Infrastructure « Advance CTE Blog

Legislative Update: Congress in Recess Through the Midterms

Friday, October 28th, 2022

The last two weeks, lawmakers in Congress have remained in recess ahead of the upcoming midterm elections set to take place November 8. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released new CTE data while the agency finalized new rules for postsecondary education.

Congress Focuses on Midterms, Will Return Next Month

Both the Senate and House are currently only holding pro forma sessions until after the fast-approaching midterm elections take place on November 8. Lawmakers will return to Washington, D.C. to resume debate regarding the federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) appropriations process and other year-end priorities on November 14 as part of the “lame duck” session of the current 117th Congress. Advance CTE expects this year-end session to continue until December 16 when temporary federal funding legislation is scheduled to expire and could extend as far as December 24 before adjourning.

ED Releases New CAR Report Data

This week the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) published performance and enrollment data from states’ Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) submissions as part of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V). These data reflect learner performance during the 2020-21 program year and represents the first year that state performance data has been published under Perkins V since its reauthorization in 2018. Notably, these data make use of Perkins V’s new concentrator and participant definitions and also include new secondary CTE program quality indicators introduced by the legislation among several other changes.

The data indicate a slight uptick in CTE enrollments, with 12 million CTE participants across the nation, including 8.3 million at the secondary level and 3.5 million at the postsecondary level. In addition, CTE concentrators had a graduation rate of 96 percent– substantially higher than the national average for all learners . The full set of data can be found here. Advance CTE is continuing to analyze and evaluate these data for other important trends and findings and will share those with the broader CTE community in the future.

ED Publishes New Postsecondary Rules

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education finalized a new set of postsecondary rules intended to restrict proprietary school access to federal student aid and expand access to these funds for incarcerated learners. This final set of regulations was developed as part of a negotiated rulemaking panel tasked with finding consensus on these and several other issues of importance to postsecondary education. The first regulation– known informally as the 90/10 rule–stipulates that for-profit institutions cannot derive more than 90 percent of their revenue from federal sources. This new rule further limits what funding “counts” towards this calculation. The second rule focuses on whether and how for-profit institutions can convert to nonprofit status (known as change in ownership). The third and final major component of this rules package expands Pell grant program eligibility to include justice-connected learners.

These new regulatory changes are set to go into effect July 2023. The full announcement can be found here.

Nation’s Report Card Shows National Drop in Academic Achievement

On Monday, October 24, the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) published results from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). Known informally as the nation’s report card, the NAEP is a nationally representative assessment that measures learner academic achievement in grades 4 and 8 in core academic subjects such as reading, math, science and other fields of study. The results released this week illustrate troubling trends in learner scores in math and reading between 2019 and 2022, with the majority of states reporting a decline in learner achievement in these subject areas for learners at both grade levels and across socio-economic and other learner subpopulations.

Reacting to the NAEP results, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said, in part, “The results released today from the National Assessment of Educational Progress are appalling, unacceptable, and a reminder of the impact that this pandemic has had on our learners. The data also represent a call to action for the important work we must do now for our students—especially those who have suffered the most during the pandemic.”

Department of Energy Unveils School Infrastructure Grants

On Wednesday, October 26, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $80 million in new funding availability to support K-12 schools in making needed infrastructure upgrades and related improvements. The funding was authorized as part of last year’s American Rescue Plan which authorized a “Renew America’s Schools” program and allotted $500 million for similar activities. K-12 schools, charter school boards and local education agencies can all apply for this first tranche of funding ahead of a January 2023 application deadline. More information on the program can be found here.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
Tags: CAR data, Department of Education, Infrastructure, NAEP, pell grants, postsecondary cte

Legislative Update: House to Consider Workforce Legislation Next Week

Friday, May 13th, 2022

This week lawmakers in the House set the stage to consider the reauthorization of federal workforce development legislation, while the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced plans to issue new rules regarding disability policy and the Biden Administration unveiled new connectivity efforts.

House to Consider WIOA Next Week

Next Monday, May 16, the House Rules Committee will meet to develop a rule for floor consideration of H.R. 7309– legislation that, if enacted, would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). As shared previously, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) sent a letter to lawmakers outlining remaining concerns with the proposal while also supporting many aspects of the legislation, particularly the proposed reforms contained in the bill related to the sharing of One-Stop Center infrastructure costs amongst partner programs like postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE). Advance CTE expects a floor vote sometime next week, where lawmakers in the House will consider a number of amendments to the underlying legislative proposal. A list of potential amendments to be considered can be found here.

Education Department Announces Plans to Amend Section 504

Late last week, May 6, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it intends to promulgate new regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Currently, Section 504 prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability for programs and initiatives funded with federal dollars. These regulations apply to pre-K-12 and postsecondary institutions that receive federal grants as part of their operations. ED plans to gather public input from a wide variety of stakeholders ahead of issuing new proposed rules aimed at further protecting the rights of students with disabilities.

