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Posts Tagged ‘FY 2024 Funding’

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Legislative Update: Speaker McCarthy Ousted

Friday, October 6th, 2023

Following a tumultuous series of events last week which culminated in the passage of a short-term extension of current federal funding, a group of House Republicans moved this week to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his leadership position. 

Kevin McCarthy Removed From Leadership Role

Earlier this week a small group of conservative House lawmakers, primarily members of the House Freedom Caucus led by Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), introduced a motion to vacate on Monday, October 2 – a formal legislative measure that ejects the sitting Speaker of the House from this position. As a reminder, in order to become Speaker earlier this year, Kevin McCarthy was forced to give a number of concessions related to the House’s rules to this group of conservative lawmakers given the extremely narrow margin of control in the chamber. Among these concessions was a rule change that allows any single Republican member to introduce a motion to vacate. This rule change has given rank-and-file members in the House enormous control over the legislative process this year given they could threaten to oust the Speaker with this procedural measure.  

Ostensibly this group of lawmakers, which has been seeking significant domestic spending reductions including for education and workforce programs, was upset with Speaker McCarthy because he introduced legislation last week, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to temporarily extend current federal fiscal year 2023 funding through November 17. This action was at odds with this group’s preferred vision for FY24 funding. The motion to vacate was passed by the full House chamber by a margin of 216-210 — an unprecedented move that formally removed Speaker McCarthy from office on Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after the vote, McCarthy announced that he would not seek to be renominated for the position.

In the interim, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has replaced McCarthy on an acting basis until the House elects a new Speaker. Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry adjourned the House shortly after the vote and is expected to bring lawmakers back to DC next week. House Republicans are expected to convene early next week to formally consider several candidates that are currently vying for the Speaker position including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH). Advance CTE is monitoring this process closely and will provide future updates for implications for the Career Technical Education (CTE) community as efforts to elect a new Speaker unfold.  

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Congress Passes Last-Minute Funding Extension

Monday, October 2nd, 2023

After weeks of fruitless negotiations on Capitol Hill the last few months regarding a pathway forward on full-year federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriations, lawmakers emerged with a temporary deal to avert an expected government shutdown this past weekend. Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently published anticipated postsecondary regulations. 

Lawmakers Narrowly Avert Government Shutdown

In a surprising turn of events Saturday morning, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced a 45-day legislative extension of federal funding to provide Congress more time to negotiate a pathway forward on longer-term appropriations legislation. For the last few months, Speaker McCarthy and his leadership team have repeatedly indicated that they would not allow the House to consider such an extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), without significant spending and policy concessions demanded by conservative factions within the House Republican caucus. However, Speaker McCarthy abruptly set these demands aside Saturday morning, several hours before a government shutdown was set to begin, and introduced a CR that would simply extend current FY23 funding for federal programs and operations for the next 45 days. 

This measure was subsequently advanced by the full House of Representatives on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, 335-91. Following a contentious debate in the House, the bill was quickly sent to the Senate, where it was advanced by a margin of 88-9, before being sent to President Biden and signed into law. 

In the short term, this legislation prevents a government shutdown and will provide more time for lawmakers to continue to negotiate a pathway forward on full-year FY24 funding. However, with 90 House Republicans voting no on the measure, and with concessions Speaker McCarthy was forced to give earlier this year to conservative lawmakers in his party, this group of lawmakers may seek to force a vote to remove McCarthy from this leadership role as these efforts continue to get underway. Equally as important, Democrats’ and Republicans’ respective visions for FY24 funding still remain significantly far apart– despite the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) which established, in part, a framework intended to facilitate the passage of a full-year FY24 funding measure this year. 

Consensus on FY24 funding is likely to prove contentious in the weeks ahead. As these negotiations progress, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for the passage of full-year FY24 appropriations legislation, including a strengthened investment in CTE via the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act’s (Perkins V) basic state grant program as proposed by the Senate earlier this year. 

