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State CTE Policy Update: Building Diverse Educator Pipelines in CTE

January 23rd, 2023

Teacher preparation programs are an important aspect of building an educator pipeline. While recruiting and certifying CTE teachers may vary slightly depending on the state, one fact is true among all school districts and education platforms: learners, regardless of their own backgrounds, benefit from diversity among their teachers. With CTE’s pivotal role in providing real-world connections to career pathways, a diverse staff of educators elevates learners’ exposure to different approaches and links to future careers. As state directors dedicated to creating CTE Without Limits, ensuring the recruitment, retention and support of a diverse and culturally competent workforce is critical to ensuring each learner feels welcome and secure in their CTE ecosystem. The following are some ways to build a strategy that will help to diversify your CTE workforce.

Make Teaching Affordable

Teaching is not a high-wage job. In fact, there are some states who are losing the ability to use Perkins funding to subsidize their teacher training programs due to the historic low wage of teachers. CTE instructors, most of whom are often career changers coming from industries with higher pay are often hesitant for this very reason. While potential ways to improve teacher compensation have been addressed in this blog, there are other ways to mitigate some of the financial burdens teachers face. Student loan forgiveness and scholarship programs are attractive solutions that can be made through policy. Additionally, stipends and scholarships for teacher preparation programs can reduce some of the financial burdens on potential teachers and attract talent that may otherwise be hesitant to join.

Diversify the Applicant Pool

One of the best ways to attract diverse talent is to create “grow your own” teacher programs. This allows states to ensure they are hiring talent that reflects their learner population and makes targeted recruiting a more manageable task. Including people of color in the hiring and recruiting (and marketing) process can also help draw a more diverse pool of CTE instructor talent. Additionally, it is necessary to ensure that districts and those with hiring power are trained in racial bias mitigation and are intentional in their recruitment. Teacher preparation programs should also look to be intentionally inclusive of students from diverse backgrounds.

Build Inclusive School Environments

Creating state standards for leadership focused on creating inclusive school environments is a significant step state CTE directors can take to improve the cultures of their CTE programs. Principals and teachers can have mandatory in-service training that provides them with the strategies needed to create and sustain inclusive work environments and diverse recruitment, hiring and retainment strategies. Instructor and administrative preparation programs can also build those strategies into their curriculums.

If you would like to learn more about this subject:

Advance CTE is currently recruiting educators of color for a focus group on diversifying the CTE field. If you are interested, please sign up here.

Brice Thomas, Policy Associate

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Legislative Update: 118th Congress Begins to Take Shape

January 13th, 2023

Last weekend, the House formally elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy to be the next Speaker of the House. Earlier this week lawmakers reconvened to adopt a new rules package which determines how the Chamber will operate over the course of the 118th Congress. Elsewhere new leadership for committees overseeing education and workforce development policy have been announced. 

McCarthy Elected Speaker of the House

Early Saturday morning Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was formally elected Speaker of the House after a tumultuous week which saw 14 failed vote attempts to elect a new leader for the chamber. Throughout last week, a small group of House Republicans withheld their support for McCarthy’s speakership bid leading to the week-long impasse. After providing a series of concessions to this group of lawmakers, some of which still have not yet been made public, McCarthy was able to garner most of this group’s support while others voted present, reducing the threshold he needed to win the Speaker’s gavel. Some of these concessions could impact Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding for the coming year, including a promise McCarthy gave to these members to only advance appropriations legislation later this year at or below federal fiscal year 2022 (FY22) funding levels. With a narrow four-seat majority in the House, and with all Democratic lawmakers voting for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), this combination of handshake agreements and concessions provided the support McCarthy needed to secure the Speakership—a critically important leadership position that he has sought since 2015. 

