Perkins V « Advance CTE Blog

Welcome Stephen Schatz as the New State CTE Director in Hawai’i

Thursday, November 4th, 2021

Advance CTE commits to investing in formal leadership development for our members. The New State Director Institute (NSDI) uses a cohort model to welcome and support first-year State Career Technical Education (CTE) Directors. Each cohort is connected with mentors and other national leaders; provided leadership tools and resources; and offered instructional workshops designed to assist them as they develop and implement their state-wide visions for CTE. This and upcoming blogs in the Getting to Know blog series will introduce you to the Fall 2021 NSDI cohort!

Welcome Stephen Schatz as the new State CTE Director in Hawai’i. The University of Hawai’i, which serves as the state’s Perkins eligible agency, houses the team Stephen leads – the Hawai’i P-20 Partnerships for Education. He comes to this role with educational experience that spans from the early grades through postsecondary; He has served as a 3rd grade teacher, a school principal and administrator, and the Deputy Superintendent for the state. Stephen was a stakeholder in the writing of Hawai’i’s Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plan. As Stephen assumes the roles of leading the CTE state team, he will also guide the Hawai ‘i Data eXchange Partnership (Hawai‘i DXP), an inter‐agency team responsible for the statewide longitudinal data system to inform policy and decisionmaking for the improvement of educational outcomes in Hawai‘i.

Uniquely, Hawai’i only has one school district and one higher education system and recently the state’s CTE office merged with the Hawai’i P-20 Partnerships for Education office. Stephen is looking forward to leveraging the islands’ educational landscape, recent governance shift, and his new leadership position as State Director to empower learners from preschool and beyond through fully aligned pathways that connect secondary and postsecondary education with the needs of employers. . Understanding the geographic needs of each community and identifying career interests and passions for learners across the islands, especially in rural and remote areas, while increasing their access to equitable programs of study is of high importance for Stephen and his work to implement a statewide vision for the future of CTE.

Hawai’i is known as a top tourist destination, and the effects of the current global pandemic has challenged and reshaped the makeup of the state’s industry and workforce needs. However, Stephen sees the change in local labor market needs as an opportunity to diversify the state’s economy and allow CTE programs to intentionally contribute to the talent pipeline. Key to this work is increasing interest from business and industry to collaborate with the P-20 system and finding new avenues for business engagement that are fueled by authentic self-interest over pure philanthropy.

When away from the office, you can catch Stephen surfing the island waves or at home in the kitchen cooking his favorite stews.

Please join us in welcoming Stephen to Advance CTE!

Learn more about the work in Hawai’i by viewing their CTE state profile and the state resource page in the Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media

By admin in Advance CTE Announcements, Advance CTE State Director
Tags: Hawaii, Perkins V, State CTE Director

Legislative Update: Build Back Better Framework Agreement Announced, ED Nominee Update and ECF Funding Requests

Friday, October 29th, 2021

This week Congress took a significant first step in enacting President Biden’s wider domestic policy agenda. Additionally, the Senate advanced a key Biden Administration nominee to oversee Career Technical Education (CTE) policy for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) while work continued to implement broadband connectivity efforts to close the homework gap.

Build Back Better Framework Agreement Announced

Yesterday, President Biden announced that his administration, and Democratic congressional leaders had come to an agreement on a $1.75 trillion framework to enact a slew of domestic priorities, including those impacting the CTE community. Following this announcement, the House Rules Committee held a hearing to begin formal consideration of the proposed Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376). While the legislation must still move forward via the Congressional budget reconciliation process—a maneuver that allows certain spending legislation to be passed by simple majorities in both legislative chambers—this announcement and related introduction of legislative text marks a significant step forward in Congressional Democrats’ efforts to enact President Biden’s wider domestic agenda.

If enacted, the proposal would include $600 million for the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act’s (Perkins V) basic state grant formula program. The bill also includes a proposed $100 million for the law’s Innovation and Modernization competitive grant program, $1 billion for apprenticeship programs, $113 million for “Grow Your Own” programs to train teachers in high-needs fields, $4.6 billion for industry and sector partnership grants, along with numerous other investments within the wider workforce development space. The proposed legislation would also include $300 million in additional funding for the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF)—a key Advance CTE legislative priority to close the homework gap.

Despite this progress, this legislation remains far from being enacted and is still subject to change as lawmakers in Congress continue to debate and negotiate the contents of this package. As this process unfolds, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for a robust investment in CTE and the aforementioned programs via this legislative effort.

View Advance CTE’s and ACTE’s joint statement on the framework here.

FCC Announces Additional ECF Funding Requests; Biden Administration Nominates New Leadership

Earlier this week the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it had received nearly $1.3 billion in requests for funding as part of its second application window for the ECF program. The $7.2 billion ECF program was authorized as part of the American Rescue Plan and allows eligible schools and libraries to apply for financial support to purchase connected devices like laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connectivity to serve unmet needs of learners, school staff, and library patrons at home during the ongoing pandemic. This round of funding will provide nearly 2.4 million connected devices to eligible recipients and over 564,000 broadband connections. More details about which schools and libraries will receive funding can be found here.

