Posts Tagged ‘US Department of Education’

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

Thursday, 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

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy, Research
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Legislative Update: New CTE Innovation Grants Announced As Congress Remains On Recess

Friday, 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 

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: House Examines Skills-Based Hiring as Senate Sets Spending Toplines

Friday, June 23rd, 2023

This week, the Senate has continued to make progress on federal appropriations legislation while lawmakers in the House explored skills-based hiring efforts underway across the country. Meanwhile, federal agencies have announced the availability of new grants aimed at supporting tribal education. 

Senate Appropriators Set Funding Framework

As previously shared, the legislative agreement Congress and President Biden reached in recent weeks, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), extends the nation’s borrowing authority for the next two years. Of significance for the Career Technical Education (CTE) community, the FRA establishes new spending caps for that same period of time for federal fiscal years 2024 (FY24) and FY25. In a recent development last week, House Republicans announced their intention to move forward with individual spending bills that, taken together, provide much less funding for domestic programs, like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V)*  than required by the FRA. This sets up a likely scenario where the House and Senate propose radically different funding levels for the upcoming federal fiscal year, set to formally begin on October 1, 2023.  

Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee, led by Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME), recently met to establish topline spending caps, known as 302(b)s, that align with the FRA. The committee considered these proposed 302(b) allocations yesterday and advanced them along party lines as Republicans on the panel remained concerned regarding funding levels for defense programs. Broadly the Senate’s 302(b) allocations are intended to provide roughly the same amount of funding for education and workforce development programs, like Perkins V, at current federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) levels. In practical terms, however, the differences between the House and the Senate’s proposed visions for FY24 funding may prove challenging to reconcile as the October 1 deadline for FY24 draws nearer.

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

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

House Explores Skills-based Hiring

On Thursday, June 22, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing titled “Competencies Over Degrees: Transitioning to a Skills-based Economy.” The hearing focused on changes that could be made to reorient systems of education, workforce development, and employment to strengthen approaches and programs that provide skills needed for further economic opportunities and to better reward the attainment of these competencies in the labor market. The hearing also highlighted the issue of the “paper ceiling”–the issue of increasing numbers of workers being overlooked for jobs they would otherwise qualify for because they lack a four-year degree. 

Witnesses and lawmakers explored a wide array of issues in this context, including potential changes to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and federal apprenticeship legislation to facilitate this vision for the future. In addition, House CTE Caucus Co-chair Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) highlighted the need for further investment in CTE and noted that many programs in his district have waiting lists for learners– indicating that demand for CTE pathways is continuing to exceed current supply. An archived webcast of the hearing, including witness testimony, can be found here

ED Announces New Native Language Grants

Last week, The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the availability of approximately $8 million in new funding intended to support several federal initiatives aimed at better supporting Indigenous learners. “Our efforts to Raise the Bar for multilingual learners includes strengthening and revitalizing Native languages and the recruitment, retention, and leadership of Native educators,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said as part of the announcement. The new grantmaking is aimed at three separate ED initiatives that together are aimed at increasing the capacity of Indigenous communities to serve learners, preserve Native languages, and promote educator recruitment and retention efforts through the nation. More information regarding these grants can be found here

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: FY24 Funding Continues to Take Shape

Friday, June 16th, 2023

This week, congressional leaders continued to look ahead to next steps for the 2024 federal budget and appropriations process ahead of important deadlines this fall and early next year. Elsewhere, lawmakers in the House examined innovative approaches to postsecondary education.

House Republicans Propose Significant Cuts to Domestic Spending

After months of on-and-off again negotiations, congressional leaders and President Biden recently reached a deal to suspend the debt ceiling and avert a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt obligations. The agreement, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), extends the nation’s borrowing authority for the next two years and, importantly for the Career and Technical Education (CTE) community, establishes new spending caps for that same period of time for federal fiscal years 2024 (FY24) and 2025 (FY25). The FRA was signed into law by President Biden on June 3, following intense negotiations between Democrats and Republicans. Upon the release of the agreement, House Republican leadership touted the FRA saying, in part, “The Fiscal Responsibility Act does what is responsible for our children, what is possible in divided government, and what is required by our principles and promises.”