House Adopts New Rules Package

With Speaker McCarthy formally elected, the House recessed until this past Monday where they reconvened and passed a new rules package. These rules outline how the House will operate throughout the 118th Congress, including how legislation will be developed and amended. The package also includes a number of concessions the newly elected Speaker made that are intended to empower rank and file lawmakers at the expense of the Speaker’s office. These concessions include a so-called “motion to vacate” rule, which would allow a single lawmaker to call a vote of no confidence in Speaker McCarthy during this Congress among a slew of other similar rules changes. Additionally, there are new rules that could impact how funding is or is not provided to programs that have authorization periods that have expired. Other new rules in the package would narrow the scope that bills may have to a single subject, making it more difficult to move larger pieces of legislation in the coming year. Advance CTE is continuing to analyze these new rules and their potential impact on CTE funding and policymaking in the new Congress.  

Foxx Selected to Lead Education and Workforce Committee

Following Speaker McCarthy’s election and the adoption of the rules package for the House, the Republican Steering Committee met this week to determine leadership posts for committees. Earlier in the week, the Steering Committee announced that it had selected Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) to become Chair of the newly rebranded Education and Workforce Committee—the entity responsible for education and workforce development policymaking in the House. Chair Foxx won this position over Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) who also sought this role. In order to regain the Chair position, Foxx required a waiver from the Steering Committee due to existing Republican Caucus rules that bar committee leaders from serving in leadership posts for three consecutive terms. 

“Conducting vigorous and sustained oversight of the federal government, especially the Departments of Education and Labor, will be among my top priorities,” she said after the announcement of her selection to lead the committee. In addition to oversight of the Biden Administration, Chair Foxx has shared elsewhere that she plans to push for an overhaul of federal student aid programs, similar to what she and other Republicans on the committee proposed last summer, among a number of other priorities. On the Democratic side of the aisle Rep. Robert “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), the former chair of the committee, is expected to take on the Ranking Member role to lead Democrats on the committee in minority in the new Congress. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

 

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Legislative Update: New Congress Starts Amidst Uncertainty

January 6th, 2023

Just before the holiday season, the 117th Congress passed an end-of- year spending package which provided an increase for the Career Technical Education (CTE) and other CTE-related funding priorities. The new 118th Congress was set to formally begin this week, but has run into a number of challenges in recent days as explored below.

Congress Passes FY23 Spending Package

Prior to the holiday season, the 117th Congress was struggling to agree on full-year funding legislation for the current 2023 federal fiscal year (FY23). This important piece of legislation was the last remaining agenda item lawmakers needed to pass before concluding the 117th Congress. Just a few days before temporary funding legislation was set to expire, lawmakers released a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package for the remainder of FY23 for all federal operations and programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V). Lawmakers in both chambers quickly took up and passed this legislation on a bipartisan basis with the House voting for passage 225-201 and the Senate voting in favor of the package by a margin of 68-29. Shortly after these votes, President Biden signed the package into law (H.R. 2617). 

The new law provides a $3.2 billion increase to the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) budget—an approximately 4 percent increase over FY22 funding levels. Of significant note for the CTE community, the omnibus spending package provides $50 million in additional funding for Perkins V’s basic state grant program— a nearly 4 percent increase over current levels of investment in the program—bringing the total for the formula grant account to roughly $1.43 billion annually. Lawmakers also provided an additional $25 million for Perkins V’s Innovation and Modernization grant program authorized under Sec. 114 of the law which is intended to provide competitive grants to support innovative approaches to CTE. 

In addition, lawmakers increased funding for Title IV-A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants– an important source of funding for secondary CTE—by $100 million (7.8 percent increase). Elsewhere, the legislation invests an additional $50 million in apprenticeship expansion grants— a 21 percent increase over current levels of investment. Advance CTE applauds this result and is looking forward to working with Congress this year to secure additional investments in CTE as part of the upcoming FY24 federal budget and appropriations process.