The day after this announcement, President Biden announced the nomination of Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as the next commissioner and Chair of the FCC. The Biden Administration also announced that Gigi Sohn has been nominated to serve as another FCC commissioner, likely serving as the administration’s point person on issues pertaining to net neutrality. Senate Democratic leaders are widely expected to move forward with Rosenworcel’s confirmation process relatively soon as this seat must be vacated if she is not confirmed by the end of the year.

Senate HELP Committee Advances ED Nominees

On Tuesday the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee considered the nominations of several Biden Administration nominees, including two officials to serve in key roles within ED—Sandra Bruce to serve as the Department’s next Inspector General and Amy Loyd to serve as the next Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Adult, and Technical Education (OCTAE). The committee approved both Loyd’s and Bruce’s nominations, along with five other nominees, via voice vote, advancing both nominees for further consideration by the full Senate chamber some time in the future.

Advance CTE has strongly supported Loyd’s nomination earlier this year and is looking forward to a swift confirmation process to ensure ED has the necessary leadership in place to advocate for high-quality and equitable CTE in the months and years ahead.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Legislation
Tags: Federal Policy, Homework Gap, OCTAE, Perkins V

Legislative Update: Short-term Extension of the Debt Limit, Newly Approved State ARP Plans and ECF Applications

Friday, October 22nd, 2021

Over the past two weeks, Congress approved a short-term extension of the nation’s borrowing authority and made further progress on Fiscal Year 22 (FY22) appropriations. Federal agencies have also advanced efforts to approve new state American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding proposals and distribute additional funding for broadband connectivity efforts. More recently, the Senate has advanced additional U.S. Department of Education (USED) nominees while President Biden issued an Executive Order aimed, in part, at advancing economic and educational opportunities for Black Americans.

Short-term Debt Limit Deal Enacted

During the week of October 11, the House formally considered and approved a short-term increase of the nation’s borrowing authority, known as the debt limit. Lawmakers passed this measure along party lines by a margin of 219-206. Following passage, President Biden signed the legislation into law, which provides $480 billion in additional borrowing authority for the U.S. Treasury Department. This extension is estimated to provide sufficient borrowing authority through early December—a time when Congress must also act to pass a full-year funding measure for the current federal fiscal year (FY22) for programs like the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V).

Prior to this vote, however, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) sent a letter to President Biden making clear that his party will likely filibuster future Congressional efforts to pass a longer-term measure to extend or suspend the current debt limit.

Make Your Voice Heard

The short-term agreement on the debt limit provides more time to Congressional Democrats who are currently debating the size and scope of a forthcoming domestic spending package, modeled off of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda that could potentially provide $4 billion in additional funding for Perkins V.

At this stage in the negotiations, it is critical that the Career Technical Education (CTE) community makes its voice heard to ensure a Perkins funding increase is included in a final agreement. Be sure to contact your members of Congress to remind them of the importance of investing in CTE. To do so, click here!

Senate Release Remaining FY22 Spending Bills

On October 18, the Senate Appropriations Committee released drafts of the remaining nine FY22 spending bills that had not been considered by the committee. Among these was the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) appropriations bill, which provides funding for USED and the related federal programs it oversees. Overall, the proposal would, if enacted, provide $98.4 billion for USED—an increase of $24.9 billion compared to the previous fiscal year. Most of this proposed increase would be devoted to nearly doubling the size of Title I formula funds for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Significantly, the bill proposes a $50 million increase for the Perkins V basic state grant program. This proposal aligns with House legislation passed earlier this year by the lower chamber which, if enacted, would provide a total increase of roughly $1.385 billion.

The proposal is not expected, however, to be formally marked up by the Senate. Rather, these bills will be used as the basis to begin bicameral and bipartisan negotiations for full-year FY22 funding—legislation that must be completed by December 3 when current short-term funding is set to expire. As these efforts progress, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for a robust investment in Pekins V’s basic state grant program as part of the wider FY22 process.

FCC Approves Additional Emergency Connectivity Fund Applications

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced $1.1 billion in new commitments as part of the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF)’s second wave of funding distribution. The funding will cover 2.4 million devices and 1.9 million broadband connections. The approved projects will benefit learners and staff at 2,471 schools, and the patrons of 205 libraries. The FCC has approved over half of the applications filed during the program’s first application window and it is expected that the remaining qualified applications will be approved in the coming weeks. Securing initial funding for the ECF was a key advocacy priority for Advance CTE, at the start of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, as part of wider efforts to close the ‘homework gap.’

USED Approves Four More State ARP Plans

This past spring, Congressional Democrats passed ARP legislation), which authorized $122 billion in supplementary funding for K-12 school districts. Since that time, USED distributed two-thirds of this funding via formula to help schools and states respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Department, however, held back the remaining third of this funding requiring that states and territories submit plans detailing how these new financial resources would be used to support learners coping with the impacts of the public health crisis and related disruptions to schooling.

