuesday, the House formally reconvened after Congress’ annual August recess. The Senate has been in session since last week and is working to advance a “minibus” funding legislation– a measure containing three of the 12 individual spending bills that compose the federal budget. As a reminder, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced each of the 12 FY24 spending bills out of committee for full consideration by the Senate just before the August recess. These measures included a proposed $40 million in increased funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act’s (Perkins V*) basic state grant program. 

These efforts stand in stark contrast to the House, where Republican lawmakers have struggled to find consensus on a much broader swath of their FY24 spending proposals. Broadly, the Chamber remains much further behind than the Senate. More importantly, Republican lawmakers in the House are advancing spending proposals that cut federal funding, including for other significant education and workforce development efforts, by significant amounts beyond the requirements of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) approved earlier this year.

The Senate’s and House’s respective visions for FY24 funding remain dramatically far apart. With only a few legislative days left before the next fiscal year begins on October 1, legislation that would extend current funding levels for a specified period of time (known as a Continuing Resolution or “CR”) will be needed. However, conservative factions in the House have indicated that they will not support a CR without steep spending cuts and a number of other policy concessions, including consideration of the impeachment of President Biden. These demands are not supported by the White House or party leadership in the Senate, leaving all three at an impasse during this critical juncture of the appropriations process.

The extreme distance between the House and Senate FY24 spending proposals and the positions currently taken by the House, Senate, and the White House mean that negotiations in the coming weeks are likely to be contentious and the potential for a government shutdown remains elevated. As these negotiations take place, The National School Boards Association (NSBA) will continue to advocate continued government operations without disruption and for robust funding for critical funding streams important to the K-12 community.

As these talks move forward, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for robust funding for critical funding streams important to the CTE community. Be sure to let your Senators and Representatives know how important CTE funding is by clicking here! 

*As amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

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Legislative Update: Senate Returns from August Recess to Busy Fall Agenda

September 8th, 2023

The Senate returned to Capitol Hill this past Tuesday following its annual August recess while lawmakers in the House are expected to return next week. Elsewhere, policymakers have started to collect ideas regarding how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will impact education and workforce development, while the U.S. Secretary of Education launches a back-to-school bus tour, announces educator diversity efforts and issues new guidance related to teaching and learning in schools. 

Senate Reconvenes for New Work Period

The Senate reconvened this week following its annual August recess. Lawmakers in the House are due back to Capitol Hill next week. On their return to Washington, D.C., the Senate has focused primarily on addressing Congress’s failure to complete work on the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. Just before August recess, the Senate appropriations committee successfully advanced all 12 of the individual appropriations bills that compose the federal budget on a bipartisan basis but these proposals have yet to be approved by the full chamber and reconciled with forthcoming proposals in the House. 

Lawmakers in the House, meanwhile, have been unable to similarly advance their own spending proposals, including legislation providing funding for Career Technical Education (CTE) via the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*). More importantly, the House and Senate’s proposed funding levels for FY24 differ substantially, with lawmakers in the lower chamber proposing significant cuts to federal spending which do not conform to the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA)—a legislative agreement reached earlier this year that prevented a default on the nation’s debt obligations.

Stopgap legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), will likely be needed to avert a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins later this month. Federal lawmakers are continuing to negotiate a path forward. Conservative lawmakers in the House recently issued a series of policy and spending demands in exchange for their support for any CR, including prioritizing spending levels that fall well below those required by the FRA. House Republicans, led by Speaker McCarthy (R-CA), have further indicated that they want a shorter-term CR rather than one lasting through the end of the year while the Senate and the Biden Administration want a temporary funding extension lasting until the holiday season to provide more time to negotiate a full-year appropriations package.

Given the significant differences between the House and Senate FY24 spending proposals and the positions currently taken by the House, Senate, and the White House, negotiations are expected to be extremely contentious in the coming weeks and months ahead. As these talks move forward, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for robust funding for critical funding streams important to the CTE community. Be sure to let your Senators and Representatives know how important CTE funding is by clicking here! 