118th Congress Begins Amidst Uncertainty

The newly elected members of the House and the Senate convened this week to formally begin the 118th Congress. As a reminder, Democrats retained control of the Senate, increasing their slim majority to 51-49 this Congress, while Republicans took control of the House with a narrow majority of 222-213. In the Senate, the start of the new Congress was a short affair. Senators gathered throughout the day on Tuesday, January 3, to swear in new members, formally name Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) the president pro tempore of the Senate (as the second longest serving Democrat in the chamber), and attend to other logistical housekeeping items necessary for the chamber to begin the new 118th Congress. Following these activities, the Senate recessed until January 23. 

In the House, however, efforts to formally begin the new Congress have been upended by the new Republican majority’s inability to elect a new Speaker of the House. Presumptive front runner for this position, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), has been unable to garner the 218 votes required to become speaker. At the time of this writing the House has attempted 12 votes which have each failed to elect a new speaker. A small contingent of House Republicans are opposing McCarthy. It remains unclear how or when these disagreements within the House Republican Caucus will be resolved. In the meantime, the House has not been able to formally convene for the 118th Congress—including the swearing in of new members—because a speaker has not been elected. Advance CTE will continue to monitor these developments closely.  

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

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Legislative Update: New House CTE Caucus Leader Announced As Congress Nears Funding Deal

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

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Legislative Update: Congress Continues Busy Lame Duck Session

December 9th, 2022

Over the last two weeks, lawmakers have continued to work on a number of pressing issues, including funding legislation for the current 2023 federal fiscal year (FY23). Elsewhere the contours of the upcoming 118th Congress– set to convene in January– are continuing to take shape as additional elections are finalized and leadership decisions are made. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released new guidance related to STEM education. 

Lawmakers Struggle to Find Agreement on FY23 Funding

This week, Congress continued to work on a number of important agenda items lawmakers hope to complete during the current lame duck session of Congress. Topping this list, is the need to fund the federal government and related programs beyond December 16—when current stopgap funding legislation is set to expire. This legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), has provided an extension of FY22 funding levels for federal operations and programs, like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V), through this date later this month. Lawmakers are still negotiating topline spending totals for the major components of the federal budget. As a reminder, discretionary spending is split between defense and non-defense funding. Democratic lawmakers broadly favor additional non-defense spending, while Republicans are supportive of larger amounts of funding for the military.

This disagreement— how much to allot for both of these spending categories—has remained one of the primary obstacles for Congress to advance full-year spending legislation needed to avert a government shutdown and lapse in appropriations for programs like Perkins V. As this disagreement persists, lawmakers will likely be forced to pass another short-term extension of existing FY22 funding levels to provide themselves more time to negotiate a final deal. It is unclear whether lawmakers will find consensus on this important issue prior to the start of the next Congress, set to begin on January 3, 2023, but both sides are working earnestly to finalize a deal prior to the holidays. 

As these efforts continue, Advance CTE will continue to engage with partners on Capitol Hill to impress upon lawmakers the importance of full-year funding and to encourage greater investments in Perkins V and funding streams of interest to the Career Technical Education (CTE) community in the coming year. 

Democrats Solidify New Senate Majority

As shared previously, the long-awaited midterm elections took place last month which resulted in Republicans retaking control of the House. While nearly all of these electoral races had been resolved, a final Senate runoff election in Georgia between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and challenger Herschel Walker took place. After the polls closed Tuesday evening, Sen. Warnock (D-GA) was declared the winner of this election. With Sen. Warnock’s electoral victory, Democrats will have a 51-49 majority in the Senate as part of the upcoming 118th Congress. This majority will further solidify Democrats’ control of legislative and nomination processes which, over the last two years, had relied on Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes when the chamber deadlocked. 

Significantly, this slim Democratic majority in the 118th Congress will also mean Democrats will have majorities on individual Senate committees, including the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee which oversees CTE policy, in the coming Congress. With these majorities on committees, Democrats will be able to move nominees and certain legislation that had previously been bogged down by disagreements between the parties over the last two years. Despite these positive developments for Democrats Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an incumbent Democratic Senator from Arizona, announced that she is leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent. Although this complicates Democrats’ newfound Senate majority somewhat, Sinema shared in an interview today that she will not caucus with Republicans which means Democrats are still likely to have a firmer grip on the Senate in the coming two years. 

