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Congress Unveils Funding Ahead of the Holidays | Legislative Update

Tuesday, December 17th, 2024

This week, Congress has begun to take up a long-awaited funding extension. New leadership has been named elsewhere for the House Education and the Workforce Committee while the Administration shares STEM and rural education resources. 

Lawmakers Propose Funding Extension

As shared previously, Congress has remained in session over the last few weeks, working to organize itself for the 119th Congress and attend to a wide array of end-of-the-year agenda items. Top on this list is determining a path forward on federal fiscal year 2025 (FY25) funding before current legislation is set to expire this Friday, December 20. Earlier today, lawmakers announced that they had reached an agreement on another three-month continuing resolution (CR), which will extend federal funding at current FY24 levels through mid-March of next year. The CR would provide lawmakers with additional time to determine full-year funding for FY25 in the next Congress when Republicans will have control of both the House and Senate. 

Notably, the CR includes a number of additional pieces of pending legislation and other assorted proposals. Advance CTE continues to analyze this legislation for other important components and will share additional details as they become available. The CR is expected to be considered on an accelerated timeline this week and is widely expected to pass ahead of the December 20 deadline.

Walberg to Chair House Committee on Education and Workforce

Last week, the House Republican Steering Committee met to determine new leadership for the House Education and the Workforce (E&W) Committee. Longtime E&W Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has been term-limited in the new 119th Congress under House Republican Conference rules. Both Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Burgess Owens (R-UT) have been vying for the E&W Chair role since Foxx’s announcement earlier this year. Ultimately, the steering committee selected Rep. Walberg for this critical role overseeing education and workforce development policy. “We have a unique opportunity to make substantive reforms to empower parents, incentivize workforce training, improve government efficiency, and unburden American innovators and job creators. The American people have given us a mandate to enact meaningful change and ensure future generations will succeed,” Walberg, a longtime committee member, said after the announcement. 

White House Publishes STEM Education Strategy

Last week, the Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) under the National Science and Technology Council shared a new resource aimed at helping to grow STEM education and talent over the next five years. The vision for the resource, the Federal Strategic Plan for Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent, is to inspire and cultivate a diverse STEM workforce and ensure equitable access to STEM opportunities for all Americans. The plan emphasizes multi-sector partnerships, ensuring access, opportunity, transparency and accountability. Through the outlined principle of STEM training and workforce development, the strategy references Career Technical Education (CTE) and local community colleges as a direct means of building the STEM workforce needed for the future.

ED Guidance on Rural Teaching Shortages

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a report as part of the initiative to support a stronger educator workforce titled “Raise the Bar: Supporting Rural Communities.” The report remarks on the vitality of rural schools to their communities that face consistent educator shortages and highlights specific state examples of practical solutions to build local talent, increase compensation, and enhance working conditions. Registered teacher apprenticeship opportunities and “Grow Your Own” programs are key ways CTE can support local candidates in filling teaching roles. ED encourages using federal funds through Title I and II, the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), Career and Technical Education State Grants, and other funding streams to support rural schools with essential funding to support learners. 

Labor Grants for Youth Job Training for High-Demand Careers

Last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that grants were awarded to organizations across 31 states to provide training and employment services to expand access to Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs). The awards are intended to prepare younger workers for quality jobs in high-demand careers through pre-apprenticeships. The YouthBuild Program, supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), aims to engage young learners aged 16 to 24 who are not enrolled in school or employed in the workforce. The program divides learners’ time between classroom instruction to earn a high school diploma or equivalent degree and work-based training to prepare for careers. It also provides support services like childcare, transportation assistance, and the provision of work attire and personal protective equipment. Read more about the YouthBuild Program here.

Odds & Ends

Rob Young, Communications & Advocacy Associate

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Rob Young in Public Policy
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Welcome Dan Adams to Advance CTE!

Wednesday, July 12th, 2023

My name is Dan Adams, and I am very excited to lead Advance CTE’s Data & Research team where I’m responsible for Advance CTE’s data quality and initiatives to promote data-driven decision-making among state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders and within Advance CTE.

My commitment to education in pursuit of equity and equity in pursuit of social justice was the reason I started my career as a middle school STEM teacher. Most recently, I served as the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission’s Statewide Director of Career Pathways where I collaborated with stakeholders to promote the equity impacts of investments in career pathways. In 2022, based in part on a first-of-its-kind data system I helped build, the Oregon legislature passed and Governor Brown signed Future Ready Oregon into law. The law invested $200 million in education and training, including $17 million for career pathways in Oregon, a nearly tenfold increase.