ED Finalizes Gainful Employment Rule

Earlier this year, ED proposed a new iteration of gainful employment (GE) rules– regulations that apply to certain postsecondary programs and are intended to ensure that learners are able to pay back federal financial aid obligations. Advance CTE and partners submitted comments to the department during this time and encouraged the agency to consider alternative ways to measure learners’ earnings as well as other suggestions to improve the proposal. Following this comment period, which attracted more than 7,500 responses from the public, ED published a preview of its final GE rule which will be formally published in the Federal Register on October 10. 

The final rule mirrors this earlier proposal closely and would apply to postsecondary career education programs that are otherwise eligible for aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The rule includes a debt-to-earnings measure that would compare learners’ debt burdens to their total and discretionary income. In addition, the final rule includes a high school earnings measure which would compare the earnings of those that complete a program with the median earnings of a high school graduate in their state. If a program fails on the same measure twice within a three-year period, it would lose eligibility to receive Title IV funding. 

In addition, the rulemaking also includes a new financial value transparency framework (FVT). This component of the rules package is intended to provide learners and families with greater information and insights into the value proposition of enrolling in a postsecondary program prior to enrollment. The FVT would proactively disclose information related to program costs and potential return on investment with learners prior to receiving federal financial aid. This is intended to prevent learners from enrolling in a program that has the potential to leave them with unaffordable debt obligations. The FVT would also require learners to proactively affirm that they understand these risks prior to enrolling and using federal financial aid.

The final GE rules are set to go into effect July 1, 2024. The FVT requires the collection of new student outcomes information over the next two years and is expected to come into full effect mid-2026. However, as with previous ED regulatory efforts on this issue, there is a strong possibility that litigation may delay the implementation of one or both components of this rules package in the future. Advance CTE is continuing to analyze this proposal for wider implications for the CTE community and will be closely monitoring its implementation in the coming months. Additional information related to this rulemaking can be found in this factsheet. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Stalemate on Funding Continues While House Examines WIOA

Friday, September 22nd, 2023

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill remained in session this week but have continued to struggle to find a pathway forward on federal funding for the upcoming fiscal year. Elsewhere, the House held a hearing to formally examine updating workforce development legislation. 

Congress Remains Deadlocked on FY24 Funding

This week the House and the Senate continued to struggle to find consensus on a pathway forward on federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) funding. With FY24 set to begin on October 1, lawmakers must pass stopgap spending legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to extend current federal funding levels as negotiations on longer-term FY24 legislation continue. House Republican leaders, however, are struggling to build consensus within their own caucus about the duration and content of the CR as well as longer-term FY24 spending proposals. As a result, a government shutdown is appearing increasingly likely on October 1. While the Senate was expected to advance several more FY24 measures this week, those efforts have also failed to move forward as initially scheduled.

Both impasses are due to opposition from conservative Republicans demanding significant spending and policy concessions in exchange for their support for both a CR and, more broadly, full-year FY24 funding legislation. In addition, Republican lawmakers in the House have only considered spending proposals that dramatically reduce current federal funding, including funding for wider education and workforce development investments, by amounts far beyond the requirements of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) approved earlier this year. With the margins of control in both chambers extremely narrow, continued conservative opposition and demands to further cut domestic programs land exact other concessions have stalled Congress’ ability to reach a consensus. As this impasse continues, Advance CTE will continue to engage with partners in Congress to advocate for robust funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*) and other funding streams important to the Career Technical Education (CTE) community.

House Holds Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Hearing

On Wednesday, September 20, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing titled “Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for Jobseekers, Employers, and Taxpayers.” The hearing, which was framed by the committee as a formal first step towards a bipartisan effort to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), focused extensively on a number of issues including potential reforms to the law that would increase access to training opportunities. The hearing also focused extensively on ways to better promote employer engagement and to improve data transparency and accountability within the legislation. Lawmakers and witnesses also discussed strategies and approaches to better support youth populations and provide them with more robust training and employment options. Witness testimony and opening statements can be accessed in the recording of the hearing.