House Republican Leadership Continues to Take Shape

Elsewhere incoming House Republican leaders are continuing to make decisions regarding who will lead committees of jurisdiction in the coming Congress, including those that will oversee CTE policy next year. Of note, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) was granted a waiver by House Republican leadership recently to run to lead the House Education and Labor Committee next Congress. This waiver will allow Foxx to run for chair, but she is likely to be challenged by one or more other Republican members vying for the position. Advance CTE will continue to monitor this and other developments as the 118th Congress continues to take shape.

ED Issues New STEM Guidance

On Wednesday,  December 6, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) sent a Dear Colleague letter to state educational agencies, local educational agencies, and other stakeholders providing information on how existing federal funds can be used to  support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The letter aims to provide guidance on using funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP), as well as other relevant funding streams and legislation, such as Perkins V, to support innovative, equity-focused K-12 STEM education and related activities. It also provides suggested examples and best practices for how to maximize the use of these resources. The letter goes on to emphasize the importance of STEM education in helping students recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare them for a rapidly evolving labor market. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

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Legislative Update: Congress Returns for a Busy Lame Duck Session

November 28th, 2022

Earlier this month Americans across the country went to the polls to decide the balance of power for the upcoming 118th Congress. Elsewhere Career Technical Education (CTE) champions highlighted the importance of career development while the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released new guidance intended to support career connected learning. 

Midterm Election Results Become Clearer

Earlier this month, the long-awaited midterm elections took place across the country. At the time of our last update, the results from these electoral contests were still coming in with control of both the House and the Senate unclear. Since that time, additional outcomes from these elections have been announced making clear that the Republican Party will take control of the House in the coming 118th Congress. Democrats will retain control of the Senate, although the size of their majority will be determined by a runoff election in Georgia set to take place on December 6.  

As these results continued to trickle in, federal lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill just before Thanksgiving for a short session to begin the process of determining party leadership for both chambers moving forward. In the House, longtime Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her core leadership team announced that they were stepping down. This will pave the way for a new Democratic leadership team, likely to be led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). For House Republicans, longtime Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is currently working to garner the necessary support to be the next Speaker of the House. The final composition for both party’s leadership teams remains fluid. However, in the Senate, Democrats and Republicans will likely continue to be led by current Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) pending final approval from their caucuses. 

In addition to these recent developments, it is also being widely reported that Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are likely to lead the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the next Congress. Leadership announcements for the House Education and Labor Committee are still forthcoming and hinge on the ability of current Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) to secure a waiver from Republican leadership to serve as chair of the committee in the next Congress. Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are widely expected to lead the Senate Appropriations committee which helps to determine funding for programs like Perkins V. 

As additional leadership roles and responsibilities become clearer in the coming weeks, Advance CTE will continue to update the CTE community and provide insights on  implications for federal policymaking. Congress now reconvenes this week for a jam packed “lame duck” session of the current 117th Congress where they must attend to a number of important issues, including federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) funding for programs like the Perkins Act’s basic state grant program. Be sure to check back here for more updates! 

CTE Caucus Co-Chairs Introduce Career Development Resolution 

Longtime House CTE Caucus co-chairs Reps. Thompson (R-PA) and Langevin (D-RI) introduced a resolution earlier this month designating November as National Career Development Month. When introduced, Advance CTE’s Executive Director, Kimberly Green said, “A hallmark of high-quality CTE is career development opportunities that equitably support learners as they explore and pursue their career passion. Advance CTE is proud to support this bipartisan resolution designating November as National Career Development Month from Representatives Thompson and Langevin, which recognizes the crucial role career development contributes to a skilled workforce and learner success in education, work, and in life.” Read more about the resolution here. 