As part of this ongoing effort, USED has been periodically reviewing and approving state ARP plans for this purpose. On October 14, the Department approved four more of these plans for Guam, Maryland, Nebraska, and Virginia. Seven states and Puerto Rico are still awaiting approval from the Department, along with the release of these remaining ARP funds. The current status of all state ARP plans, including highlights of plans approved by USED so far, can be found here.

President Biden Issues Executive Order to Advance Educational Equity

On October 19, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) creating a new White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans. The order enumerates several actions that the Biden Administration has already taken or plans to take to provide greater economic opportunity for Black families and communities, close educational achievement gaps for Black learners, improve health outcomes for these communities, and outlines a number of steps the administration plans to take regarding criminal justice reform among other elements. Importantly, the EO envisions CTE as being a key way to achieve some of these objectives stating, in part, that it will “[advance] racial equity and economic opportunity by connecting education to labor market needs through programs such as dual enrollment, career and technical education, registered apprenticeships, work-based learning . . .”

The order goes on to note that, “Eliminating these inequities requires expanding access to work-based learning and leadership opportunities, including mentorships, sponsorships, internships, and registered apprenticeships that provide not only career guidance, but also the experience needed to navigate and excel in successful careers.” In addition, the order establishes an interagency governmental working group, inclusive of federal CTE representatives from USED, to support the initiative’s broad remit. A related factsheet outlining this order can be found here.

Senate Confirms OCR Leader While Setting Sights on OCTAE Nomination Next Week

On October 20, Catherine Lhamon was narrowly approved by the Senate to become the next Assistant Secretary for USED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The vote was evenly split along partisan lines, requiring a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris. Lhamon previously led OCR under President Obama where she oversaw a controversial overhaul of Title IX regulations—a move that has continued to be a primary source of opposition for Republican lawmakers.

In addition to Lhamon’s confirmation, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee is scheduled to consider the nominations of two other USED officials, including Amy Loyd, to serve as the next Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Adult, and Technical Education (OCTAE) along with Sandra Bruce to be the Department’s next Inspector General next week. Advance CTE has strongly supported Loyd’s nomination and looks forward to a swift confirmation process in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By admin in Legislation
Tags: ESSA, Federal Policy, Guam, Maryland, Nebraska, OCTAE, Perkins V, Virginia

RFP: States Advancing CTE Without Limits

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

Today, Advance CTE released its primary implementation tool and Request for Proposals (RFP) to support states in transitioning from the education and awareness phases of the past six months to evaluation and implementation phases of Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits).

Pushing the Limits: A Roadmap for Advancing CTE Without Limits is a step-by-step guide to help states conduct an initial alignment test of current policies and practice with vision principles, identify top areas for action, and develop an action plan of near and long-term implementation strategies for one or multiple vision principles.

The States Advancing CTE Without Limits RFP allows states to be early leaders in deeper implementation work of 1-2 vision principles and related actions through funding, intensive technical support, and a community of practice with other state teams.

The following Q&A with Executive Deputy Director Kate Kreamer provides guidance on how states of all capacities can leverage the roadmap and RFP opportunity to make meaningful first steps towards implementation.

Let’s explore the roadmap, which is going to be a useful tool for states for years to come as they work to realize CTE Without Limits. What was the idea behind the roadmap design, and how is it tailored for use by any state?

CTE Without Limits is intentionally ambitious, and we knew it may be difficult for states to determine the best place to start in transforming their systems. We listened to Advance CTE’s Board of Directors and our vision kitchen cabinet of thirteen state leaders committed to bringing the vision to life – they asked for a step-by-step process to evaluate their current systems against the vision, as well as an action plan down to the month and week as a manageable means to carry out the work. We heard loud and clear that our members wanted a “roadmap” to help them accomplish the principles and actions within the vision.

Advance CTE is proud to serve all 50 states, DC and territories. The roadmap is designed to meet states at their capacity. For example, states can choose to tackle just one principle or all of them. The tool is broken down by action area, which is a more manageable grain size than a principle, and allows for deeper reflections. Importantly, we kept each set of questions limited to no more than ten to allow states to work at their own pace and collaborate without getting too overwhelmed. Additionally, we combined scoring with the qualitative evaluations to make it easier for states to identify the most urgent and/or achievable areas for action.

At first glance, the roadmap can seem a little overwhelming. What are some easy first steps that state leaders can take to prepare to conduct the self-assessment in this tool?

I want to be candid that the roadmap is just the first step of what will be a long road towards implementation for both states and the more than 40 vision partners. This roadmap is meant to be returned to and used in multiple ways over time.

That being said, one of the easiest steps states can take is to conduct partner mapping. Who do they need to have at the table to conduct a complete, honest assessment of systems through this roadmap?