*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: Congress Struggles to Find Agreement on Funding

Friday, September 15th, 2023

Both the House and the Senate were in session this week as lawmakers struggled to find consensus on a pathway forward on federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) funding. With only a few legislative days left on the Congressional calendar until the start of FY24, the status of federal funding is currently uncertain. 

FY24 Funding Remains in Focus

On Tuesday, the House formally reconvened after Congress’ annual August recess. The Senate has been in session since last week and is working to advance a “minibus” funding legislation– a measure containing three of the 12 individual spending bills that compose the federal budget. As a reminder, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced each of the 12 FY24 spending bills out of committee for full consideration by the Senate just before the August recess. These measures included a proposed $40 million in increased funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act’s (Perkins V*) basic state grant program. 

These efforts stand in stark contrast to the House, where Republican lawmakers have struggled to find consensus on a much broader swath of their FY24 spending proposals. Broadly, the Chamber remains much further behind than the Senate. More importantly, Republican lawmakers in the House are advancing spending proposals that cut federal funding, including for other significant education and workforce development efforts, by significant amounts beyond the requirements of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) approved earlier this year.

The Senate’s and House’s respective visions for FY24 funding remain dramatically far apart. With only a few legislative days left before the next fiscal year begins on October 1, legislation that would extend current funding levels for a specified period of time (known as a Continuing Resolution or “CR”) will be needed. However, conservative factions in the House have indicated that they will not support a CR without steep spending cuts and a number of other policy concessions, including consideration of the impeachment of President Biden. These demands are not supported by the White House or party leadership in the Senate, leaving all three at an impasse during this critical juncture of the appropriations process.

The extreme distance between the House and Senate FY24 spending proposals and the positions currently taken by the House, Senate, and the White House mean that negotiations in the coming weeks are likely to be contentious and the potential for a government shutdown remains elevated. As these negotiations take place, The National School Boards Association (NSBA) will continue to advocate continued government operations without disruption and for robust funding for critical funding streams important to the K-12 community.

As these talks move forward, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for robust funding for critical funding streams important to the CTE community. Be sure to let your Senators and Representatives know how important CTE funding is by clicking 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: Senate Returns from August Recess to Busy Fall Agenda

Friday, September 8th, 2023

The Senate returned to Capitol Hill this past Tuesday following its annual August recess while lawmakers in the House are expected to return next week. Elsewhere, policymakers have started to collect ideas regarding how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will impact education and workforce development, while the U.S. Secretary of Education launches a back-to-school bus tour, announces educator diversity efforts and issues new guidance related to teaching and learning in schools. 

Senate Reconvenes for New Work Period

The Senate reconvened this week following its annual August recess. Lawmakers in the House are due back to Capitol Hill next week. On their return to Washington, D.C., the Senate has focused primarily on addressing Congress’s failure to complete work on the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. Just before August recess, the Senate appropriations committee successfully advanced all 12 of the individual appropriations bills that compose the federal budget on a bipartisan basis but these proposals have yet to be approved by the full chamber and reconciled with forthcoming proposals in the House. 

Lawmakers in the House, meanwhile, have been unable to similarly advance their own spending proposals, including legislation providing funding for Career Technical Education (CTE) via the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*). More importantly, the House and Senate’s proposed funding levels for FY24 differ substantially, with lawmakers in the lower chamber proposing significant cuts to federal spending which do not conform to the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA)—a legislative agreement reached earlier this year that prevented a default on the nation’s debt obligations.

