Last week the White House released its full Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) budget request. Read below for information about what this means for Career Technical Education (CTE) and additional details on education and labor programs, as well as a readout from a U.S. Department of Education (ED) virtual roundtable and an upcoming labor hearing in the House.
White House Shares Full Budget Proposal- Additional Details
Last week, the White House released its $6 trillion budget proposal for FY22. This request calls for a $20 million increase ( approximately 1.5%) to the Perkins Basic State Grant, as well as a $108 million increase for National Programs- of which $100 million would fund competitive awards for middle and high school CTE innovation projects aimed at advancing equity and $8 million would fund technical assistance and grant evaluations. The request also includes a new $1 billion annually for 10 years to support middle and high school career pathways that would occur through the passage of the American Jobs Plan. Advance CTE in partnership with the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released a statement on this proposal, which can be viewed here.
Of the record 41% increase ($29.8 billion) for education programs, much of that funding is dedicated to new programs. For example, the $20 billion increase for Title I is designated for a new Equity Grants program with the purpose of addressing inequities in education systems. Some additional changes to existing programs include an increase of $200.8 million for Federal TRIO Programs and an increase of $5 million for rural school districts through the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP).
Some notable requests for labor programs include:
- Increase of $37.3 million for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult programs;
- Increase of $42.7 million for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth program that provide services to prepare low-income youth for academic and career success;
- Increase of $51.9 million for the Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) program that prepares justice-involved adult and youth for the job market; and
- Increase of $48.4 million for YouthBuild.
Please find additional information on the budget at the below links:
- White House Budget Proposal
- White House Budget Fact Sheet
- ED Budget Summary and Background Information
- ED Budget Key Highlights
- ED Justification of Appropriations Estimates to Congress
- Statement from ED Secretary Miguel Cardona
- DOL Budget in Brief
ED Holds Virtual Roundtable on Providing Pell Grants for Incarcerated Individuals
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona held a virtual roundtable to discuss the importance of providing Pell Grants for incarcerated individuals. This conversation included students and former students who took college classes while incarcerated. Secretary Cardona shared that he is “committed to ensuring that the Department works to serve currently- and formerly incarcerated students well, and to increasing access to high-quality post-secondary education for these students.” During this roundtable, formerly incarcerated students talked about the successes and challenges they faced while working to achieve their educational goals. Readouts of these experiences can be found here. Advance CTE has advocated for expanding Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated individuals, and is pleased by the support of the Administration. ED is currently implementing the Second Chance Pell Experiment that enables approximately 100 colleges to offer Pell Grants to incarcerated individuals. In the coming years, ED will be implementing a change Congress made in December 2020 that removes a legislative ban.
House Schedules Hearing with Secretary Walsh
The House Committee on Education and Labor scheduled a hearing with U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. During the hearing Secretary Walsh will be asked questions and speak about the policies and priorities of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The hearing will take place Wednesday, June 9 at 12:00pm EST, and you can watch it here.
Meredith Hills, Senior Associate for Federal Policy