As Accountability and Data Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education, I authored numerous research briefs and provided invited testimony before the Oregon House and Senate on the equity impact of investments in CTE. Based in part on my findings and testimony, in 2019 the Oregon legislature passed the Oregon School Success Act, which invested an additional $300M in interventions including secondary CTE.

Commitment to education equity and social justice informs my private life as well. As co-chair of Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition, I was honored to be the first signatory to the state’s LGBTQ2SIA+ Student Success Plan which was signed into law in July 2021. As Co-Chair of Seaton Elementary School’s PTO Family Engagement Committee, I was honored to contribute to my family’s home school receiving the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming School Seal of Excellence in 2023.

I graduated from the University of Notre Dame twice, first with a Bachelor of Science in Science-Business and later with a Master of Education degree and a middle-level science license. I’ve called California, Oregon, Indiana, Texas, Alabama, Ireland, Oregon again, and now the District of Columbia (DC) home. 

When I’m not working on more equitable education systems, I’m usually with my wife and son. We can be found on our bikes in and around our home in DC’s historic Shaw neighborhood. If you already checked there, you may also find our bikes locked outside any of DC’s bistros, coffee shops, brew pubs, or museums.

Dan Adams, Data & Research Manager

By Layla Alagic in Our Staff
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Legislative Update: Congress Reaches Deal on Debt Ceiling

Friday, June 2nd, 2023

This week, lawmakers emerged with a compromise deal to raise the nation’s statutory borrowing limit– breaking a monthslong impasse on this important issue. The bill is expected to be signed by President Biden soon. Elsewhere, a new federal agency partnership has been announced.

Lawmakers Pass Debt Ceiling Deal

Since the start of the 118th Congress, lawmakers have struggled to agree on whether and how to raise the nation’s statutory borrowing authority (known informally as the debt limit or ceiling). This borrowing cap must be raised to pay for expenses Congress has already incurred. In recent weeks, the U.S. Treasury Department has estimated that the federal government will exhaust current options to service these debt obligations by June 5. 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. 

For the last several weeks House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and President Biden have been intensely negotiating the contours of an agreement to raise the nation’s debt limit in exchange for spending and policy concessions. Over the Memorial Day weekend, lawmakers announced that they had reached agreement on this critical issue. The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) suspends the debt limit for the next two years, through 2025, and establishes new spending caps for that same period of time. These spending caps, which will apply to the upcoming 2024 federal fiscal year (FY24) and the next (FY25), freeze current levels of federal investment in domestic programs, like those funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act as amended by the Strengthening Career and Techincal Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), at roughly current FY23 levels. These spending caps will make it more difficult to increase funding for Perkins V and the Career  Technical Education (CTE) programs it supports. 

The FRA also contains a provision that incentivizes the passage of all 12 federal appropriations bills later this year. Should Congress not achieve that goal, an automatic spending reduction would be applied to the entire federal budget until full-year appropriations legislation has been passed. Further, the bill would allow for a one percent increase in funding for domestic discretionary programs in FY25. Collectively, these provisions are intended to slow federal discretionary spending, which has been a significant priority for Congressional Republicans. 

In addition, the FRA rescinds approximately $28 billion in unspent pandemic aid funding, including an estimated $391 million in unobligated Education Stabilization Funding (ESF). While the ESF includes funding streams for K-12 education, higher education and private schools, early analysis of the legislation indicates that most of this rescinded funding will come from unclaimed resources that have not been disbursed by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). This means that these rescissions are not likely to have a substantial impact on states, school districts or postsecondary institutions given most of these resources have already been spent or otherwise obligated for future use. Finally, the FRA includes several other policy concessions sought by House Republicans, including imposing new work requirements for certain social safety net programs and modest reforms to permitting for energy projects.  

Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill this week to consider and vote on the FRA. Late Wednesday night, the full House chamber passed the legislation by a margin of 314-117, with 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voting in favor of the proposal. The bill moved quickly over to the Senate, where lawmakers there cleared the legislation late Thursday night by a margin of 63-36. The FRA now heads to President Biden’s desk for signature and enactment ahead of the fast-approaching June 5 deadline. 

ED and NASA Sign MOU

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to strengthen coordination between the two agencies related to increasing access to high-quality science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and space education programming. In particular, the MOU strengthens the agencies’ efforts to increase access for historically underserved student populations. “I am excited for this partnership with NASA that will inspire and prepare young people from all backgrounds to become our next generation of leaders in STEM fields and to propel our nation and our workforce into the future,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said at the MOU signing. More information on the agreement can be found here. 