Next, states can determine how this roadmap connects to pre-existing evaluation checkpoints. Use those checkpoints to create a schedule where pieces of the roadmap can be incorporated into existing meetings about a state vision, strategic plan, Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) planning, etc.

Finally, we understand that most states will address one or two principles at a time, not all five – or even just some of the highest impact actions within the vision. Advance CTE’s CTE Without Limits State Capacity Tool is part of our grant application for vision implementation assistance, but it is also a great first step for any state whether or not they apply to quickly determine which principles are most attainable and which principles require the most urgent action.

Speaking of the grant application, let’s discuss States Advancing CTE Without Limits, which is an opportunity for states to apply for more direct and intensive vision support. What is the time commitment and expectation for states in the cohort?

This RFP is open to any state and is intended to provide a dedicated, collaborative space to receive intensive vision through a cohort of up to five states. I’m really excited about this cohort because they will be the early adopters and national models for vision success with a lot of lessons learned along the way.

The grant is a significant time commitment – work must be completed between December 2021 and October 2022, but it is designed to empower the state to continue the work for years to come. States must provide a single point of contact for the project who is expected to attend monthly and bi-monthly calls. Collaboration is also a key focus of this grant – we expect states to not only develop a cross-sector team within their state for this work, but also be active participants in cross-state spaces to ensure the models developed from this work can be utilized by all members.

I want to emphasize that states are not expected to conduct implementation activities for all five principles. Part of the application process is using the capacity tool to determine one to two principles and the related actions that will be the focus of the project during the grant period.

Can you give a little more detail about the supports participating states will receive?

We know states struggle with capacity building across all facets of systems transformation, so this grant focuses on providing intense, individualized support while also facilitating broader knowledge-building across all five vision principles through the cross-state community of practice.

Selected states will receive funding up to $25,000; a dedicated coach with monthly check-ins and intensive technical assistance; one in-state or virtual visit; dedicated spaces to connect with other states in the cohort and complete the vision roadmap; and opportunities for national recognition and presentations to share the work with members and stakeholders. Visit the vision webpage to access the roadmap, RFP application, and additional vision education and implementation tools. The deadline for states to apply for States Advancing CTE Without Limits is November 9, 2021 at 5:00PM ET.

Stacy Whitehouse, Senior Associate Communications and State Engagement

By admin in Advance CTE Announcements, Advance CTE Resources, CTE Without Limits
Tags: CTE Without Limits, Perkins V

Legislative Update: Continued Debates in Congress, New USED Nominees and Approved ARP State Plans

Friday, October 8th, 2021

Over the past two weeks, lawmakers in Congress have grappled with several intertwined issues including the debt ceiling, FY22 appropriations, and continued debate over the scope and content of President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda.

Short-term Agreement on FY22 Appropriations

On September 30, lawmakers passed short-term funding legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), that extends current funding levels for federal programs, like Perkins V, through December 3 for the current federal fiscal year (FY22). The measure ensures that Congress will avoid a shutdown of federal government operations and disruptions to education and workforce development programs, at least for the time being. Democratic lawmakers had hoped to tie a debt ceiling increase to this measure, but Senate Republicans unanimously rejected this approach. With the debt ceiling provision removed, the Senate and House overwhelmingly passed the short-term measure with President Biden signing it into law later that evening.

Nation’s Borrowing Limit Extended

Following the passage of the CR, Congressional Democrats turned their attention back to the issue of the national debt limit—the total allowable amount of money the U.S. Treasury Department is statutorily permitted to borrow to pay the nation’s debts. Failure to raise or suspend the debt limit would result in a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt. Until Wednesday, Senate Republicans remained unanimously opposed to addressing this issue, arguing that Congressional Democrats should achieve this via the Congressional budget reconciliation process. With time running short, however, Senate leaders announced that they had reached an agreement to modestly increase the nation’s borrowing authority by $480 billion.

The agreement, at least temporarily, ensures that the nation will avert a default on its debt obligations. The short-term agreement is intended to provide additional time for lawmakers to determine a longer-term solution for the debt limit. Significantly, the agreement likely means that the debt ceiling will need to be addressed again around the same time that lawmakers must determine full-year funding for the federal government and related programs for the current federal fiscal year (FY22).

Reconciliation Remains in Limbo

Vigorous debate within the Democratic Party remains fluid and ongoing regarding Congressional Democrats’ efforts to pass a domestic spending bill—known collectively as the Build Better Act agenda—via the Congressional budget reconciliation process. This process allows certain legislation to be passed by simple majorities in both chambers, thereby avoiding a likely Republican filibuster in the Senate. Most recently the House Budget committee repackaged the various component pieces of their $3.5 trillion proposal into a single bill for further consideration— a proposal which includes $4 billion in additional funding for the Perkins V and related programs.