Stopgap legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), will likely be needed to avert a government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins later this month. Federal lawmakers are continuing to negotiate a path forward. Conservative lawmakers in the House recently issued a series of policy and spending demands in exchange for their support for any CR, including prioritizing spending levels that fall well below those required by the FRA. House Republicans, led by Speaker McCarthy (R-CA), have further indicated that they want a shorter-term CR rather than one lasting through the end of the year while the Senate and the Biden Administration want a temporary funding extension lasting until the holiday season to provide more time to negotiate a full-year appropriations package.

Given the significant differences between the House and Senate FY24 spending proposals and the positions currently taken by the House, Senate, and the White House, negotiations are expected to be extremely contentious in the coming weeks and months ahead. As these talks move forward, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for robust funding for critical funding streams important to the CTE community. Be sure to let your Senators and Representatives know how important CTE funding is by clicking here! 

Ranking Member Cassidy Issues Request for Information on AI

On September 6, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Cassidy (R-LA) published a new white paper on artificial intelligence and the potential implications for policy areas falling under the HELP Committee’s jurisdiction. AI is still an emerging topic for Congress with two hearings scheduled next week in the Senate within the Judiciary and Commerce Committees.

Ranking Member Cassidy has requested feedback from the public and stakeholders regarding several issues likely to arise in the coming years as AI is further deployed and leveraged in different facets of daily life, including in education and workforce development. Specifically, the Ranking Member seeks feedback on whether and how AI can be used in educational settings, how education leaders promote a better understanding of AI, both among students and their peers, and how these technologies can be used to improve student learning while not diminishing learners’ critical thinking skills. Notably, the white paper includes several questions related to whether and how CTE systems and programs can leverage AI and provide learners more opportunities to pursue pathways in related fields. 

ED Launches Back to School Bus Tour

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has been on a “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar”—a week-long multi-state trip across the nation to highlight the work schools, districts, institutions, and states are doing to support students as they collectively return to classrooms over the next few weeks. The tour includes stops in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and features priorities and initiatives that the agency has been promoting throughout the Biden Administration, including its “Career Connected High School” efforts which are intended to promote key pillars of high-quality CTE. More information about the tour can be accessed here. In addition, the Department also recently published a factsheet highlighting the Biden Administration’s ongoing efforts to support learners as they return to school this fall. 

ED Announces Educator Diversity Efforts

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has announced that it will host two convenings in late October to find, promote and encourage wider educator diversity efforts. The first of these national meetings will be a Conference on Equity in Opportunity and will be held in Denver October 26-27. The second meeting, the Teach to Lead Summit, will take place in Denver on October 27. The announcement also highlighted recent ED efforts to prioritize teacher diversity including through investments in teacher quality partnership grants, August Hawkins Centers of Excellence programs, and the Supporting Effective Educator Development. More information can be found here. 

Office of Civil Rights Issues New Guidance on Race and School Programming

Late last month, ED’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued new guidance regarding how and in what ways schools may include programming aimed at fostering racially inclusive communities. The guidance updates OCR’s legal interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which provides further clarity regarding under what circumstances schools may develop curricula and provide programs that promote racially inclusive school communities. “Today’s resource shares with school communities practical guidance about whether and when federal civil rights laws permit – and in some cases require – schools to take actions related to race, as well as whether and when these same laws may require that schools not act based on race,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon during the release of this guidance. The full letter can be accessed 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: Career Counseling Legislation Introduced & Efforts to Address Teacher Shortages Unveiled

Friday, August 4th, 2023

While Congress left Washington, D.C. this week to return to home districts and states as part of its annual August recess, the Biden Administration made a series of announcements related to educator preparation efforts and cyber workforce needs. Elsewhere, Advance CTE recently endorsed career counseling legislation introduced in the House. 

Congress Goes on Recess

This week lawmakers in both chambers of Congress returned to their districts and states for the annual August recess. Congress is expected to return in early September to a long list of important issues, including the need to find consensus on full-year federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriations. Advance CTE anticipates that lawmakers will most likely need to consider several potential pathways forward to bridge the significant spending gap between the House and Senate’s respective visions for FY24 funding, especially regarding funding for important education and workforce development programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*). 