Ranking Member Cassidy Issues Request for Information on AI

On September 6, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Cassidy (R-LA) published a new white paper on artificial intelligence and the potential implications for policy areas falling under the HELP Committee’s jurisdiction. AI is still an emerging topic for Congress with two hearings scheduled next week in the Senate within the Judiciary and Commerce Committees.

Ranking Member Cassidy has requested feedback from the public and stakeholders regarding several issues likely to arise in the coming years as AI is further deployed and leveraged in different facets of daily life, including in education and workforce development. Specifically, the Ranking Member seeks feedback on whether and how AI can be used in educational settings, how education leaders promote a better understanding of AI, both among students and their peers, and how these technologies can be used to improve student learning while not diminishing learners’ critical thinking skills. Notably, the white paper includes several questions related to whether and how CTE systems and programs can leverage AI and provide learners more opportunities to pursue pathways in related fields. 

ED Launches Back to School Bus Tour

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has been on a “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar”—a week-long multi-state trip across the nation to highlight the work schools, districts, institutions, and states are doing to support students as they collectively return to classrooms over the next few weeks. The tour includes stops in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and features priorities and initiatives that the agency has been promoting throughout the Biden Administration, including its “Career Connected High School” efforts which are intended to promote key pillars of high-quality CTE. More information about the tour can be accessed here. In addition, the Department also recently published a factsheet highlighting the Biden Administration’s ongoing efforts to support learners as they return to school this fall. 

ED Announces Educator Diversity Efforts

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has announced that it will host two convenings in late October to find, promote and encourage wider educator diversity efforts. The first of these national meetings will be a Conference on Equity in Opportunity and will be held in Denver October 26-27. The second meeting, the Teach to Lead Summit, will take place in Denver on October 27. The announcement also highlighted recent ED efforts to prioritize teacher diversity including through investments in teacher quality partnership grants, August Hawkins Centers of Excellence programs, and the Supporting Effective Educator Development. More information can be found here. 

Office of Civil Rights Issues New Guidance on Race and School Programming

Late last month, ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued new guidance regarding how and in what ways schools may include programming aimed at fostering racially inclusive communities. The guidance updates OCR’s legal interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which provides further clarity regarding under what circumstances schools may develop curricula and provide programs that promote racially inclusive school communities. “Today’s resource shares with school communities practical guidance about whether and when federal civil rights laws permit – and in some cases require – schools to take actions related to race, as well as whether and when these same laws may require that schools not act based on race,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon during the release of this guidance. The full letter can be accessed here. 

*As amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

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Increasing FAFSA Completion Rates and Postsecondary Plans with Iowa’s College and Career Transition Counselor Initiative

August 24th, 2023

Iowa’s College and Career Transition Counselors (CCTCs) are filling a need within school counseling and admission programs for learner-centered, one-on-one support for postsecondary planning and career exploration for Iowa’s learners. Providing learners with the skills to navigate their own career journey helps to ensure that each learner can have success in the career of their choice. The Iowa CCTC program is an example of how local-level innovation can lead to state-wide scale with positive impact on learner outcomes and success. This blog will present an overview of the structure and funding of the CCTC Initiative with considerations and recommendations for state leaders to take first steps towards implementation in their own state.

In 2015, David Ford, Future Ready Coordinator, Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency (MBAEA) and Director of the Area Education Agency Postsecondary Readiness and Equity Partnership (AEA PREP), was recruited to the Eastern Region of Iowa because of his research on secondary to postsecondary transitions. At the time, the region had the lowest postsecondary enrollments in the state and historically poor postsecondary outcomes. In partnership with Eastern Iowa Community College, Louisa-Muscatine and Columbus Community Schools and with support from the Future Ready division of MBAEA, the College and Career Transition Counselor (CCTC) position was created in 2017. Over the course of a few years, significant improvements were shown in Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates and college intention as well as overall positive postsecondary outcomes for the learners who were part of a CCTC’s roster.