However, progress on the legislation remains stalled as progressives and moderates within the Democratic party continue to disagree on the timing of a vote for this legislation, the contents of the package, and its overall size. It is widely expected that the topline figure of $3.5 trillion will likely be decreased prior to final passage. At present, Democratic Congressional leaders hope to finalize a deal on this package, along with additional infrastructure legislation, by the end of October.

Second Funding Window for Connectivity Funds

On September 29, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the opening of a second application filing window for the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program. Created as part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), the ECF Program allows eligible schools and libraries to apply for financial support to purchase connected devices like laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connectivity to serve unmet needs of students, school staff, and library patrons at home during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

This second opportunity to apply for funding will remain open through October 13. Eligible schools, libraries and consortia will be able to submit requests for funding to make eligible purchases between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. More information on how to apply can be found here.

USED Proposes New Maintenance of Equity Implementation Requirements

On October 5, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) published two notices in the Federal Register regarding the ARP’s maintenance of equity requirement (MOEq). The first notice outlines a set of new data reporting elements regarding a new requirement that states publish information demonstrating that high-poverty school districts are not receiving disproportionate cuts to local school budgets. The second requests information from states and districts regarding the feasibility of this proposed requirement. This MOEq requirement was a condition for states receiving ARP money. More information on these notices can be found here and here.

Senate Confirms New USED Nominees

On Wednesday, October 6, the Senate voted to confirm three high-level nominees for positions within the USED. Those approved for positions included Gwen Graham, who will oversee the Department’s Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs as Assistant Secretary; Elizabeth Merrill Brown, who will serve as USED’s General Counsel; and Roberto Rodriguez, who will oversee the Department’s Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development.

There are a number of other USED appointees still awaiting Senate confirmation. This includes Amy Loyd, who has been nominated to be the next Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE)—a nomination Advance CTE has strongly supported earlier this year. At present, it remains unclear when Loyd’s nomination will be approved by the Senate.

USED Approves Four More ARP Plans

The ARP, passed exclusively by Congressional Democrats earlier this year, authorized $122 billion in additional pandemic aid funding to be disbursed to K-12 schools this past spring. USED has since distributed two-thirds of this funding to states via a formula detailed in the legislation. The Department held back the remaining third of these funds, however, until states and territories submitted plans detailing how they would make use of these resources to support students as they recover from the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As part of this ongoing effort, USED approved four more of these plans on Thursday, October 7, sending these additional funds to Arizona, Michigan, Missouri, and Wyoming. The current status of all state ARP plans, including highlights of plans approved by USED so far, can be found here.

Kimberly Green, Executive Director

By admin in Legislation
Tags: Arizona, CTE Policy, Michigan, Missouri, Perkins V, US Department of Education, Wyoming

Vision Commitments ‘Vlog’ Episode 2: Challenging our Limits to Quality CTE

Tuesday, July 13th, 2021

This summer, Advance CTE is pleased to partner with experts from supporting organizations of Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits) to conduct video panels to delve into four of the five foundational commitments that connect the vision principles.

Our second panel featuring the Association for Career Technical Education (ACTE), Education Strategy Group (ESG) and the National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) discussed the quality commitment across multiple dimensions, including program design, evaluation, instructors, work-based learning and credentials. Each panelist shared their insights on current progress and barriers to high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE), as well as short and long-term policy priorities to achieve consistent quality across all aspects of CTE.

There was widespread agreement on key action areas to create a culture of sustainable quality, including expanding data infrastructure to “rigorously evaluate” program quality in addition to widespread focus on learner outcomes; the use of Perkins V as a key state tool to scale effective practices and leverage data to identify priority investments in quality; and the importance of active industry support through professional development opportunities, equipment investments and more to ensure programs remain responsive and fully prepare learners for career success.

“The bottom line is CTE programs have to be valued by policymakers and resourced in order to be high-quality and aligned with business and industry needs.” – Alisha Hyslop, Senior Director Public Policy, Association for Career Technical Education

“The renewed spotlight on CTE is extremely encouraging, but has also led to sometimes difficult [and necessary] conversations about the legacy of CTE, particularly for low-income students and students of color, and brought emphasis on unpacking what quality means for each key pillar of CTE programs.” – Dr. Emily Passias, Director of Career Readiness, Education Strategy Group

“Perkins V and initiatives like this vision make it really clear what the vision for collaboration and quality in CTE looks like and should look like. So, the best solution at the federal level is to address the intense need for increased funding.” – Amy Williams, National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships

Thank you to Advance CTE’s Dan Hinderliter for serving as a facilitator and to our panelists for your expertise and insights.

Watch the previous episode that discusses steps CTE leaders can take to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in realizing CTE Without Limits. Future episodes will explore meaningful public-private partnerships and actionable data.

Visit our vision page to read the full vision, access vision communication and implementation resources, and view recordings of our summer Lunch and Learn webinar series focused on the five vision principles. Vision the Learning that Works Resource Center for tools to evaluate and advance equity in CTE systems and programs.