Department of Education Announces Initiative to “Unlock Career Success”

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently  announced the launch of a new initiative called Raise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success. This is a new Administration initiative supported in conjunction with the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Labor aimed at increasing and expanding access to high-quality college and career pathways programs to help more young Americans pursue careers in in-demand fields, and prepare for careers of the future.  The effort is intended to strengthen ties between K-12 education, postsecondary education, and workforce programs among other priorities. As part of this announcement, the Departments shared that they are also providing $5.6 million in competitive funding for a new grant initiative that aims to expand work-based learning opportunities for students. The department also plans to host regional summits with students, educators, employers and other stakeholders to learn about practices that have led to success and challenges that must be addressed.

Department of Education Publishes Guidance on ARP Funding Use for Career Pathways

The U.S. Department of Education released new guidance through a Dear Colleague letter on how unspent federal funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and other pandemic aid packages can be used for career pathways. The guidance highlights how these resources can be leveraged around four main priority areas including, expanding access to dual enrollment opportunities, providing strong career and college advisement and navigation supports, expanding opportunities for high-quality work-based learning, and giving all students the option to earn industry-sought credentials. Be sure to check out Advance CTE’s resource– published last year– which also provided ideas and guidance to the CTE community regarding how these funds could be used in support of CTE. 

Senate CTE Caucus Hosts Apprenticeship Briefing

Written by Jori Houck, Media Relations and Advocacy Associate, Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). Original post can be found here. 

On November 15, the Senate CTE Caucus, alongside the Swiss and Austrian Embassies, held a Capitol Hill briefing on Women in Apprenticeship to highlight both National Apprenticeship Week and the Austrian and Swiss apprenticeship models. Welcoming remarks were made by Ambassador of Switzerland Jacques Pitteloud and the Austrian Chargé d’Affairs Günther Salzmann. Both expressed a desire to broaden the influence of the Swiss and Austrian apprenticeship models in the United States.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) offered additional remarks, highlighting the connection between CTE and apprenticeships. He discussed how recent federal investments will ensure that CTE is at the forefront of preparing apprentices and all learners for good-paying, in-demand jobs. Sen. Hickenlooper also declared that he had officially joined the CTE Caucus!

A panel discussion followed and was moderated by Thomas Mayr of Austria’s Vocational Education and Training department. Apprentices and representatives from four Swiss and Austrian companies, Zurich Insurance of Illinois, Swiss Krono of South Carolina, Egger Wood Products of North Carolina and Engel Machinery of Pennsylvania, each spoke about the recruitment challenges, opportunities, supports needed and benefits of their apprenticeship programs. Each apprentice expressed that if given the chance to pursue an apprenticeship again, they would make the same decision.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

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Interview: CAST Researcher Dr. Amanda Bastoni on Supporting Rural CTE Learners

November 21st, 2022

As part of ongoing blog topics aimed at supporting all learners in the realization of the national vision for the future of Career Technical Education (CTE), CTE Without Limits, Dr. Amanda Bastoni, Educational Research Scientist at CAST and Dr. Tunisha Hobson, State Policy Manager engaged in a discussion to highlight the importance of providing support for CTE learner success in rural areas. CAST is a nonprofit education research and development organization, and Dr. Bastoni has conducted multiple research projects on rural learner access and engagement in STEM-focused programs. [Note: this interview has been edited for length and clarity].

Considering your wealth of experience in this area, how do you think states should approach learner access to CTE in rural areas? 

State leaders should create policies that support small rural employers’ participation in CTE. A quick way for states to support rural learners is through work-based Learning.  One example, in New Hampshire (RSA 188 –E: 9-a), employers of any size can be eligible for a tax credit against business profit taxes up to 50 percent for salaries of students and supervisors participating in work-based learning experiences and up to 100 percent for supplies and equipment donated for related use to an educational program offered by the regional CTE center when they make donations of time, money and goods for CTE centers.  