When Congress’s FY24 spending negotiations resume after the recess, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for robust funding for Perkins V and other vitally important investments in education and workforce development. In support of these efforts, we encourage the Career Technical Education (CTE) community to contact their members of Congress during this crucial period of time to ask them to support recently advanced appropriations legislation in the Senate which would provide a $40 million increase in funding for Perkins V’s basic state grant program. 

Lawmakers Introduce Career Counseling Legislation

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by House CTE Caucus Co-chairs Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced the Creating Opportunities to Thrive Act (COTA). Advance CTE is proud to endorse this legislation which would expand federal support for career counseling programs and allow for more comprehensive public outreach via the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). “[WIOA] is an integral part of the national workforce education and training system, and this bill takes important steps to maximize WIOA so that every learner is aware of the resources they need to support their journey to career success,” Advance CTE’s Executive Director, Kate Kreamer said upon introduction. Broadly COTA is intended to ensure that more learners across the nation are aware of the services, supports, and programs offered by WIOA and other federal investments in skills development. More on the legislation can be found here. 

ED & Labor Announce New Teacher Preparation Efforts

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a number of new efforts to improve the educator talent pipeline and address persistent nationwide shortages of qualified instructional personnel. The agencies announced the development of new national apprenticeship standards for K-12 teachers, developed by a collection of organizations known as the pathways alliance. These standards serve as a template for interested states and local stakeholders to develop and implement their own registered apprenticeship programs (RAPs) for the teaching profession.

In addition, ED and DOL have announced the availability of $27 million in new funding for educator preparation programs, an additional $65 million for DOL to help develop and scale more K-12 teacher RAPs, identified a new intermediary to further expand on these efforts, and issued a policy brief highlighting promising best practices amongst states. More on this announcement can be found here.

Biden Administration Issues New Cyber Education and Workforce Strategy

On Monday, July 31, the Biden Administration announced that it had completed its first-ever National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES). This strategy is intended to address the education and workforce needs of the cyber and information technology sectors of the economy. Advance CTE provided input into this strategy as it was under development. The announcement includes a number of commitments from public and private entities and makes a number of recommendations for improving education and workforce development efforts to more effectively support this segment of the economy. More on the strategy can be accessed here. 

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

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Senate Advances FY24 Appropriations Measure With Additional Perkins Funding

Friday, July 28th, 2023

This week, lawmakers in the Senate advanced funding legislation for the upcoming 2024 federal fiscal year (FY24) that proposes an increased investment in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V*). Elsewhere, lawmakers in the House examined postsecondary policy reforms and K-12 student learning loss trends while Senators introduced important legislation intended to address persistent educator workforce shortages. 

Senate Appropriators Advance FY24 Labor-HHS-ED Legislation

On Thursday, July 27, the Senate Appropriations Committee convened to consider several FY24 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (Labor-HHS-ED) appropriations bill– legislation that provides funding for Perkins V and other education and workforce development programs. The measure proposes a $40 million increase for Perkins V’s basic state grant program–a nearly three percent increase over current FY23 funding levels.

The measure also proposes to reduce funding for national activities authorized under Perkins V to roughly FY22 levels and was advanced out of the committee by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 26-2. Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) issued a statement applauding this proposal and encouraging Congress to advance the legislation for enactment later this year. 

While the passage of this legislation marks an important step in the wider FY24 appropriations process, the House and the Senate must still reconcile significant differences between their respective visions for FY24 funding before the start of the federal fiscal year set to begin on October 1, 2023. As previously shared earlier this month, lawmakers in the House have proposed radically different spending measures for Labor-HHS-ED and other domestic appropriations bills. 