Source: Partnerships that Work: College and Career Transition Counselors a Case Study from Eastern Iowa

Thanks to the success of the Eastern Iowa program, David was asked to present to college presidents statewide and when the demand for CCTCs across additional community colleges and high schools grew, David partnered with the Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Career Technical Education to scale the CCTC program. Using the Eastern Iowa program as a model, the Department of Education launched its statewide CCTC Initiative in the 2021-2022 school year.

The time and effort required to establish a CCTC program is well worth it; Iowa has seen continued improvement in FAFSA completion rates and postsecondary intention. For the class of 2022, the overall FAFSA completion rate for the high schools served by a CCTC was 59.3%, up from 41.5% for the class of 2021. David Ford states that the CCTC Initiative is “one of the few strategies that I’ve come across that is directly improving outcomes for first-generation students.” 

Read on to learn more about how the Iowa CCTC Initiative is structured and funded as well as for considerations and recommendations for implementing a similar program.

The Eastern Iowa Model

While districts and community colleges have flexibility in how they structure their CCTC position(s), the majority of the current programs in Iowa follow the Eastern Iowa Model. Within this model, a community college forms a partnership with two high schools within their local area to share a CCTC. The CCTC is an employee of the community college, however, they work within the high schools as well as on the community college campus. It is important to note that the number of schools sharing a CCTC can vary based on the needs of each specific partnership. A community college may form multiple partnerships with local area high schools, employing multiple CCTCs, to best meet learner needs. For the 2023-2024 school year over 50 CCTCs will serve learners in over 100 high schools employed across all 15 community college regions in Iowa. 

The Role of the CCTC

The CCTCs serve as a liaison between the secondary and postsecondary partners while providing direct support to the learners on their roster; they complement the school counseling department and can go deeper into postsecondary options and opportunities than school counselors are able to. Danielle Sampson, a former school counselor and CCTC, now Community Engagement Specialist with Iowa College Aid, part of the Iowa Department of Education and a CCTC initiative partner, explains that “the CCTC does things that school counselors don’t have the time to do.” Additionally, while school counselors are tasked with serving the entire student body, the CCTC can target learners who need more support in developing and pursuing a postsecondary plan.

The CCTC’s roster (caseload) is capped at 300 learners and is often generated by targeting first-generation college students, learners who are economically challenged and English learners (ELs). Danielle believes that most families have a need for additional support, however, as admission processes and post-secondary options have changed drastically in the last 20 years. Learners generally begin working with a CCTC in their junior year (11th grade) and continue working with the CCTC through their first postsecondary year. 

A typical week for a CCTC could involve a wide variety of activities including career exploration field trips, coordinating career expo events, college campus visits, apprenticeship tours, working with military recruiters, a parent FAFSA night, individual student meetings, teaching a “How College Works” class, paperwork for concurrent enrollment, connecting with Iowa Intermediary Network or work-based learning coordinators, helping learners with test preparation, small group meetings, and meetings with families which could include helping them to complete FAFSA or other paperwork.

State Role in Striving for Consistency in Scale

In order to create consistency and alignment with the general role and responsibilities of CCTCs across the state, the Iowa Department of Education brought on Erica Wood-Schmitz, a former school counselor who has first-hand experience working alongside a CCTC, to oversee the CCTC program as Education Program Consultant: Academic and Career Planning.

To further increase consistency and alignment across the state, the CCTC Steering Committee, which Erica oversees, was formed and is comprised of community college supervisors, representatives from the Iowa Department of Education, school counselors, representatives from local districts, Iowa College Aid and AEA PREP. 

The CCTC Steering Committee created a standard job description of the CCTC including clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Additionally, the CCTC Steering Committee created competency statements that would guide the training of the CCTCs. Realizing the need for a greater voice from the CCTCs themselves, a CCTC Leadership Team, comprised of CCTCs from the field, was formed to help create the training plan and to inform the competencies, roles and responsibilities.

Qualifications and Training

At the inception of the state-level CCTC Initiative, a CCTC was required to have a master’s degree with a license or endorsement in school counseling. This is still the preferred education requirement, however, in order to better meet demand, those with a related master’s or a bachelor’s degree are now eligible. If a partnership will require the CCTC to teach a college success course, they must have a master’s degree.