More recently, however, House Republicans have signaled that they intend to move forward with FY24 spending bills that do not conform to the spending cap requirements contained in the FRA. In a recent development earlier this week, the top House Republican appropriator, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), announced that she plans to move forward with a series of spending bills that reduce federal spending to FY22 levels, rather than FY23 as required by the FRA. Recent press reports have indicated that the committee is planning to advance spending legislation for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education spending bill, where the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (Perkins V) and other education programs derive funding from. The bill could potentially include an up to $60 billion cut to funding for this portion of the federal budget—a nearly one-third reduction in funding over current levels of investment.

In the Senate, Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) have indicated that they plan to move forward with FY24 spending proposals in the coming weeks that do conform to the FRA. This puts Congress on a likely path towards another future disagreement over federal spending later this fall, with the chambers potentially moving forward with spending proposals that are dramatically different. This will have the practical effect of making reconciling the differences between the chambers’ proposals even more challenging ahead of the start of FY24, set to begin on October 1. As a reminder, a mandatory, across-the-board sequester cut of one percent to all federal spending would be applied should Congress not reach agreement on full-year FY24 funding  by January 1 of next year. As these efforts continue, Advance CTE will be closely monitoring these developments and engaging with partners on Capitol Hill to ensure the funding needs of the CTE community are realized as part of this ongoing budget and appropriations process for FY24. 

House Examines Postsecondary Innovation

On Wednesday, June 14, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing titled “Postsecondary Innovation: Preparing Students for Tomorrow’s Opportunities.” The hearing focused on the need to fundamentally rethink many aspects of postsecondary education, with witnesses and lawmakers discussing at length the important role career development and planning has both before, during, and after postsecondary experiences to ensure learner success. In addition, the importance of dual and concurrent enrollment opportunities was highlighted extensively during the hearing as was the need to fully invest earlier on in the educational continuum—a key strategy emphasized during the hearing to prepare students earlier on for their future endeavors. A webcast archive of the hearing, including witness testimony, can be found here.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Congress Looks Ahead on Funding

Friday, June 9th, 2023

This week, Congress plans next steps on appropriations while lawmakers examine the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent budget request. Elsewhere, federal officials have announced the availability of new grant funding for school infrastructure projects.

Congress Looks to Next Steps for Funding

As shared previously, lawmakers recently advanced and President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA)—legislation that suspends the debt limit through 2025 and establishes new spending caps for that same two-year period of time. A summary of the FRA can be found here. The spending caps contained in the bill will freeze current federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) funding levels for the upcoming FY24 appropriations process and will allow for a one percent increase in domestic discretionary programs, like federal investments in Career Technical Education (CTE), for FY25. In addition, the FRA includes a provision that strongly encourages Congress to pass all 12 federal appropriations bills before the end of the calendar year. If lawmakers are unable to reach that goal, an automatic spending reduction would be applied to the entire federal budget until full-year appropriations legislation has been passed.

With the new appropriations framework now signed into law, Congress is expected to begin marking up individual spending bills in the coming weeks and months. However, less than a week after passage, recent reports indicate that House Republicans may attempt to move forward with spending bills that use lower spending caps than those contained in the FRA. A specific timeline for lawmakers in both the House and Senate to advance Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) appropriations legislation, which provides funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V; as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act), has yet to be determined. 

As these efforts continue to take shape, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has provided additional clarity regarding nearly $400 million in rescinded pandemic aid funds that were also included as part of the FRA. In a recent letter to Education Stabilization Fund grantees, ED has made clear that K-12 education funds that have already been obligated and sent to states will not be included in these amounts. Advance CTE is monitoring these developments closely and will continue to engage with partners in Congress to secure needed investments in CTE as part of the upcoming FY24 budget and appropriations process and beyond.   