Career Z Work-based Learning Challenge Deadline 

As shared earlier this spring, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) launched a new grant competition aimed at surfacing innovative approaches to expanding learner access to high-quality work-based learning opportunities. The “Career Z Challenge” will provide multiphase grants to projects and ideas that can be scaled elsewhere and nationally. Local education agencies and schools that receive federal Perkins V funding are eligible to apply and to share their ideas for how to improve and expand work-based learning. The deadline for applications is June 7 and more information can be found here. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Secretary Cardona Testifies as Congress Aims to Raise Debt Ceiling

Friday, April 21st, 2023

This week U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testified before House lawmakers while Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveiled a new House Republican proposal to cut federal spending in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. Elsewhere the Senate CTE Caucus announced a new co-chair while leaders in the chamber finished circulating a Perkins funding letter. 

Secretary Cardona Testifies on Budget

On Tuesday, April 18, US. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education regarding the Biden Administration’s federal fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget request. The hearing focused on a wide range of issues including recently proposed changes to Title IX regulations, student debt cancellation, expanding Pell grants for shorter-term, high-quality postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE) programs and the need for broader data transparency. 

Notably, the hearing focused on the ongoing Congressional debate regarding the nation’s borrowing limit and the impact Republicans’ current proposal would have on many programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), including the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V).

A recent letter from Cardona outlined the significant and negative impacts House Republicans’ proposals for raising the nation’s borrowing authority, known informally as the debt ceiling or limit, would have if enacted. A webcast archive of the hearing, including testimony and opening remarks, can be found here.    

Speaker McCarthy Unveils Republicans’ Debt Limit Proposal

Since the start of the 118th Congress, lawmakers have been intensely debating the need to raise the nation’s borrowing authority, known informally as the debt ceiling or limit. Continued disagreements on how to achieve this have resulted in a political stalemate between the parties in Congress over the last few months. In a new development this week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy released a new proposal that would drastically reduce federal discretionary spending to FY22 funding levels, resulting in significant cuts to many domestic programs, including Perkins V’s basic state grant program.

Due to the aspects of the federal budget Republicans are proposing to exempt from these cuts, it is estimated that these cuts could potentially amount to a 22 percent reduction to most domestic spending not exempt– a far greater disinvestment than reverting spending back to FY22 levels. Concerningly, if these estimates are accurate this proposal would cut the primary federal investment in CTE made through Perkins by over $300 million. In addition, the proposal would limit increases in federal spending to one percent over the next decade, significantly reducing the ability to meet growing demand for CTE programs.

The proposal also calls for a slew of other Republican policy priorities such as reclaiming unspent pandemic aid funding, instituting new work requirements for social safety net programs, and many other proposals. In exchange, the legislation would extend the debt limit through March 31, 2024 or by $1.5 trillion—whichever occurs first. The proposal is expected to be introduced in the House sometime in the next week. Advance CTE is monitoring this proposal and encourages members to let their Representatives know the significant negative impacts this proposal could have on state CTE systems. 

Advance CTE and ACTE Announce New Senate CTE Caucus Co-Chair

Earlier today, April 21, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced that Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) will become the next Republican co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus.

“The Senate CTE Caucus raises awareness among federal policymakers of the breadth and impact of Career Technical Education and lifts up how CTE is critical to national education, workforce and economic priorities. We welcome Senator Budd to the Senate CTE Caucus leadership team and look forward to working together to advance policies that empower both state leaders and learners to achieve success through accessible, high-quality CTE,” said Advance CTE Executive Director Kimberly Green when the announcement was made.

Read the full press release here. 

OSERS Unveils New Grant Program

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative  Services (OSERS) announced a new grant funding opportunity known as the Pathways to Partnerships Innovative Model Demonstration Project. The program will provide $224 million in new funding for projects that strengthen collaboration between state agencies, local school districts, and other key stakeholders to improve learners’ access to postsecondary education and independent living opportunities. More on the announcement can be found here. 

Odds & Ends

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor 

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: New House CTE Caucus Leader Announced As Congress Nears Funding Deal

Friday, December 16th, 2022

This week the House CTE Caucus announced a new co-chair to lead the caucus in the upcoming 118th Congress. Meanwhile, lawmakers have continued to make progress on federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) funding in the hopes of completing work before the end of the year. 

House CTE Caucus Leadership Announcement

This morning longtime House CTE Caucus Co-chairs Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) announced that Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) will succeed Langevin in the upcoming 118th Congress as the new Democratic co-chair of this bipartisan caucus. Alongside his colleague Rep. Thompson, Rep. Langevin led the House CTE Caucus for over a decade. He is set to retire at the end of the current 117th Congress. “Representative Langevin’s leadership as co-chair of the House CTE Caucus culminates over two decades of dedication to increase the awareness of and support for CTE and its learners,” said Advance CTE’s Executive Director Kimberly Green when this news was announced. “Advance CTE is incredibly grateful for his partnership and dedication, and we wish him the very best in his next chapter. We look forward to working with Representative Bonamici in the next Congress to secure the necessary resources for state leaders to build high-quality, equitable CTE systems for every learner.” 