To best train and meet the individual learning needs of the CCTCs, the CCTC Initiative uses a cohort model. Currently, there are three cohorts:

  • Cohort 1 – CCTCs that were part of the original Eastern Iowa program and new CCTCs for the 2021-2022 school year
  • Cohort 2 – new CCTCs for the 2022-2023 school year
  • Cohort 3 – new CCTCs for the 2023-2024 school year

CCTCs create their own Individual Learning Plan (ILP) relative to their districts’ needs and receive support from the CCTC Leadership Team and Erica. They attend a two-day training held in August for cultural competency development, data and goal setting. Iowa College Aid plays a large role in providing training and resources for the CCTCs.

Funding

To incentivize and help districts and community colleges create a CCTC program, the Iowa Department of Education has used its Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act Reserve Funds (Perkins Reserve Funds) to create a three-year tiered grant for which CCTC partnership schools can apply. The districts split the cost of the shared CCTC with the community college, estimated to be $65,000-75,000 annually with benefits. The tiered grant is structured as follows:

  • Year 1 initial Iowa Department of Education grant funding: Perkins incentive support (up to $40,000 per position*). *Funding amounts are subject to change.
  • Year 2 Iowa Department of Education grant funding: Perkins support ($7,500).
  • Year 3 Iowa Department of Education grant funding: Perkins support ($2,500).

School districts may also be able to access operational sharing dollars and federal grants to help fund the CCTC program. To continue to scale the initiative the 15 community colleges across Iowa received federal grant funding to add 15 new CCTCs for the 2023-2024 school year bringing the state total over 50.

Challenges

There are some challenges that the CCTCs have faced that create additional barriers to serving the learners on their roster. 

  • Clear communication among faculty and between the institutions sharing a CCTC. Within the districts, CCTCs can receive push-back from school counselors who do not understand the CCTC’s role. In order to overcome this hurdle, clear information on the role of the CCTC and how they complement, and not compete, with the counseling department is needed.
  • Different interpretations of the role of the CCTC between institutions. Districts may see the CCTC as another school counselor while community colleges may see them as an addition to their admissions team. The CCTC is not intended to be a recruiter for the community college and while enrollment may increase as a result of their work with learners, college is not the only path after high school graduation. To this end, it is important for CCTCs to broaden their understanding of what college is. Danielle Sampson explained it well, “college is anything a student does to build a skill set after high school – apprenticeship, military, trade school or a two or four-year college.”
  • Difficulty navigating the competing schedules between buildings and this is where communication between the partnering institutions is key. The CCTC is truly a shared position and the administration across institutions must be willing to work together to help set the CCTC up for success. “The partnership and the relationship between the community college and high schools that share the counselor are paramount to the success of the program,” shared David Ford. “If the relationship isn’t there, it will really hinder if not destroy the program.”

Considerations and Recommendations

For states that may be interested in trying to create their own CCTC initiative, Iowa State CTE Director Dennis Harden emphasized the importance of building relationships between local districts and community colleges. Dennis shared that it is Iowa’s strong dual and concurrent enrollment programs that laid the foundation for these relationships and the early success of the CCTC Initiative.

Dennis along with Erica Woods-Schmitz, David Ford and Danielle Sampson have the following recommendations for those considering starting a CCTC program:

  • Intentionally create opportunities and incentives for relationship building between districts and colleges.
  • Target districts driven by data to serve as pilot programs. The districts must understand their data and using additional data beyond FAFSA completion will allow for better overall tracking of program results.
  • Create an oversight or governing body to ensure consistency in training, roles and responsibilities (i.e. steering committee, leadership team).
  • Have a clear understanding of how districts and colleges can braid funding, including Perkins Reserve Funds to fund the program long term.
  • Partner with intermediaries (like Iowa College Aid and AEA PREP); these partnerships are integral to success as they can help facilitate the program and train CCTCs.
  • Encourage colleges to find the right match between the CCTC and the high school(s) they will be serving. 
  • Encourage CCTC programs to evaluate the highest times of need for a CCTC and consider a 10-month period that may not fit exactly within the standard school year. This may allow the CCTC to be available over the summer when learners transitioning out of high school and into their postsecondary path have a need for guidance.