House Education Committee Examines Department of Labor FY24 Budget

On Wednesday, June 7, the House Education and the Workforce Committee (E&W) held a hearing examining the policies and priorities of the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) and, relatedly, its recent FY24 budget request to Congress. Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, was the sole witness at the hearing whose confirmation is currently stalled in the Senate. The over three-hour-long hearing focused on a wide array of topics including how to align and coordinate CTE and workforce development systems and related programs, extensive discussion on apprenticeship programs, including ways to expand and grow these models into nontraditional fields such as teaching, and a host of other issues related to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) which is due for reauthorization. A webcast archive of the hearing, including statements and testimony, can be found here

ED Announces School Infrastructure Grants

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued a notice inviting K-12 schools and districts to apply for roughly $40 million in new funding to support school building and related infrastructure improvement projects. ED anticipates making 8-13 awards, between $3 and $5 million each, to support these efforts. In addition, ED is planning to set aside an additional $2 million for the creation of a National Center on School Infrastructure to provide technical assistance and best practices to states and schools as part of this wider initiative. More information about the grants, including how to apply, can be accessed here

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: ED Proposes New Gainful Employment Rule While Debt Limit Impasse Continues

Friday, May 19th, 2023

This week top congressional leaders continued to try and find consensus on the need to raise the nation’s statutory borrowing authority, while lawmakers in the House examined recent congressional budget requests from the Biden administration for the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Elsewhere, ED has proposed new rules for certain postsecondary programs and new priorities for competitive grants for Career Technical Education (CTE). 

Debt Limit Deadline Nears 

For the last few weeks, congressional leaders and President Biden have been intensely debating whether and how to raise the nation’s statutory borrowing authority, known informally as the debt limit or debt ceiling. Current forecasts estimate that the federal government will breach this borrowing authority—which is intended to pay for debts Congress has already incurred—in early June. Failure to raise the debt limit would have catastrophic consequences for the nation’s economy. This week, lawmakers continued to meet and negotiate but have made little progress.

More recently, these discussions have been limited to senior staff representing the Biden administration and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy—a development that has been widely viewed to mean that these discussions are narrowing a potential set of issues that could compose a compromise. These issues reportedly include a number of Republican priorities including permitting reform, work requirements for social safety net programs and, of particular note for the CTE community, potential caps on the overall size of the federal budget for the next several years. As shared previously, House Republicans are insisting on concessions from Democrats on these topics in exchange for raising the debt limit. As of this writing, these discussions remain extremely fluid.

Advance CTE is closely monitoring this situation and related developments, particularly for the potential impacts it may have on CTE and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V). 

Secretary Cardona Testifies in the House

On Tuesday, May 16, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing examining the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget request and related priorities. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testified before the panel regarding a wide range of topics including recently proposed Title IX rules, critical race theory, parent’s rights and many other hot-button education issues. While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle disagreed on many of these issues, the need to reform postsecondary financial aid policies– primarily by expanding federal Pell Grant eligibility for shorter-term, high-quality postsecondary CTE programs– was a rare area of agreement which was also echoed by Secretary Cardona. Advance CTE has also long championed legislation that would achieve this. 

During the hearing, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) highlighted a recent visit he and Secretary Cardona made to a local CTE high school noting that “. . . they are turning away hundreds of kids who would love to take advantage of the benefit of career and technical education” due to a lack of capacity and related resources. Rep. Courtney highlighted the importance of formula funding for Perkins V, which he noted the administration has proposed to increase by $43 million in FY24. Despite this encouraging aspect of the President’s budget request, ED has also requested $200 million in funding for the creation of a new competitive grant program. Advance CTE and partners have previously shared concerns regarding this proposal, which ED estimates would only serve 32 programs in total, particularly given growing demand for CTE programs across the country. An archived webcast of the hearing, including opening statements, can be found here.