Stacy Whitehouse, Senior Associate Communications and State Engagement

By Stacy Whitehouse in CTE Without Limits, Uncategorized
Tags: ACTE, CTE Without Limits, Education Strategy Group, NACEP, Perkins V

Leveraging Federal and State Talent Pipeline Investments to Achieve a CTE Without Limits

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021

In March 2021, Advance CTE, with the support of over 40 national organizations, released Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits). The shared vision challenges local, state and national CTE practitioners to boldly close equity gaps in educational outcomes and workforce readiness and leverage Career Technical Education (CTE) as a catalyst for ensuring that each learner can achieve success in the career of their choice.

Advance CTE released Leveraging Federal Investments to Advance a Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education. This new implementation resource will help state CTE leaders fully realize the ability to design a cohesive, flexible and responsive career preparation ecosystem that works across state systems for the full continuum of learners and is aligned to federal and state talent pipeline investments and overall strategies.

Some states have lead the charge in providing promising practices that strategically connect the five vision principles and existing allowable activities under the following funding streams:

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V);
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA);
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); and
Higher Education Act (HEA).

PRINCIPLE 3: Each Learner Skillfully Navigates Their Own Career Journey

The Washington state Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board created Career Bridge as Washington’s one-stop source for career and education planning. With the collaboration of multiple state agencies and supported by braided funding, the site allows the full continuum of learners to explore careers, view job trends and find education.

PRINCIPLE 4: Each Learner’s Skills Are Counted, Valued and Portable

Two- and four-year faculty and administrators from across Colorado came together in 2018 to propose changes to the Credit for Prior Learning policy established in 2015 that guaranteed acceptance of credits earned through Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams and course challenge options when a learner transferred. This group advocated for the inclusion of Prior Learning Assessments such as the College Level Examination Program, DANTES Subject Standardized Tests and portfolio reviews in the transfer agreement. For more information and additional state examples check out, Developing Credit for Prior Learning Policies to Support Postsecondary Attainment for Every Learner.

Leveraging and focusing the combined influence of the assets provided through the above funding streams will increase a state’s ability to provide the full continuum of learners access to equitable, skills-based education and preparation for the ever-evolving future of work. View more action steps and exemplars by reading the full implementation brief here.

Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media

By admin in CTE Without Limits, Legislation, Resources
Tags: Colorado, CTE Without Limits, ESSA, HEA, Perkins V, Washington State, WIOA

Resetting Perkins V Performance Levels: A Q&A with the Michigan Department of Education

Friday, February 19th, 2021

In 2020 the Michigan Department of Education began the process of revising its State Determined Performance Levels (SDPLs) for the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) as a result of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. This blog post features a discussion with Dr. Jill Kroll, Supervisor for the Grants, Assessments, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, and Dr. Yincheng Ye, Research Consultant, at the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education.

Michigan is one of the first states to make adjustments to its Perkins V SDPLs as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Can you explain what changes you are proposing and why?

We are proposing to reduce our SDLP for 3S1—Secondary Post-Program Placement from 95 percent to 75 percent for 2020-2021 and to 80 percent for 2021-2022, returning it to the original SDLP of 95 percent in 2022-2023.

Our reasoning for requesting this change is that we expect that student placement in both employment and continuing education will be adversely affected by the pandemic. This is based on a review of employment projections from the University of Michigan, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections, and research reports and other reports indicating a reduction in postsecondary enrollment, especially among first-year college students and low-income students.

We also requested and received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) for reporting the academic indicators 2S1 and 2S2 because our state did not administer the 11^th grade tests in Spring 2020, which will affect the data for students graduating in Spring 2021. We are awaiting the decision on the Spring 2021 assessments. If our state receives a waiver for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the waiver will also apply for Perkins (Our state already had a waiver from reporting the Science indicator 2S3 because we have a new assessment).

We did not feel that we needed a waiver for our indicator of program quality, 5S1—Attained Recognized Postsecondary Credential because our SDPL was already set quite low in our state plan due to the fact that we will be phasing in approval of credentials over several years. This info page for our State Board of Education and for public comment summarizes the proposed changes and includes citations for our evidence.

With conditions changing so rapidly under the Coronavirus pandemic, projecting data over the next few years can be like trying to hit a moving target. How were you able to make these projections work?

We were lucky that the University of Michigan produces solid quarterly economic and employment projections. We participated in several webinars beginning in Spring 2020 on the economic impact of the pandemic so we were aware of the resources available. We felt that it was important to follow procedure and propose reduced SDPLs where appropriate, and take the proposed levels for public comment, even if we had to base the proposed levels on estimated impact.

How are you explaining to the public why Michigan’s SDPLs need to be adjusted?

We cited the available data. We found, during the initial public comment period for our Perkins V state plan, that stakeholders and the public were very receptive as long as we provided our reasoning for our recommendations, so we anticipate the same will be true for our proposed modifications. Here is what we have listed on the info sheet for public comment:

Both employment and postsecondary enrollment have been negatively influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown in 2020. The Post-program Placement indicator needs to be adjusted to reflect these impacts.