Learner access can also begin with large scale remote career day programs and intentional employer engagement in the local and broader communities. There is a rural community in Arizona that is conducting school-wide career days where the whole school engages with different employers in activities and conversations about the experiences of working in that field. 

Additionally, I think there is an opportunity to engage employers and industry partners in rural areas by preparing them for filling roles with learners. Many rural employers are willing to support work-based learning experiences, but there is a need to equip them with the right tools for success.  Equipping employers with tools describing the work-based learning continuum provides an opportunity for employer engagement from small sized companies to larger corporations in understanding the experiences that can be provided to learners in rural communities. 

What are some best practices states can use to support rural learners to access equitable opportunities in CTE? 

Equip educators through professional development: Communicating the complexities of rural learner experiences is reliant upon the messenger. The most well meaning practitioner may not understand the challenges rural learners encounter, so it is important to find research based professional development that encourages engagement for rural learners. Ultimately, teachers can leverage their community relationships to connect learners to additional resources and opportunities. 

Access CTE Without Borders while considering the digital divide: Using asset-based learning approaches to meet the needs of rural learners is important. State leaders should consider innovative approaches to realizing career pathway experiences. One example, simplistically, consider designing experiences where learners can leverage cell phones rather than laptops or computers they may not have access to. Additionally, consideration for STEM through outdoor recreation related career pathways and experiences invite rural learners to engage in CTE without borders. 

Build social capital for underrepresented rural learners, particularly for careers they do not see in their community: Family engagement and inclusion of learner voice is a foundational requirement for decision making and helping learners build their social capital. Policy makers and practitioners are critical to move the work forward, but the voices of learners will drive effective change in communities. Efforts to elevate learner voice can include sharing strategies, analyzing information, and developing solutions can not only help rural learners understand how social networks are being developed but also help build positive self-identity. 

Encourage and support virtual work-based learning experiences within the classroom: Embedding virtual work-based learning experiences in CTE coursework bolsters learner exposure to careers beyond their communities. Examples like BioFab Explorer from CAST, which aims to broaden the participation of underrepresented populations in rural communities in biofabrication and biomanufacturing, embeds a components of career guidance curriculum, including work-based learning simulations and activities that teachers can use to help students explore careers and develop and demonstrate industry skills, to dual enrollment opportunities. 

What guidance can help states remove barriers with postsecondary program persistence in rural areas?

Rural learners need access to transportation, childcare, and paid work-based learning experiences to support their families and encourage persistence in a career pathway. Offering paid apprenticeships and internships related to outdoor recreation through postsecondary programs are critical in rural areas.  According to research, many rural regions are currently experiencing declines in traditional resource-extractive industries such as mining and timber harvesting.

Like many “amenity/decline” regions, New Hampshire was significantly impacted by the loss of paper mills in the 1990s followed by the 2008 recession; however, the region has also seen steady growth in outdoor recreation. In 2020, outdoor recreation represented a higher percentage of New Hampshire’s GDP (2.6 percent) than the U.S. average (1.8 percent), ranking it 11th nationally (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2021). Similar rural states across the country are leveraging the outdoors as a significant positive asset for recreation and employment through legislation which creates opportunities in career pathways for learners. In 2021, New Hampshire joined 13 other states including Maine, Vermont, North Carolina, Oregon, Montana, Virginia, and West Virginia, in committing to establish State Offices of Outdoor Recreation Industry Development (Confluence of States, 2018).