Biden Administration Promotes Affordable Connectivity Efforts

On Monday, May 9, the Biden Administration held a series of events intended to promote federal efforts to make high-speed internet affordable for more Americans. The bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress last year, known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—an initiative that provides subsidies to eligible households to pay for broadband internet services. This was a key legislative priority for Advance CTE during last year’s negotiations as a way to ensure more learners have access to vitally important broadband connections. Twenty internet service providers signed on to an agreement to cap household costs for these connections at no more than $30 per month.

The Administration has also launched GetInternet.gov—a website to assist individuals in accessing this benefit as part of these efforts. In addition to these announcements, Jessica Rosenworcel, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has recently proposed to allow federal E-rate funding to be used to install Wi-Fi on school buses. If enacted, this policy change would provide a new source of funding for additional student-focused connectivity efforts such as this.

Guest Blog Post: Virginia State CTE Director Reflects on Secretary Cardona Teacher Appreciation Week Visit

This week, Virginia State CTE Director David Eshelman penned a guest post on Advance CTE’s Learning that Works blog recapping U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Senator Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) visit to the RTR teacher residency program at Armstrong High School in Richmond, Virginia. This stop launched a series of visits and events made by Sec. Cardona to celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week as we shared last week.

Encourage Lawmakers to Join CTE Caucuses

In conjunction with the House and Senate CTE Caucuses, Advance CTE and ACTE are working to encourage Senators and Representatives over the next several weeks to join their respective CTE Caucuses, if they have not done so already. To find out if your Members of Congress have joined their respective Caucus, you can review House and Senate membership lists. Membership in these caucuses is an important way for lawmakers to signal their support for CTE and the millions of learners across the country who enroll in these programs. To encourage your Senator or member of Congress to join, click here and scroll down to the request form corresponding to your needs.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
Tags: Congressional CTE Caucus, FCC, Federal Policy, Infrastructure, students with disabilities, Teacher Appreciation Week, Virginia, WIOA

CTE Without Limits Summer Lunch and Learn #1 Recap: Building Foundational Relationships and Infrastructure Key Areas of Focus for First Vision Principle

Monday, June 7th, 2021

On June 1, Advance CTE hosted the first session of a five-part summer lunch and learn series delving into each of the five principles of Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits). Each session features a panel of leading voices from organizations across learning and work followed by interactive group discussions on the information shared and next steps.

This session discussed the first principle of CTE Without Limits, featuring perspectives from organizations representing state elected officials, state and local education administrators and workforce leaders: Amanda Winters, Program Director for Postsecondary Education at the National Governors Association (NGA); Najmah Ahmad, Program Director for the Career Readiness Initiative at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO); and Yvette Chocolaad, Workforce Policy and Research Director at the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA).

Themes

Throughout the panel and breakout sessions, several key themes emerged on the most urgent areas of action and foundational steps to be taken at the local, state and organizational level:

State Leaders as Visionaries: Both Amanda Winters (NGA) and Najmah Ahmad (CCSSO) emphasized the role of governors and state education administrators as the visionaries and drivers for organizational change needed to realize this principle, from providing flexibility in funding and funding models to connecting state initiatives for economic growth, postsecondary attainment, racial equity and more into a larger vision for systemic change. Ahmad also highlighted the role of organizations supporting state leaders in providing tools and guidance for that leader’s vision to reach local education agencies and translate into tangible, meaningful action.
Yvette Chocolaad (NASWA) emphasized the importance of designing infrastructure with flexible capacity to support collaboration across sectors, integrated services and innovative funding models. In doing so, systems can be truly responsive to the changing and flexible paths taken by learners to education and employment. This infrastructure can span informational technology and administrative and business service to physical building design and upgrades.
All partners emphasized that investment in career advising, coaching and job search professionals who are often “overloaded and undervalued” as critical to build a cohesive career preparation ecosystem with seamless transitions among education and work experiences.
Promising potential of federal stimulus funding: All panelists elevated federal stimulus funding as a historic opportunity to reimagine infrastructure and state initiative investment in the lens of CTE Without Limits and not just make upgrades to existing systems.

During the breakout sessions, attendees elevated the importance of involving learner voice in the design of career preparation ecosystems and prioritizing the needs of learners with those of other stakeholders such as government and industry. Attendees also highlighted the need for manageable, tangible steps from both the top down and the bottom up to enact lasting change, and the acknowledgement that true cohesion between systems of learning and work is extremely complex and all partners will be learning during the execution of this principle.

First Steps

The foundational steps offered by the panelists may seem obvious at first glance, but are often skipped in favor of pursuing project-based work and are critical to establishing a shared understanding of success.