ED Outlines Priorities for Perkins I&M Grants

On Monday, ED published proposed priorities for Perkins V’s Innovation and Modernization (I&M) grant program. Last year, Congress provided an additional $25 million for Perkins V’s I&M account to advance innovative approaches to delivering CTE programs. The priorities proposed by the Department include career advisement and counseling, dual and concurrent enrollment, work-based learning and industry-recognized credentials. These priorities align with ED’s wider “Career Connected High Schools” initiative, which is conceived using these same priority areas. As mentioned elsewhere, ED has been seeking an additional $200 million for this initiative in the ongoing FY24 appropriations process. ED is inviting feedback on these priorities for the next 30 days. More information can be accessed here.

ED Proposes New Gainful Employment Rule 

Earlier today, ED proposed a new and highly-anticipated “gainful employment” (GE) rule as part of a wider package of other postsecondary regulations recently negotiated by the department and other stakeholders last year. The regulations would apply to certain postsecondary career education programs and determine their eligibility for federal student financial aid from Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) based on programs meeting certain performance standards related to graduates’ earnings and ability to pay back student loans. Earlier iterations of this rule were first proposed by the Obama administration over a decade ago and finalized in 2014 which were later rescinded by the Trump administration a few years later after a series of legal challenges. 

This newly proposed GE rule would require certain postsecondary programs to demonstrate that at least half of their graduates earn higher wages than a typical high school graduate in their state within a three-year period. The rule would also apply a debt-to-earnings ratio, similar to previous versions of GE rules, which would require a graduate’s debt to amount to no more than eight percent of a graduate’s overall earnings and no more than 20 percent of their discretionary income. Programs would be evaluated using both of these performance measures and those that fail to meet these thresholds twice within three years, would lose access to federal student aid funding derived from HEA. Based on this current timeline, ED is likely to promulgate a final GE rule by November 1, 2023, which could take effect July 1, 2024.

In addition, ED is also proposing supplementary data collections from all postsecondary institutions and programs, including those not covered by GE, to develop a new website providing learners and families with more information regarding these programs. This proposal is related to a recent request for information from ED earlier this year regarding the potential creation of a list of “low financial value” postsecondary programs. The regulatory package also includes changes to existing ability-to-benefit rules, which govern how learners without a high school diploma can qualify for federal student aid as they pursue postsecondary education. Currently, this rules package is open for public review and feedback until June 20, 2023. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Advance CTE Board President Testifies Before Congress

Friday, March 31st, 2023

This week Advance CTE’s Board of Directors President Laura Scheibe testified on Capitol Hill. Elsewhere, efforts to fund federal programs later this year continue while the House examines the U.S. labor market and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) makes a series of new announcements. 

Advance CTE Board President Testifies Before Congress 

On Wednesday, March 29, Laura Scheibe, Advance CTE’s Board of Directors President and South Dakota’s State Director for Career Technical Education (CTE), testified before the House Appropriations, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) Subcommittee regarding rural workforce development issues and the role her state’s technical college system has in providing more quality CTE opportunities for learners. The Labor-HHS-ED Subcommittee is the primary entity in the House with responsibility for overseeing funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) as well as other federal education and workforce development programs falling under the purview of these agencies. Scheibe highlighted South Dakota’s CTE successes, including increased demand for programs, high completion rates, alignment with industry, and other key elements of the state’s CTE system that provides a high impact for its learners, many of whom reside in rural communities. 

Scheibe’s appearance also highlighted the importance of the federal investment, made through Perkins V, that helps to make much of this possible. “This federal investment means our students learn on modern, industry-grade equipment so they come out workforce ready,” she noted in her testimony. She also highlighted the critical role Perkins has in supporting learners, noting “Perkins-funded Student Success Coordinators meet not just educational counseling needs, but transportation, affordable housing and navigating postsecondary as a first-generation student. For learners facing barriers, this can make all the difference to move from poverty into a family-sustaining career.” Scheibe also emphasized the important impact flexible Perkins funding can have to meet unique state and local needs saying, in part, “Additionally, our state’s Reserve Fund, a flexible portion of Perkins, is a critical tool that allows us to further expand activities benefiting our rural communities. At the secondary level, this funding supports innovation and equipment not otherwise possible for small districts.” 