In November, the Michigan Economic Outlook 2020-2022 showed the actual unemployment rate as 8.66% in Q3 2020; and forecasted the unemployment rate to drop to 7.85% for Q4 2020, declining to an average of 7.01% in 2021, reaching 5.60% by the end of 2022, but still higher than 2019-year average (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan).
Nationally, the data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the unemployment rate for youth was 18.5% in July 2020, down from 26.9% in April but still about twice as high as a year earlier.
An article in Inside Higher Edcites a study by the NSC research center is showing 16% fewer freshman have enrolled this fall compared to last year. The community colleges had an even steeper enrollment drop of 23% among first-year students.
Additionally, estimates in Michigan indicate that low-income students may have an 8-10 percentage point drop in college enrollment.

States have to go through the same public comment process to adjust their SDPLs as when they first developed their Perkins V plans. How has this process been similar or different to the original public comment period?

We are following the same process as we did for our Perkins V state plan, presenting the proposal to stakeholder groups, taking the recommendations out for virtual public hearings, and publicizing the public comment opportunity through an online survey on our website. We also had to present to our State Board of Education prior to the public comment period and will have to present to them again after public comment, including the public comments.

What advice would you give states that are considering whether or not to change their Perkins V SDPLs?

My advice would be to continue to regularly review the data related to each of the indicators. If it appears that the pandemic (or any other unanticipated circumstance) may affect the state’s ability to meet the SDLPs, develop a timeline for revising the SDLPs and then do it. I think it is important that school districts feel that the SDLPs are fair and reasonable and if they are unattainable due to circumstances outside the control of the districts and/or colleges they lose their value as engines of program improvement. I also think it is important for state offices to do our due diligence to maintain the faith and trust of our educators, districts, colleges and the public.

My other recommendation is to plan, plan, plan. A timeline is critical. As soon as we realized we needed to revise our SDLP we did two things. First, we contacted the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) at USED to verify that we could adjust the SDPL and to get the deadline for submitting the adjustment. Contact information for OCTAE Perkins Regional Coordinators is listed here. Second, we immediately worked out a timeline (this was in August) and quickly realized how long the process would take, with two State Board Meetings required as part of the process. It was only because we worked out the timeline so early that we will be able to make the OCTAE deadline for revising state plans and SDPLs on May 21.

Today, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education released Mitigating Unanticipated Circumstances: Resetting Perkins V State Determined Performance Levels During the COVID-19 Pandemic, a guide to help states revise their Perkins V SDPLs. Dr. Kroll served on the workgroup that helped produce the guide.

By admin in COVID-19 and CTE, Publications, Resources
Tags: accountability, COVID-19, Data, Michigan, Perkins V

State of CTE: Career Advisement in Perkins V State Plans

Tuesday, February 16th, 2021

In October 2020, Advance CTE released “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities,” which examines how states have leveraged the development of the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state plans to expand quality and increase equity within their Career Technical Education (CTE) systems.

Perkins V includes an increased focus on career development and advisement, which is critical for ensuring that each learner can learn about, access and be successful in high-quality CTE programs. Career development and advisement is also a crucial component of states’ equity strategies because they help learners navigate increasingly complex education and workforce development systems on their way to a rewarding career, as well as support the broader social-emotional needs of CTE learners.

Perkins V plans indicate that states are undertaking a number of efforts, at both the secondary and postsecondary levels, to provide robust advisement and related supports for learners. Based on Advance CTE’s analysis of state Perkins V plans:

Nearly half of all state plans (22 total) prioritize advisement efforts at the secondary level through their comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA) or local application processes, and 39 percent of states (20 total) indicate the same for the postsecondary level.
Approximately 40 percent of states (21 total) indicate in their Perkins V state plans that they are using at least a portion of State Leadership dollars for advisement efforts at the secondary level. However, only 24 percent of states (12 total) do so at the postsecondary level.

Another trend is the widespread state use of individual career academic plans (ICAPs) at the secondary level. While the degree that Perkins V funds directly support these efforts remains unclear, the fact that many states include references to their ICAPs in their state plans indicates that states are increasingly working toward more clearly connecting ICAPs to their CTE systems.

State Strategies to Advance Career Advisement

Key Innovations

In Maryland, the state education agency is collaborating with the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education to recruit and prepare industry professionals to serve as career counselors at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. This initiative aims to increase the overall capacity of the state to provide robust career counseling services to all Maryland learners.
Hawaii identified counseling and advising as a critical need in their CLNA and are designing a continuum of counseling and advising, which includes the development of a statewide framework including operational definitions, standards and expectations, and guidance materials in fiscal year 2021.

The Work Ahead

Many state plans do not distinguish between initiatives that are specifically driven by Perkins V and other efforts that states may already be undertaking to expand career development and advisement efforts. The work ahead lies in ensuring strong connections between CTE and advisement at the state, district, school and institutional level to collectively support each learner.