Shared Vision and Definitions: Chocolaad elevated the importance of cultivating a shared vision, metrics and data infrastructure among all stakeholders at the outset of this work. The need for comprehensive, informed and accurate data was termed a “shining light” for executing both this first step and the principle at large.
Leadership Buy-in: Winters emphasized the importance of governors and other top leaders specifically communicating their commitment to making systemic change and collaboration a priority when current systems are designed to encourage siloed progress.
Equity at the Center: Ahmad elevated the importance of centering equity, a foundational commitment within CTE Without Limits, in all aspects of implementation but particularly in determining the “who and the why” of systemic change. The prior two recommendations are strongly connected to this step, as a shared understanding and equity is critical to measuring progress towards equitable career preparation ecosystems.

Visit the CTE Without Limits web page to read the full vision and access resources to communicate the vision to stakeholders, including a promotional video, slide deck and five sector-focused fact sheets.

Register for Advance CTE’s second lunch and learn scheduled for June 22 at 4:00PM ET featuring Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, Senior Fellow at the National Skills Coalition; Mimi Lufkin, CEO Emerita at the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity; and Stephanie McGencey, Executive Director at the American Youth Policy Forum

By Stacy Whitehouse in Uncategorized
Tags: career preparation, CTE Without Limits, Infrastructure, Webinars

Betsy DeVos’s Narrowing Path to Confirmation

Friday, February 3rd, 2017

On Tuesday the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee voted to advance Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education nominee, out of committee. The vote was narrowly decided along party lines with 12 Republicans voting for and 11 Democrats voting against her nomination.

Since then, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) both announced they would not be voting for the nominee, putting Betsy DeVos’s nomination on very shaky ground. That leaves her with just 50 Republican votes, meaning the final decision may fall to Vice President Mike Pence, who casts a vote in the Senate in the event of a tie.

Shortly before the Senate HELP committee vote, DeVos released written responses to 139 questions from Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). Among them was a question related to reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins). DeVos called Perkins reauthorization “an important priority,” and added that she aims to work with the HELP committee to update the law to “provide flexibility at the state and local levels” and “ support transparency of data so parents, students, and other taxpayers can see how well their programs are working.”

Early this morning, the Senate voted 52-48 to end cloture, a procedural hurdle that needed to be cleared before the Senate would be able to conduct the final vote on DeVos’s confirmation. The final vote is now scheduled for Monday, February 6.

Trump Appoints Jerry Falwell, Jr. to Task Force for Higher Education

According to the Chronicle for Higher Education, Jerry Falwell, Jr., President of Liberty University, will be advising the Trump administration on higher education policy. He was appointed this week to lead a task force that will study issues related to accreditation, student loan forgiveness, campus sexual assault and more. While Falwell’s positions on such issues are unclear, he has made statements indicating that he aims to scale back the role of the federal government in postsecondary education.

Meanwhile, Lots of Support for CTE on the Hill

Last week, House and Senate CTE Caucus co-chairs received a letter urging them to resume Perkins reauthorization. The letter, which was signed by 85 organizations and businesses, praised Perkins as a tool for meeting the needs of the 21st century economy and helping employers close critical skills gaps. Advance CTE was a co-signer of the letter.

Additionally, Senate Democrats last week introduced a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that aims to create more than 15 million jobs. The bill is an attempt at bipartisanship in response to President Donald Trump’s comments, both on the campaign trail and during his inauguration, that rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure is a priority in the early months of his administration. Included in the bill is $75 billion for school construction projects, which will be disbursed to schools based on need.

In the House, Republicans introduced a resolution on Thursday under the 1996 Congressional Review Act to revoke Obama-era regulations for accountability and teacher preparation under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). While the regulations were already frozen temporarily under a recent executive order from the White House, this resolution would revoke the regulations entirely. Further, President Trump’s administration would be prohibited from issuing “substantially similar” regulations, casting uncertainty over the future of ESSA implementation. The resolution must be approved by both the House and the Senate before going into effect.

Finally, to help celebrate CTE month, the Senate CTE Caucus will be hosting an event that examines the role and impact of federal CTE policy. Once this event is confirmed, we will share a link so you can participate virtually, as the event will be livestreamed.

Austin Estes, Policy Associate and Kimberly Green, Executive Director

By admin in Legislation, News, Public Policy
Tags: CTE Caucus, Devos, ESSA, HELP Committee, Infrastructure, Jerry Falwell Jr., Trump

Posts Tagged ‘Infrastructure’

Legislative Update: Congress in Recess Through the Midterms

Legislative Update: House to Consider Workforce Legislation Next Week

CTE Without Limits Summer Lunch and Learn #1 Recap: Building Foundational Relationships and Infrastructure Key Areas of Focus for First Vision Principle

Betsy DeVos’s Narrowing Path to Confirmation

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