For more information on Iowa’s College and Career Transition Counselor Initiative, please visit the following resources:

Jodi Langelotti, Communications Associate

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Reshoring is Only Possible with High-Quality Career Technical Education

August 23rd, 2023

Many have heard of the term offshoring, moving production to another country to save on costs, but are you familiar with reshoring? Reshoring involves moving the production of goods back to the country where the business is located. There are several reasons for a company to make this decision, including new legislative or regulatory requirements; increasing costs due to changes in the country where the production was outsourced; or logistical reasons related to cost and time. While the reasons for reshoring may be varied, a strong Career Technical Education (CTE) system that prepares future workers is necessary to make reshoring possible for companies based in the United States. 

There has been an increasing push within the manufacturing industry to reshore more production back to the U.S. due to recent legislation at the federal and state levels. While there have been policies regarding federal purchasing that require domestic production, such as the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), the Buy American Act and recently the Build America Buy America Act, there are now new policies being enacted focused on supporting private sector domestic sourcing. The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 (CHIPS and Science ACT) is intended to increase more domestic production of semiconductors, but also to support the growth of new and emerging technologies such as quantum computing, AI, clean energy and nanotechnology. To facilitate this growth, the CHIPS Act authorizes $174 billion over the next five years for STEM programs, workforce development and research and development (R&D).

National and state policy are not the only reasons for manufacturers choosing to reshore, there are also cost and supply chain reasons. As the economies of nations around the world evolve, the savings from previously lower cost of production compared to domestic production is diminishing and almost negligible in some cases. Logistical issues have also prompted the drive to bring production back to the U.S. During the coronavirus pandemic, the fragility of the supply chain and transportation infrastructures was exposed. 

Supporting reshoring efforts requires access to a robust and highly skilled workforce and talent pool. This is where a high-quality CTE system that is accessible to all learners plays a critical role. Domestic manufacturing has many career pathways available to learners including those outside of what is traditionally considered as being a part of the sector. Business management, logistics, supply chain management, and many more in-demand careers are available within the umbrella of manufacturing. Learners need to have access to the education and training needed to prepare them for these in-demand career opportunities that provide self-sustaining wages.

To maximize’s CTE’s value in reshoring, employers must be informed on its alignment with reshoring-connected careers and be partners in designing CTE programs to meet skills needs. Advance CTE’s employer engagement fact sheet and messaging guidelines provide several recommendations on effectively engaging employers about the positive return on investment that CTE experiences provide for business and economic growth. The findings from the research provide CTE leaders with several suggestions to enhance employer participation, program quality and learner outcomes. 

  • Leverage partnerships to advance skills-based hiring
  • Expand partnership capacity among small businesses and local systems
  • Provide repeated and consistent messaging on the value and benefit of CTE for employers

This blog is the first in a series that will highlight promising state policies that connect the expansion of domestic manufacturing and CTE. The upcoming topics include curriculum and skill set development, programs of study alignment, and work-based learning programs that will all provide learners with the tools they need to be prepared to fill these high-skill, high-wage and in-demand jobs.

Paul Mattingly, Senior Policy Associate

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Legislative Update: New CTE Innovation Grants Announced As Congress Remains On Recess

August 18th, 2023

Congress remains on its annual August recess this week while the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announces new innovation funding and the Biden Administration seeks to prioritize cybersecurity for the education community. 

FY24 Funding Likely to Top the Congressional Agenda Next Month

Lawmakers remained in home states and districts this week as part of Congress’ annual August recess. Congress is expected to return in the early part of September where it is widely expected that federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) funding for the federal government will be the top priority. Recently, Democratic and Republican leaders have indicated the likely need to pass a short-term stopgap spending legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to provide more time to negotiate full-year FY24 appropriations legislation for programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*) and other related education and workforce development programs. In recent weeks, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) sent a letter to Congressional appropriators urging them to enact funding legislation recently advanced by the Senate which would provide a $40 million increase for Perkins V’s basic state grant program. 