Additional Resources 

With Learners, Not for Learners: A Toolkit for for Elevating Learner Voice in CTE

CTE on the Frontier: Rural CTE Strategy Guide

Dr. Tunisha Hobson, State Policy Manager 

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About- Dr. Amanda Bastoni

Dr. Bastoni is a former CTE teacher and Director. While currently employed as an Educational Research Scientist at CAST, some of her research projects have included: 

  • Inclusion, Access, Equity and Diversity (IAED) National coordinator for ACTE
  • Principal Investigator on new National Science Foundation (NSF) iTEST Grant working with rural CTE teachers to investigate if drones can be used to increase access to STEM careers for middle school girls and rural learners.  
  • Principal Investigator on an NSF AISL feasibility Grant focused on understanding how asset-based approaches can be leveraged to increase rural learners’ engagement in STEM-based careers

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Legislative Update: Control of Congress Still Uncertain

November 10th, 2022

This week Americans across the country went to the polls to decide the balance of power for the upcoming 118th Congress. While the final results are still a few days away, all attention on Capitol Hill is focused on the outcomes of these electoral contests.  

Midterm Election Results Remain Close

On Tuesday, November 8th, the long-anticipated midterm elections were held across the nation. The results from these elections are still becoming clear, with the winners of many elections in the House, Senate, and elsewhere likely to be announced over the coming days and potentially weeks ahead. These announcements will determine the balance of power for the upcoming 118th Congress set to begin early next year.

At present, the Republican Party appears to be poised to take control of the House of Representatives. However, the party has dramatically underperformed early predictions regarding their electoral performance. While many races in the House are still undetermined, it is becoming more likely that a narrow margin of control of the lower legislative chamber will be the most likely end result.

In the Senate, four races remain undecided at the time of this writing—Arizona, Alaska, Georgia, and Nevada. The outcome of these elections will determine control of the Senate and each race remains contested at present. Alaska’s Senate race will not impact the control of the upper legislative chamber, given it pits two Republicans against one another, but the outcomes of the remaining three will decide whether Democrats retain control of the chamber or if Republicans will regain the majority. . Results from Arizona and Nevada—expected in the coming days— will likely determine the stakes of a runoff election in Georgia, now set to take place in early December.

Advance CTE will continue to monitor these electoral contests and will share further analysis as the results– along with their implications for the CTE and workforce development policy in the 118th Congress– become clearer.  Advance CTE will host a webinar on November 17 with JFF and New Skills Coalition to discuss the impact of the midterm election on the field and federal policy priorities. 

CTE Caucus Co-Chairs Introduce Cybersecurity Proposal

Last week, House Career Technical Education (CTE) Caucus co-chairs Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) introduced the Cybersecurity Skills Integration Act (H.R. 9259). This legislation was introduced in the context of Cybersecurity Awareness Month which aims to highlight the importance of protecting, hardening and securing the nation’s digital infrastructure from unwanted and malicious cyber activity. If enacted, the legislation would create a new $10 million competitive grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). These grants would provide funding to eligible CTE programs that integrate cybersecurity into aspects of their curriculum. More about this bipartisan legislative proposal can be found here. 

Department of Commerce Releases Strategy for CHIPS Implementation

Over the summer, President Biden signed the bipartisan Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167). This legislation was passed to enhance the nation’s advanced manufacturing capacity, particularly regarding the production of semiconductor chips needed in many electronics and related components. The legislation also created several new grant programs aimed at preparing students to enter into STEM and computer science fields. In addition, the law created a $50 billion “CHIPS For America” fund, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce which, in part, provides new subsidies to semiconductor manufacturers and designers. This fund has four interrelated strategic goals including to, “grow a diverse semiconductor workforce and build strong communities that participate in the prosperity of the semiconductor industry.” The strategy goes on to highlight its anticipated efforts to engage with regional manufacturing and develop stronger public-private partnerships  to provide new and expand existing training programs that can benefit the semiconductor and related industries. Read the full strategy here. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

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Alignment and Intentional Equity: Two Priorities for District of Columbia’s First Area Technical Center

November 9th, 2022

For this blog, Senior Policy Associate Dan Hinderliter and Communications Manager Stacy Whitehouse interviewed Washington DC’s State CTE Director Richard Kincaid. 