A full recording of the hearing can be found here, along with her written testimony. In recent weeks, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) has also submitted written testimony to the Labor-HHS-ED Subcommittee calling for increased investment in Perkins V’s basic state grant program. 

Take Action on FY24 Perkins Funding

Written by Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). Original post can be found here

Each year, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) lead a “Dear Colleague” letter to be sent to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting robust funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins) in the FY 2024 Labor, Health, and Human Services appropriations bill. We need your help again to secure an increase for Perkins that ensures CTE can continue to meet urgent workforce needs and serve as a critical part of the country’s economic growth. CLICK HERE to ask your senator to sign the “Dear Colleague” letter!

House Holds Hearing on Employment

On Tuesday, March 28, the House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing titled “Unleashing America’s Opportunities for Hiring and Employment.” Witnesses included economists and employer representatives who discussed the current state of the American labor market and debated policies that could directly impact current economic conditions. Of note, witnesses and committee members frequently highlighted the importance of high-quality educational pathways that lead to further opportunity and greater economic growth. In particular, members highlighted the importance of CTE programs and related pathways as a primary way to address ongoing labor shortages in key sectors of the economy. More information on the hearing, including an archived webcast, can be found here

ED Unveils Work-Based Learning Grant Challenge 

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) formally launched the “Career Z Challenge”—a new grant competition intended to surface innovative approaches to expanding learner access to work-based learning opportunities. The multiphase grant competition will seek to identify promising best practices that can be scaled elsewhere in the nation. Local education agencies and schools that receive federal Perkins V funding are eligible to apply and to share their ideas for how to improve and expand work-based learning. More information on the challenge can be found here.   

Senate Appropriations Outlines Hearing Schedule

In anticipation of further Congressional efforts to advance federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) legislation this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee announced a series of hearings to examine the Biden Administration’s Congressional budget request. A hearing examining the U.S. Department of Education’s FY24 budget proposal is currently scheduled for May 11. A date has not yet been set for the U.S. Department of Labor. The full list of hearings can be found here

ED Issues Teacher Pipeline Guidance

Recently the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter outlining ways state and local leaders can leverage federal funds to strengthen teacher pipeline efforts. Specifically, the guidance outlines ways that resources from the Perkins V can be used to support various teacher recruitment, retention and development initiatives. The letter can be found here.

 Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: New House CTE Caucus Leader Announced As Congress Nears Funding Deal

Friday, December 16th, 2022

This week the House CTE Caucus announced a new co-chair to lead the caucus in the upcoming 118th Congress. Meanwhile, lawmakers have continued to make progress on federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) funding in the hopes of completing work before the end of the year. 

House CTE Caucus Leadership Announcement

This morning longtime House CTE Caucus Co-chairs Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) announced that Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) will succeed Langevin in the upcoming 118th Congress as the new Democratic co-chair of this bipartisan caucus. Alongside his colleague Rep. Thompson, Rep. Langevin led the House CTE Caucus for over a decade. He is set to retire at the end of the current 117th Congress. “Representative Langevin’s leadership as co-chair of the House CTE Caucus culminates over two decades of dedication to increase the awareness of and support for CTE and its learners,” said Advance CTE’s Executive Director Kimberly Green when this news was announced. “Advance CTE is incredibly grateful for his partnership and dedication, and we wish him the very best in his next chapter. We look forward to working with Representative Bonamici in the next Congress to secure the necessary resources for state leaders to build high-quality, equitable CTE systems for every learner.” 

Our organization is appreciative of Rep. Langevin’s many years of service in support of high-quality CTE programs and the millions of learners they serve across the country. We look forward to continuing this work in the next Congress in collaboration with Rep. Bonamici in this new capacity. 