We encourage the wider CTE community to reach out to their lawmakers during this recess period to urge them to support this legislation as Congress continues to negotiate full-year FY24 funding. As these efforts continue to take shape, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for robust funding for the CTE community as part of the ongoing FY24 budget and appropriations process.

ED Solicits Applications for Career Connected High Schools

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) finalized priorities and selection criteria for the Perkins V Innovation and Modernization grant program. These definitions, selection criteria, and requirements will be used by a panel of peer reviewers in the coming months to select approximately 10-20 projects and award approximately $1-1.5 million in funding over a 12 month period. Applicants that are eligible to apply for this funding include consortia of a wide range of entities including local education agencies, area technical centers, institutions of higher education and state education agencies among many others. Grant funding is required to be used for four main strategies, which ED identifies as “keys” to its wider Career-Connected High School initiative, which include career and postsecondary advisement, dual or concurrent enrollment, industry-recognized credentials and work-based learning. 

Interested applicants are encouraged to notify ED of their interest to apply for grant funding by September 13 with applications due by October 13, 2023. More information regarding the program, including how to apply, can be found here. 

First Lady Jill Biden Hosts K-12 Cybersecurity Summit

Last week, First Lady Jill Biden joined U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, school administrators, educators, and education technology providers from across the country for the Back to School Safely: Cybersecurity Summit for K-12 Schools. As part of the event, the Biden Administration released three infrastructure briefs authored by the Office of Educational Technology. The briefs are part of a nationwide effort to create more secure and resilient digital ecosystems. Read the full White House press release here. Together these efforts, along with a Back to School Safely: Cybersecurity Summit for K-12 Schools at the White House, are intended to unite leaders from the Biden Administration, education, industry, and advocacy groups to make advancements on the crucial issue in fortifying cybersecurity resilience throughout the educational continuum. The archived event can be found here.

*As amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

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Legislative Update: Career Counseling Legislation Introduced & Efforts to Address Teacher Shortages Unveiled

August 4th, 2023

While Congress left Washington, D.C. this week to return to home districts and states as part of its annual August recess, the Biden Administration made a series of announcements related to educator preparation efforts and cyber workforce needs. Elsewhere, Advance CTE recently endorsed career counseling legislation introduced in the House. 

Congress Goes on Recess

This week lawmakers in both chambers of Congress returned to their districts and states for the annual August recess. Congress is expected to return in early September to a long list of important issues, including the need to find consensus on full-year federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriations. Advance CTE anticipates that lawmakers will most likely need to consider several potential pathways forward to bridge the significant spending gap between the House and Senate’s respective visions for FY24 funding, especially regarding funding for important education and workforce development programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*). 

When Congress’s FY24 spending negotiations resume after the recess, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for robust funding for Perkins V and other vitally important investments in education and workforce development. In support of these efforts, we encourage the Career Technical Education (CTE) community to contact their members of Congress during this crucial period of time to ask them to support recently advanced appropriations legislation in the Senate which would provide a $40 million increase in funding for Perkins V’s basic state grant program. 

Lawmakers Introduce Career Counseling Legislation

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by House CTE Caucus Co-chairs Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced the Creating Opportunities to Thrive Act (COTA). Advance CTE is proud to endorse this legislation which would expand federal support for career counseling programs and allow for more comprehensive public outreach via the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). “[WIOA] is an integral part of the national workforce education and training system, and this bill takes important steps to maximize WIOA so that every learner is aware of the resources they need to support their journey to career success,” Advance CTE’s Executive Director, Kate Kreamer said upon introduction. Broadly COTA is intended to ensure that more learners across the nation are aware of the services, supports, and programs offered by WIOA and other federal investments in skills development. More on the legislation can be found here. 

ED & Labor Announce New Teacher Preparation Efforts

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a number of new efforts to improve the educator talent pipeline and address persistent nationwide shortages of qualified instructional personnel. The agencies announced the development of new national apprenticeship standards for K-12 teachers, developed by a collection of organizations known as the pathways alliance. These standards serve as a template for interested states and local stakeholders to develop and implement their own registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) for the teaching profession.

