With both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on recess until after the elections, the news from the Capitol in October is focused on the Administration’s activities related to Career Technical Education (CTE). Read below to learn more about updates from the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor and new Perkins V resources.

U.S. Department of Education Forms Higher Education Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

The Office of Postsecondary Education within the U.S. Department of Education established a negotiated rulemaking committee to create and propose higher education regulations related to Federal Student Aid programs within Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The committee will be named the “Accreditation and Innovation Committee,” and will have three subcommittees including the “Distance Learning and Educational Innovation Subcommittee.” Nominations for negotiators to be part of the committee must be submitted by November 15, 2018.

U.S. Departments of Education and Labor Award STEM, Apprenticeship Grants

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement awarded over $100 million in grants in the last month through the Education Innovation and Research grant program. Eleven of the 18 awards focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in some way.

In addition, over $1.5 million in grants were awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to apprenticeship programs for women. The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants are intended to help “recruit, train, and retain more American women in quality pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, and pursue careers in manufacturing, infrastructure, and cybersecurity, among other industries.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Visits Apprenticeship Program, Speaks at National FFA Convention and Exposition 

On October 18, Secretary DeVos visited Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. During her visit, she saw the school’s apprenticeship program and had the opportunity to hear about how the school partners with local employers. On October 26, Secretary DeVos provided remarks at the National FFA Convention and Exposition in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Advance CTE and National Skills Coalition Release New Brief

This week, Advance CTE and National Skills Coalition released a new resource, Coordinating Across Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This guide looks at six opportunities to promote coordination across Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) as states develop and implement plans under Perkins V. Looking for additional resources on Perkins V? Check out Advance CTE’s Perkins V webpage.

Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate, Federal Policy 

There were a number of key updates from the Capitol this week. Read below to find out more about a a new resource on Perkins V, the Senate’s work to advance the Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) Appropriations process and an announcement from the Administration about leadership for the Office of Postsecondary Education.

Advance CTE and ACTE Release New Perkins V One-Pager

Looking for a short resource about the major tenets of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (PerkinsV)? Check out a new one-pager from Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) on our website here and find all of Advance CTE’s Perkins V resources on our webpage.

Senate Advances FY19 Appropriations Bill that Includes Key Education and Workforce Programs 

On August 23, the Senate voted 85-7 to pass their FY19 Defense and Labor, Health and human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations bills together (often called a “minibus”). Prior to its passage, over 300 amendments to the bill were filed on a wide range of topics and more than 50 were incorporated into the final bill. Some of the education-related amendments included in the final bill were: an amendment by Senators Heller (R-NV) and Klobuchar (D-MN) to require the U.S. Secretary of Education to send Congress a report on the coordination across some agencies on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs for secondary students; an amendment by Senators Reed (D-RI) and Murkowski (R-AK) to require that the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report about the condition public schools in the U.S.; an amendment by Senators Wicker (R-MS) and Peters (D-MI) about the need to expand computer science education; and an amendment by Senators Cassidy (R-LA) and Cantwell (D-WA) about the need to make funding for coding courses a top priority for students in grades K-12.

Overall, the bill included a $541 million increase (over the FY18 level) for the U.S. Department of Education and level-funding (at the FY18 level) for the U.S. Department of Labor. The Senate bill includes level funding for the following programs at the FY18 level: Perkins Basic State Grants, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and
Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants authorized under Title II of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Senate bill includes increases for the following programs: Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants authorized under Title IV-A of ESSA, Apprenticeship Grants and Adult Education and Family Literacy State Grants.

Differences between the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies FY19 appropriations bills will need to be resolved before FY19 allocations for education and workforce programs will be finalized. Advance CTE will continue to provide information about this process as it becomes available.

President Trump to Nominate Robert King for Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education

On August 21, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Robert King for Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. King formerly led the State University of New York (SUNY) System and was most recently the president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. Diane Jones will continue to serve as acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education until King is confirmed by the Senate.

Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate, Federal Policy

While the U.S. House of Representatives remains in recess until September 4, there’s still news from the Capitol this week. Read below to learn more about a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Education and the Senate’s plans to continue work on the Fiscal Year 2019 (FY19) appropriations process.

U.S. Department of Education Announces Plan to Rescind Gainful Employment Regulations 

On August 10, the U.S. Department of Education released details about a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that includes rescinding the federal gainful employment regulations. Developed in 2014, these regulations established criteria for eligibility for federal student aid based on the debt-to-earnings ratio for students who had received federal student aid for programs at for-profit colleges and certificate programs at non-profit community colleges and other postsecondary institutions. Additionally, the notice in the Federal Register states that, “The Department plans to update the College Scorecard, or a similar web-based tool, to provide program-level outcomes for all higher education programs, at all institutions that participate in the programs authorized by title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.” Comments on the proposal can be submitted through the Federal Register until September 13.

Senate to Consider Appropriations Bill on the Floor This Week

The Senate is expected to begin consideration of the FY19 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill this week, which covers a number of key education and workforce programs. The bill will be bundled with the Senate’s Defense appropriations bill into a “minibus.” The House has not yet considered its FY19 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill on the floor. Given that October 1 marks the beginning of the government’s new fiscal year, Congress will need to take action before then to avoid a government shutdown. As we reported, any differences between the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies FY19 appropriations bills (e.g., the House bill proposes a $102 million increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant for FY19 and the Senate bill proposes funding at the FY18 level) would need to be worked out before allocations for education and workforce programs could be finalized.

Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate, Federal Policy

There’s news this week from the Administration, the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor and Congress related to Career Technical Education (CTE). Read below to find out more about these updates and where to find recently released resources from Advance CTE.

Administration Releases Priorities for Research and Development 

On July 31, Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies on the Administration’s Research and Development Budget Priorities for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020). The memorandum notes that it “provides guidance to agencies as they formulate their FY2020 budget submissions.” It includes eight research and development priority areas and five priority practices, one of which is “Educating and Training a Workforce for the 21st Century Economy.”

U.S. Department of Labor Posts Notice on Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs

As we reported, the Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion (which was called for by President Trump’s June 2017 Executive Order on Expanding Apprenticeships in America) wrapped up its work and submitted its final report in May, which included recommendations around industry-recognized apprenticeship programs. On July 27, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a Training and Employment Notice that includes a framework for industry-recognized apprenticeship programs. The notice describes such programs and notes that they must be “certified as a high-quality program by a third-party certifier that has received a favorable determination from DOL.” The notice includes high-level descriptions of the “policies and procedures that certifiers will be expected to have in place to establish standards, establish certification intervals determined by those industries, evaluate and certify programs focused on outcomes and process, report results, and maintain records.”

U.S. Department of Education Intends to Create Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Regulations for Federal Student Aid

On July 30, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced its plans for establishing regulations for Federal Student Aid programs (which are authorized through Title IV of the Higher Education Act). The Federal Register Notice outlines USED’s intent to create a negotiated rulemaking committee to craft such regulations and that this committee would be divided into two subcommittees: one on “direct assessment programs/competency-based education” and another on: “the eligibility of faith-based entities to participate in the title IV, HEA programs.” The topics on which these committees could create regulations includes, accreditation of postsecondary institutions, definitions for job placement rates and credit hours, distance education requirements, Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants and more. The notice also announced that USED will collect suggestions for other topics on which the negotiated rulemaking committee could take action through written comments and three public hearings.

Senator Kaine (D-VA) Introduces Legislation to Address Teacher Shortages 

• “Expand the definition of “high need” districts under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to include those experiencing teacher shortages in rural communities and in areas such as special education, English language, science, technology, engineering, math, and CTE, to allow for access to additional support and improvement;
• Encourage school districts to create partnerships, including Grow Your Own programs, with local community colleges and universities to ensure their programs are educating future teachers in areas where there is a shortage of educators;
• Increase access to teacher and school leader residency programs and preparation training;
• Require states to identify areas of teacher or school leader shortages by subject across public schools and use that data to target their efforts;
• Increase support for teacher preparation programs at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) or Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to support a diverse and well-prepared educator workforce.”

You can find the text of the PREP Act and a section-by-section summary online. Advance CTE is proud to support this bill.

In Case You Missed It: Perkins V Resources from Advance CTE

Looking for resources related to the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) that was signed into law last week? Check out  Advance CTE’s Perkins webpage for a summary and analysis of the new law and more.

Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate, Federal Policy 

With one day before the House goes into recess, Members of Congress were busy this week passing and introducing legislation! Read below for a Perkins reauthorization update and news about a proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA). To make sure you get the latest news and resources about federal policy that impacts Career Technical Education (CTE), sign up for our Legislative Updates!

Perkins Reauthorization Heads to the President’s Desk

Today, the House passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, H.R. 2353, as amended by the Senate, on an unanimous voice vote. This is the bill that will reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins). A total of 16 Members of Congress from both parties spoke in favor of the bill, many noting the importance of Career Technical Education (CTE) in helping to close the skills gap and the significant role CTE plays for employers in their districts.

Advance CTE and ACTE released a joint press statement on the bill’s passage. We anticipate that the President will sign the bill into law in the near future. Advance CTE and ACTE will be updating the summary and analysis of the bill to reflect changes that have been made to the bill between the Senate markup of the bill on June 26 and the bill’s passage. Find all of Advance CTE’s Perkins resources on our website.

House Democrats Release Details on the Aim Higher Act to Reauthorize HEA

• “Makes college more affordable today – by investing in federal student aid –  and helps states make public college tuition more affordable in the future – by incentivizing states to reinvest in higher education,
• Cracks down on predatory for-profit institutions that target students and veterans with expensive, low-quality programs,
• Protects and expands the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which is eliminated in the GOP PROSPER Act, and makes student loans simpler and easier to repay,
• Provides students the tools they need to graduate on time with a quality degree,
• Invests in teachers and strengthens training for teachers and school leaders to improve the quality of our schools.”

On Monday, July 23, 2018 on a voice vote, the Senate approved a bill to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins) by taking up H.R. 2353, the House-passed Perkins reauthorization bill and then adopting a substitute amendment offered by Senator Alexander (R-TN). The substitute amendment contains the text of S. 3217, which was the Senate’s bill to reauthorize Perkins. As we reported, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee had marked up the Senate bill to reauthorize Perkins on June 26. Since that time, Advance CTE and ACTE have worked closely with congressional staff to improve the bill and clarify key provisions. Advance CTE and ACTE released a joint press statement on the bill’s passage and also sent a letter to the Senate that outlined our thoughts on the bill.

Now, H.R. 2353, as amended by S. 3217 will head to the House floor for a vote. We anticipate that this vote will occur before the House goes into recess on July 26 and that the President will sign it into law shortly thereafter. Advance CTE and ACTE will be updating the summary and analysis of the bill to reflect changes that have been made to the bill between the markup on June 26 and the bill’s passage. Sign up for our Legislative Updates to ensure you receive the most up-to-date information and resources on Perkins reauthorization.

Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate, Federal Policy