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

House Lawmakers Examine Postsecondary Education

Also on Thursday, the House Education and Workforce (E&W) Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing titled “Lowering Costs and Increasing Value for Students, Institutions, and Taxpayers.” The hearing touched on a wide array of issues including strategies and policies that can help make postsecondary education more affordable while holding institutions and providers more accountable for learner outcomes. The hearing highlighted several state-level experiences, including efforts in Texas, to advance pay-for-performance and other similar postsecondary approaches. In addition, lawmakers and witnesses spoke at length about the forthcoming gainful employment rule which is expected to be finalized by the U.S. Department of Education later this year. An archived webcast of the hearing, including opening statements and witness testimony, can be found here. 

House Holds Learning Loss Hearing

On Wednesday, July 26, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing titled “Generational Learning Loss: How Pandemic School Closures Hurt Students.” The hearing included testimony from several witnesses including Catherine Truitt, Superintendent of North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction. The hearing focused on the impact school closures have had on students and highlighted troubling assessment data that points to significant decreases in student academic achievement. An archived webcast of the hearing, including witness testimony, can be accessed here. 

Senators Introduce Educator Shortage Legislation

On July 19, Senators Kaine (D-VA) and Collins (R-ME), along with other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee introduced the Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act. This legislation would, if enacted, make a series of changes to federal policy to better support state and local efforts intended to attract and retain a high-quality educator and administrator workforce. Advance CTE is proud to support the introduction of this legislation and looks forward to working with Congress toward its enactment. More on the bill can be found here.  

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

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Lawmakers Near A Debt Limit Deal

Friday, May 26th, 2023

This week President Biden and congressional leaders have continued to work to find agreement on the need to raise the nation’s debt limit. 

Debt Ceiling Negotiations Continue

This week, Congress and the Biden Administration have continued to vigorously debate the contours of a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing authority, also known informally as the debt limit or debt ceiling. This borrowing cap must be raised to pay for expenses lawmakers in Congress have already incurred. The U.S. Treasury Department estimates that the federal government will exhaust current options to service these debt obligations by early June. Failure to raise the debt limit would result in an unprecedented default on the United States’ debt and would have severe economic consequences for the nation’s economy.

Despite the urgency of the situation, negotiations between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and the Biden administration have yet to culminate in a deal. As shared previously, House Republicans have sought significant spending and policy concessions from Democrats and President Biden in exchange for raising the nation’s borrowing authority. According to recent reports, an emerging agreement does seem to be near which would raise the debt ceiling for the next two years while creating new limits on discretionary spending during that time period. The deal also reportedly would have a mechanism to incentivize Congress to pass all 12 annual spending bills through the existing budget and appropriations process aligned with this wider, emerging agreement. 

However, negotiators have still been unable to find agreement on several other Republican priorities including the imposition of new work requirements for certain social safety net programs and permitting reforms, both of which Republicans are seeking in a final deal. Most recently, House appropriations leaders have cancelled planned markups for several fiscal year 2024 (FY24) spending bills—an acknowledgment that the ongoing debt limit negotiations are likely to set new overall spending constraints for the upcoming federal fiscal year.

At this time these discussions remain extremely fluid. As these negotiations continue, Advance CTE  will continue to closely monitor developments related to this situation and the potential impacts a final deal may have on the Career Technical Education (CTE) community.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Jodi Langellotti 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: Impasse on Debt Ceiling Continues

Friday, May 12th, 2023

This week lawmakers continued to negotiate a pathway forward regarding the nation’s borrowing authority, while the House examined federal investments in workforce development and the Senate hosted U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to testify on the Biden Administration’s federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget request. Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced this year’s Presidential Scholars and circulated new guidance encouraging postsecondary institutions to assist in wider K-12 learning recovery efforts. 

Debt Ceiling Impasse Continues

Earlier this week, top Congressional leaders from both parties in the House and Senate met at the White House with President Biden to determine a pathway forward for increasing the nation’s statutory borrowing authority (known informally as the debt ceiling or debt limit). Recent estimates from the U.S. Treasury Department have indicated that the federal government will exhaust its current options by June 1 of this year. Failure to raise the debt ceiling would result in a national default on the nation’s existing debt obligations and would have devastating economic consequences.