Lawmakers Near Agreement on FY23 Funding

Congress stayed in session this week as part of a busy lame duck session to attend to a number of “must-pass” items still left on lawmakers’ agendas. Top among this list is the need to pass full-year funding legislation for FY23 . Current stopgap legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), extended FY22 funding through December 16 (today) of this year for all federal operations and programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V). 

For weeks, lawmakers have struggled to find consensus on topline spending figures for defense and non-defense spending. On Tuesday evening, Congressional leaders announced that they had reached a tentative agreement on the overall size of an FY23 package—an important first step in the wider process of developing a full-year FY23 funding package. At present, this “framework” agreement will reportedly total approximately $1.7 trillion, but specific details regarding this emerging deal have yet to be made public. In the interim, lawmakers passed an additional CR last night, lasting through December 23, to provide themselves with more time as they continue to negotiate the specific program-level spending details underlying this forthcoming funding package. 

As these efforts continue, Advance CTE will continue to work with partners on Capitol Hill to advocate for full-year FY23 funding and to encourage greater investments in CTE as part of this wider process.

ED Hosts STEM Summit

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) hosted a “YOU Belong in STEM” summit at its Washington, D.C. headquarters to support and promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education across the nation. The convening brought together stakeholders to discuss strategies and best practices for how to implement, at scale, high-quality STEM education opportunities, particularly for learners from marginalized backgrounds. More on the effort can be found here

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Lawmakers Continue to Negotiate FY23 While House Examines Youth Apprenticeships 

Friday, September 16th, 2022

This past week, lawmakers continued to negotiate federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) funding while the House hosted a hearing about youth apprenticeship’s role in supporting small businesses. Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) made a number of announcements this week related to teacher preparation, assessments and more. 

Congress Negotiates a Continuing Resolution

As shared previously, federal legislators recently returned to Capitol Hill for a three-week work period before the upcoming midterm elections. While there are many legislative items lawmakers hope to attend to during this time, providing more time to complete the federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) appropriations process is the top priority at the moment. As a reminder, the federal fiscal year begins on October 1. Both the House and Senate have thus far been unable to find agreement on the 12 individual spending bills that fund federal operations and programs. Consequently, Congress is currently quickly negotiating a continuing resolution (CR)—short-term legislation that will extend current fiscal year 2022 (FY22) funding levels for a specific period of time.

At present, the CR will likely extend current FY22 funding levels for all federal operations and programs, like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V), until sometime after the midterm elections. Lawmakers are currently debating whether to include a variety of other provisions, including supplemental funding for the natural disasters, the war in Ukraine, and environmental permitting to this legislation. These talks are fluid and expected to continue through next week. Advance CTE expects a CR to extend current FY22 funding levels until mid-December. As these talks continue, our organization will continue to advocate for robust investments in Perkins V, including other federal Career Technical Education (CTE) funding priorities.

House Hosts Youth Apprenticeship Hearing

On September 15, the House Small Business Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development held a hearing entitled “Back to School, Back to Startups: Supporting Youth Apprenticeship, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development.” The hearing focused on the impact the pandemic has had on small businesses and strategies to help these firms identify and hire the talent they need to be successful. The hearing highlighted testimony from Noel Ginsburg, the Founder and CEO of CareerWise, a national organization focused on promoting youth apprenticeship, as well as Shani Watkins, the Director of West Sounds Technical Skills Center, an area technical center located in Bremerton, Washington. 

During the hearing lawmakers explored a wide variety of innovative workforce development strategies targeted at youth that can provide important on-ramps from secondary  education into the labor force. Watkins in particular highlighted the importance of CTE for ensuring youth workforce success and emphasized the critical need to foster meaningful partnerships with employers. The hearing also highlighted the urgent need to expand federal financial aid and support for these programs and wider efforts. An archive of the hearing can be found here

ED Announces New Teacher Grants

On Monday, September 12, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced $25 million in new awards intended to support teacher recruitment, retention, diversification, and preparation efforts. The Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant program’s latest round of grants will make 22 five-year investments in several institutions of higher education intended to fund teacher preparation programs in high-needs communities throughout the country. More information on the announcement can be found here.

