This week, the House Education and Labor Committee voted on the College Affordability Act. Read below to learn more about markup of the bill, the appropriations process, this week’s Senate CTE Caucus briefing and a new resource on employer engagement in Perkins V.
House Education and Labor Committee Moves College Affordability Act
From October 29-31, the House Education and Labor Committee held a markup on the College Affordability Act (H.R. 4674) that had been introduced on October 15. On October 31, the committee voted 28-22 on party lines to approve the bill out of committee. A number of CTE-related amendments passed, including:
- An amendment by Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL), with a sub-amendment by Representative Andy Levin (D-MI) that would expand access to funds within Title III, including specifically for postsecondary CTE programs;
- An amendment by Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA) that allowed language in Title IV to include language from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that would include collaboration with industry or sector partnerships;
- An amendment by Representative GT Thompson (R-PA) with a sub-amendment by Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI) that would include CTE and Perkins alignment to specific Title IV funding for tribal schools; and
- An amendment by Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D-OR) that would emphasize the recruitment of teachers with “significant cultural and community competency.”
Education Appropriations Halt in the Senate
On October 31, the Senate voted on the first procedural motion for the four-bill minibus, H.R. 2740 that includes Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-Ed). The Senate voted 51-41 to reject the motion and prevent debate on the bill from starting. Overall, Senate Democrats feel that proposed increase for Labor-HHS-Ed of just 1% over FY19 levels is insufficient, and so do not want to move this bill as it is now.
In addition to Labor-HHS-Ed, the minibus also includes funding for Defense, State Foreign-Operations and Energy-Water.
Currently, federal funding is operating through a continuing resolution that was passed at the end of September and will go until November 21, 2019.
Senate CTE Caucus Briefing Features Advance CTE
On October 31, the Senate CTE Caucus in partnership with the National Skills Coalition (NSC) hosted a briefing on “Connecting the Dots Between Perkins V and WIOA: How Can These Key Federal Policies Work Together to Drive Economic Success?” The briefing featured Advance CTE’s Director of Strategic Initiatives Meghan Wills, as well as Yvette Chocolaad, Policy Director of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), Katrin Klack, Program Officer of the Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation (Rural LISC) and Katie Brown, Senior Federal Policy Analyst at NSC. The group agreed that it’s beneficial for states to find opportunities for coordination between Perkins V and WIOA in order to maximize impact. Wills reminded the group that a combined Perkins V and WIOA state plan is not the only way to align both laws. Although just a handful of states may pursue a combined plan, there is widespread alignment within states in the visioning and planning done for Perkins V and WIOA.
New Resource on Employer Engagement in Perkins V
Advance CTE released a new resource, Cheat Sheet: Opportunities for Employer Involvement in CTE, that identifies ways in which employers can get involved with CTE programs. The resources outlines ways the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) offers avenues for employer engagement at the state and local levels.
Meredith Hills, Policy Associate and Sam Dunietz, Senior Associate for Federal Policy