In addition, ED and DOL have announced the availability of $27 million in new funding for educator preparation programs, an additional $65 million for DOL to help develop and scale more K-12 teacher RAPs, identified a new intermediary to further expand on these efforts, and issued a policy brief highlighting promising best practices amongst states. More on this announcement can be found here.

Biden Administration Issues New Cyber Education and Workforce Strategy

On Monday, July 31, the Biden Administration announced that it had completed its first-ever National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES). This strategy is intended to address the education and workforce needs of the cyber and information technology sectors of the economy. Advance CTE provided input into this strategy as it was under development. The announcement includes a number of commitments from public and private entities and makes a number of recommendations for improving education and workforce development efforts to more effectively support this segment of the economy. More on the strategy can be accessed here. 

*As amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

 

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Legislative Update: Senate Advances FY24 Appropriations Measure With Additional Perkins Funding

July 28th, 2023

This week, lawmakers in the Senate advanced funding legislation for the upcoming 2024 federal fiscal year (FY24) that proposes an increased investment in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*). Elsewhere, lawmakers in the House examined postsecondary policy reforms and K-12 student learning loss trends while Senators introduced important legislation intended to address persistent educator workforce shortages. 

Senate Appropriators Advance FY24 Labor-HHS-ED Legislation

On Thursday, July 27, the Senate Appropriations Committee convened to consider several FY24 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (Labor-HHS-ED) appropriations bill– legislation that provides funding for Perkins V and other education and workforce development programs. The measure proposes a $40 million increase for Perkins V’s basic state grant program–a nearly three percent increase over current FY23 funding levels.

The measure also proposes to reduce funding for national activities authorized under Perkins V to roughly FY22 levels and was advanced out of the committee by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 26-2. Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) issued a statement applauding this proposal and encouraging Congress to advance the legislation for enactment later this year. 

While the passage of this legislation marks an important step in the wider FY24 appropriations process, the House and the Senate must still reconcile significant differences between their respective visions for FY24 funding before the start of the federal fiscal year set to begin on October 1, 2023. As previously shared earlier this month, lawmakers in the House have proposed radically different spending measures for Labor-HHS-ED and other domestic appropriations bills. 

As these efforts continue to take shape, Advance CTE is closely monitoring the process and engaging with partners on Capitol Hill to ensure the funding needs of the CTE community are realized as part of the ongoing budget and appropriations process for FY24.

House Lawmakers Examine Postsecondary Education

Also on Thursday, the House Education and Workforce (E&W) Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing titled “Lowering Costs and Increasing Value for Students, Institutions, and Taxpayers.” The hearing touched on a wide array of issues including strategies and policies that can help make postsecondary education more affordable while holding institutions and providers more accountable for learner outcomes. The hearing highlighted several state-level experiences, including efforts in Texas, to advance pay-for-performance and other similar postsecondary approaches. In addition, lawmakers and witnesses spoke at length about the forthcoming gainful employment rule which is expected to be finalized by the U.S. Department of Education later this year. An archived webcast of the hearing, including opening statements and witness testimony, can be found here. 

House Holds Learning Loss Hearing

On Wednesday, July 26, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing titled “Generational Learning Loss: How Pandemic School Closures Hurt Students.” The hearing included testimony from several witnesses including Catherine Truitt, Superintendent of North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction. The hearing focused on the impact school closures have had on students and highlighted troubling assessment data that points to significant decreases in student academic achievement. An archived webcast of the hearing, including witness testimony, can be accessed here. 

Senators Introduce Educator Shortage Legislation

On July 19, Senators Kaine (D-VA) and Collins (R-ME), along with other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee introduced the Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act. This legislation would, if enacted, make a series of changes to federal policy to better support state and local efforts intended to attract and retain a high-quality educator and administrator workforce. Advance CTE is proud to support the introduction of this legislation and looks forward to working with Congress toward its enactment. More on the bill can be found here.  

*As amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

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