The 2022 school year heralded the start of another new initiative for the District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)- the Advanced Technical Center (ATC), the first DC area technical center to serve secondary students from public and public charter schools across the District. This development was inspired by Advance CTE’s 2021 50 state report on structure and outcomes in the nation’s area technical centers 

The planning process began in July 2021 when OSSE received an influx of coronavirus relief funds after Mayor Muriel Bowser directed funds from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) to Career Technical Education (CTE)  and work-based learning plans. While OSSE is still working to secure long-term funding for the ATC, ARPA funds will keep the school open for at least five years. The ATC initially opened with three programs of study — General Nursing, Cybersecurity and Health Information Technology — on the campus of Trinity Washington University, but will move to a new building shortly after renovations are complete. During the design process, DC CTE Director Richard Kincaid noted two areas vital to the success of the ATC: systems alignment and partnership and an intentional focus on equity, both foundational commitments of Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education.

Systems Alignment and Partnership

When planning the future of the ATC, systems alignment and partnership was a must-have, especially considering the vast and complicated educational landscape in the District of Columbia. Kincaid and his team convened four initial stakeholder meetings, involving partners from the Deputy Mayor for Education’s office, administrators from DC Public Schools (DCPS) and DC Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), and potential employer partners. These stakeholders helped to calibrate on what the core purpose of the ATC is, who it should serve and how to limit duplication with other area programs. Kincaid shared that working from a partnership perspective instead of from a compliance angle served initial work well, especially where there were already places area principals needed to coordinate services on, such as scheduling or transportation. Given the complex dynamic across agencies in DC, this stakeholder group was vital to ensuring buy-in from and alignment to sending institutions. The group also coordinated an initial list of potential programs, leveraging labor market information and opportunity gap analyses. After a series of community input sessions, the group ultimately narrowed the list to the three programs currently offered. 

This lens of partnership also contributed to early programmatic successes. Significant conversations with local postsecondary institutions led to memorandums of understanding (MOUs) allowing learners to receive dual credit for all courses (five credits for every semester a learner is enrolled at the ATC). These courses are applied to aligned credit in the learner’s program of study, not just general education requirements. Postsecondary institutions also share instructors with the ATC to teach advanced coursework. Employer partners also support the program through site visits and career exploration conversations with learners; proximity to federal agencies means federal partners like the White House’s National Cybersecurity Initiative have visited the ATC. Future years will see employers supporting on- and off-site work-based learning initiatives, and Kincaid hopes to one day see an employer co-located with the ATC to provide daily hands-on training.

Intentional Focus on Equity

Kincaid also stressed that the main intent behind the ATC was to close equity gaps, in particular for learners from wards historically underserved by DC’s educational programs. He and his team intentionally designed the ATC’s supporting infrastructure to limit barriers to access for learners. For example, OSSE contracted with a local cab company to provide transportation to learners to and from the ATC, to limit unsafe walks or undue travel burdens for learners. While he noted this was a logistical hurdle, Kincaid noted this was a permanent focus of the ATC to always ensure learners could access the ATC’s programs. Programming for the ATC is also open-access, limiting cost or grade barriers for learners. There are no entrance exams- to earn the aforementioned dual credit, learners must simply achieve a C or higher in each to receive college credit above a final grade. Finally, future plans will continue to center equity initiatives, including paid internship opportunities and the development of future programs that advance historically marginalized learners, particularly learners of color, in historically underrepresented fields.

What’s Next for DC’s ATC

Within the next two years, the Advanced Technical Center looks to make big strides by moving into a permanent home and expanding the student population served. In 2022, approximately 130 learners were enrolled; by 2025, Kincaid hopes to have 600 learners regularly attend. The hope is also for learners regardless of age and program to participate in school-time, paid year-round internships, including some with industry partners co-located with the ATC. Through the changes, equity and partnership will remain at the heart of the ATC’s focus. 

Dan Hinderliter, Senior Policy Associate

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Legislative Update: Congress in Recess Through the Midterms

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

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