States must also attend to providing robust career development and advisement for learners at all levels. For example, while 90 percent of states are allowing Perkins V funds to be used for middle grades, most are leaving the decision of whether and how to support middle grades to local districts. There is a clear state role in supporting the expansion of middle grade advisement efforts so that learners can be fully aware of the opportunities available to them when exploring career paths and be better prepared for success by the time they enroll in a high school CTE program.

Additionally, given their role in helping learners transition to the workplace, postsecondary advisement activities are an especially important area that many state Perkins V plans do not address in any way. Ensuring that there are more robust support systems for learners at every level of CTE will help close opportunity gaps and position more learners for success.

Resources

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Jill Cook, Executive Director, American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

By admin in Public Policy, Research
Tags: Career Advisement, Hawaii, Maryland, Perkins V, school counselors

State of CTE: Data Quality in Perkins V State Plans

Monday, February 8th, 2021

In an education and workforce landscape that is more complex than ever, quality Career Technical Education (CTE) programming provides learners with experience and skills that can lead to high-value jobs and lifelong success. The passage of the Strengthening Career Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) pushed states to improve quality and increase equity within their CTE systems, including setting higher expectations for how states are using data about CTE programs to understand the outcomes of learners they serve. In October 2020, Advance CTE released “The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities,” which examines how states have leveraged the opportunities created by the updated law to meet their CTE goals, including whether states have prioritized investments in data to ensure that they can answer priority questions and measure progress toward those goals. While many states are making improvements to CTE data, more can be done to ensure that these efforts result in meaningful information for all stakeholders.

Perkins V Creates A Foundation for Better Data Practices.

Perkins V puts greater emphasis on the importance of data as a core element of good policy-making, including:

promoting evidence-based decision making;
making data available and accessible so that all stakeholders can use it to identify and close access and opportunity gaps among learners;
providing transparent dashboards and other tools that enable communities to explore performance data for all groups of learners served by CTE programs;
ensuring programs are well aligned with labor market needs; and
investing in the programs and learner supports that lead to the best outcomes for each learner.

States should embrace and thoughtfully implement all of these activities and continue to go beyond what is outlined in the law to enhance the quality and availability of CTE data, and to build trust and fuel the feedback loops that help demonstrate program efficacy. With better information, leaders, practitioners and learners will have the capacity and confidence to make data-informed decisions that result in better outcomes.

States Are Taking Steps to Improve the Availability and Usability of CTE Data.

Based on Advance CTE’s analysis of state Perkins V plans, a number of states are prioritizing data in their implementation of Perkins, including:

More than one-third of states (19 total) are developing new public reporting tools for their CTE programs. Many of these investments appear to be aimed at equity-related data tools or related visualizations. More broadly, about a half of states (53 percent) are providing dashboards or other data reports to support equity gap analyses at the local level.
Another third of states (17 total) are directing at least some of their State Leadership funds to support data quality improvement and expanding CTE data collection capacity.
Eight percent of states are using the reserve fund for data quality and reporting.

Key Innovations

Hawai‘i is using a monitoring framework, informed by a data reporting application, that will identify which CTE programs have disparities, misalignments, or inequities in program offerings, participation and achievement of educational and workforce outcomes to develop improvement strategies that address the root causes.
Washington is investing Perkins funds to improve labor market tools. One is a public dashboard that will support predicting new and existing employment opportunities and future trends. Another dashboard will display data disaggregated by learner subgroup, special population status, and CTE program, which will only be available to colleges. The dashboards will be updated annually as enrollment and completion data from the previous year become available.

The Work Ahead

Many states are embracing the opportunities afforded to them under the new law, yet more work lies ahead. Improving CTE data affects not only the field of CTE, but the full education to workforce (P-20W) ecosystem within a state with which CTE is interconnected. As states plan for next steps when it comes to investing CTE resources, they should:

Ensure that CTE data is understandable and usable by a wide array of stakeholders to support high stakes decision-making (e.g., to support resource allocation decisions to equitably serve each learner);
Invest in the data infrastructure underlying states’ CTE systems so that it robust and ready to be connected to data in other state systems that can provide value back to CTE leaders (e.g., while there are some notable exceptions to this finding, state investments in postsecondary data infrastructure are largely absent as part of the Perkins V planning process);
Expand the audience for and attention on CTE data by including it alongside other data on prominent, public-facing tools like state and local report cards required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA);
As Perkins V implementation gets more fully underway, ensure that CTE leaders are at the table with other state leaders so that future federal and state investments in systems and capacity include CTE data and result in improvements to CTE data quality and availability at all levels.

Resources

Christina Koch, Policy Associate
Jane Clark, Associate Director, Policy and Advocacy, Data Quality Campaign

By admin in Public Policy, Research
Tags: Data, data quality, Hawaii, Perkins, Perkins V, washington

Posts Tagged ‘Perkins V’