ED Issues Assessment Letter

On Tuesday, September 13, ED circulated a Dear Colleague letter to Chief State School Officers regarding the upcoming release of state assessment data from the 2021-22 school year. In anticipation of these releases, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona reiterated best practices for using and interpreting assessment data. The letter goes on to encourage states to use these results in a “constructive” manner. The letter can be found here.

DOJ to Appeal Title IX Ruling

Also on Tuesday, September 13, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they intend to appeal a recent federal court ruling temporarily blocking the Biden Administration from implementing its recently issued proposed rules to help schools, districts and institutions implement the requirements of Title IX. These rules have recently been available for public comment which garnered nearly 146,000 individual pieces of feedback. The full appeal can be found here.

ED Releases Title IV-A Guidance

Yesterday, September 15, ED released new guidance to implement the recently passed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA)—legislation intended to help reduce gun violence in schools. Among the provisions contained in the BSCA was an additional, supplementary investment of $1 billion in ESSA’s Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program. These one-time supplementary funds are intended to help schools and districts provide for safer and healthier learning environments for students and have additional requirements for their use. The guidance provides important details regarding how these funds—which were released yesterday— can and should be spent for these purposes. Read the letter here.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: COMPETES Act, ECF Funding and a New Vision for Education

Friday, January 28th, 2022

This week Democratic lawmakers in the House introduced legislation broadly aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the American economy, while the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) distributed additional connectivity aid, and U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona delivered a major speech regarding his vision for educational recovery. 

House Leadership Unveil COMPETES Act

Late Tuesday, January 25, Democratic leaders in the House introduced the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act (H.R. 4521)—legislation that is broadly aimed at increasing the global competitiveness of the American economy by making targeted investments in the nation’s technology, research and manufacturing capacity, among other elements. Of note, the legislation includes the House’s proposal to reauthorize the National Apprenticeship Act (NAA) which, if enacted, would provide significant new resources and direction for the expansion of apprenticeship programs nationwide. Additionally, the legislation proposes to infuse $9 billion into the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program. Finally, the proposal would also create several new competitive grant programs aimed at expanded student access to STEM and computer science courses at the K-12 level. 

A narrower version of this legislation was introduced and passed by the Senate last summer, but the proposal did not advance any further since that time. Should the House pass this bill in its current form, both chambers will need to reconcile significant differences between these proposals. The House Rules Committee is expected to meet next week to craft a rule for the full House to consider, amend and vote on the legislation in the coming weeks. A factsheet for the House bill can be found here and a section-by-section summary can be accessed here

FCC Announces Eighth Wave of ECF Funding

On Tuesday, January 25, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced over $240 million in new funding commitments as part of the Emergency Connectivity Fund’s (ECF) eighth round of awards. The funding will support over 600,000 students and provide 683,000 connected devices and 182,000 broadband connections to eligible schools, libraries, states and consortia. Securing initial funding for the ECF as part of the American Rescue Plan was one of Advance CTE’s legislative priorities in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the organization is continuing to work with other national groups to obtain additional resources to continue the program to help close the “homework gap.” To date, the ECF program has helped over 12 million students nationwide. More information can be found here

Secretary Cardona Lays Out New Vision for Education

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona delivered a speech at the U.S. Department of Education’s headquarters on Thursday, January 27, laying out his vision for education as the nation continues to recover from the current pandemic. In his remarks, Secretary Cardona laid out four key priority areas and related actions including: supporting students throughout the pandemic, addressing persistent opportunity and achievement gaps, making postsecondary education more accessible and affordable, and ensuring educational pathways lead to successful careers. Of note for the Career Technical Education (CTE) community, Secretary Cardona called for the creation of stronger career pathways and for, “Each high school in the country [to] have at least one career counselor oso that every high schooler has great options when they graduate.” More information on the speech can be found here.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By admin in Legislation
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