Since the beginning of the year, House Republicans have demanded a litany of policy and spending concessions from Democrats and the Biden Administration in exchange for raising the debt limit. These concessions include significant and dramatic cuts to domestic discretionary program funding, including Career Technical Education (CTE) programs funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (as amended by the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act; Perkins V). Democrats in Congress and President Biden have maintained that the debt limit should be extended without preconditions to avoid a default and negotiate separately on these other issues unrelated to the nation’s borrowing authority. 

Unfortunately, the meeting that took place on Tuesday failed to provide a clear path forward beyond this current impasse. With the debt limit deadline fast approaching, lawmakers have directed their staff to begin behind-the-scenes negotiations on a potential compromise and are expected to reconvene sometime in the near future. This situation remains fluid and Advance CTE  will continue to closely monitor developments related to this situation and the potential impacts it may have on the CTE community. 

House Holds WIOA Hearing 

On Thursday, May 11, the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee held a hearing titled “Examining America’s Workforce Challenges: Looking for Ways to Improve Skills Development.” The hearing featured testimony from an array of witnesses ranging from employers to workforce development leaders and other stakeholders who provided perspectives and recommendations regarding ways to update and improve the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The hearing is a likely precursor to further House Education and Workforce Committee consideration of this legislation and focused particular attention on aspects of current law that could be changed to improve training services and related activities supported by WIOA. In addition, the hearing also highlighted the importance of resourcing state workforce development and CTE systems to improve results and related outcomes for workers and learners. An archived webcast of the hearing, including witness testimony and opening statements, can be accessed here. 

Secretary Cardona Testifies on FY24 Budget in the Senate 

Also on Thursday, May 11, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) hosted U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, to testify on the Biden Administration’s FY24 budget request for his agency. During the hearing Labor-HHS-ED Subcommittee Chair, Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), questioned Secretary Cardona at length regarding CTE and the ways in which states, local education agencies and postsecondary institutions are using basic state grant funding from Perkins V to support high-quality CTE programs. During this line of questioning, Chair Baldwin noted that CTE learners graduate high school at higher rates than their non-CTE peers and also emphasized that they are more likely to go on to pursue further education and training. 

Notably, Secretary Cardona highlighted a number of CTE programs that he had recently visited that currently make use of existing Perkins V formula resources and noted how closely current Perkins V grant recipients, including employer partners, are collaborating to provide opportunities for learners. As shared previously, however, the Biden Administration is currently requesting $200 million in funding for the creation of a new competitive grant program– a proposal Advance CTE and others have shared significant concerns over. An archived webcast of the hearing, including Secretary Cardona’s testimony can be found here. 

Presidential Scholars Announced

This week the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars announced the 59th cohort of U.S. Presidential Scholars—an initiative that annually recognizes 161 high school seniors for academic, career and technical and artistic achievements. The selection process takes into consideration a number of criteria including transcripts and test scores. Each year, this program features 20 CTE scholars for their outstanding achievements and recognizes related accomplishments. A full list of scholars can be found here. 

ED Encourages Federal Work Study to Help With Learning Recovery

On Wednesday, May 10, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to postsecondary and school district leaders regarding the federal work study program and wider efforts to support K-12 student populations recover from lost instructional time during the pandemic. The primary purpose of the letter was to encourage postsecondary institutions to use Federal Work Study funding—provided to institutions as part of the Higher Education Act— to support opportunities for enrolled students to serve as tutors, mentors and other supportive roles. Additionally, the letter encouraged the use of the funds to assist in the implementation of afterschool and out-of-school time programs aimed at helping students recover lost learning and instructional time due to the pandemic. The letter also highlighted other funding sources that can be used in support of similar efforts. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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