Our organization is appreciative of Rep. Langevin’s many years of service in support of high-quality CTE programs and the millions of learners they serve across the country. We look forward to continuing this work in the next Congress in collaboration with Rep. Bonamici in this new capacity. 

Lawmakers Near Agreement on FY23 Funding

Congress stayed in session this week as part of a busy lame duck session to attend to a number of “must-pass” items still left on lawmakers’ agendas. Top among this list is the need to pass full-year funding legislation for FY23 . Current stopgap legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR), extended FY22 funding through December 16 (today) of this year for all federal operations and programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V). 

For weeks, lawmakers have struggled to find consensus on topline spending figures for defense and non-defense spending. On Tuesday evening, Congressional leaders announced that they had reached a tentative agreement on the overall size of an FY23 package—an important first step in the wider process of developing a full-year FY23 funding package. At present, this “framework” agreement will reportedly total approximately $1.7 trillion, but specific details regarding this emerging deal have yet to be made public. In the interim, lawmakers passed an additional CR last night, lasting through December 23, to provide themselves with more time as they continue to negotiate the specific program-level spending details underlying this forthcoming funding package. 

As these efforts continue, Advance CTE will continue to work with partners on Capitol Hill to advocate for full-year FY23 funding and to encourage greater investments in CTE as part of this wider process.

ED Hosts STEM Summit

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) hosted a “YOU Belong in STEM” summit at its Washington, D.C. headquarters to support and promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education across the nation. The convening brought together stakeholders to discuss strategies and best practices for how to implement, at scale, high-quality STEM education opportunities, particularly for learners from marginalized backgrounds. More on the effort can be found here. 

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Congress Continues Busy Lame Duck Session

Friday, December 9th, 2022

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

Lawmakers Struggle to Find Agreement on FY23 Funding

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

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

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

Democrats Solidify New Senate Majority

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

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

House Republican Leadership Continues to Take Shape

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

ED Issues New STEM Guidance

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

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Congress in Recess Through the Midterms

Monday, October 24th, 2022

The last few weeks, lawmakers in Congress have remained in recess ahead of the upcoming midterm elections set to take place November 8. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has launched a new STEM initiative while other federal agencies have made several recent grant announcements regarding connectivity efforts and mental health. 

Congress Remains in Recess Ahead of Midterm Elections

Both the House and Senate are currently on an extended recess ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. While the chambers are formally out of session, they are holding pro forma sessions during this time to continue committee-level work on a number of existing agenda items. Before going on this extended recess, Congress was able to successfully pass short-term funding legislation, known as a continuing resolution (CR). This CR extends current fiscal year 2022 (FY22) funding levels for all federal programs, including the Carl D. Perkins Act (Perkins V), through December 16. By that date, lawmakers will next need to act by either passing an additional funding extension at that time or completing work on a more comprehensive funding proposal for the federal government. 

The length of the CR is intended to provide Congress additional time to campaign ahead of the fast-approaching midterm elections November 8. It is broadly hoped that when the outcomes of these elections become clearer, lawmakers will be able to reach consensus during the “lame duck” session of Congress. As these efforts get more fully underway, Advance CTE will continue to work with its partners in Congress to secure robust funding levels for the Perkins V basic state grant program and other priority Career Technical Education (CTE)  funding streams. 

ED Launches “YOU Belong in STEM” Initiative

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently announced a new initiative aimed at encouraging learners to explore and pursue pathways in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. The effort pulls together a number of existing ED activities and related priorities highlighting various opportunities to promote STEM education for learners at both the K-12 and postsecondary levels. In the coming weeks, the Department intends to release additional guidance, technical assistance, and related information for how to deepen and expand on these efforts in the future. 

FCC Releases Additional Connectivity Funds

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced another round of Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (ECF) funding totaling nearly $78 million. Authorized by the American Rescue Plan, the ECF provides funding to schools and libraries to purchase broadband plans and devices for students, school staff, and library patrons and has been a key Advance CTE federal policy priority since the start of the pandemic. These latest funding commitments are from the first and third application windows for the ECF program and will benefit nearly 175,000 students from Delaware, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Texas.  

ED Distributes Funding for School-based Mental Health

In the wake of several tragic mass shootings earlier this year, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S. 2938). The new law modestly tightened the nation’s gun laws while investing significant new funding into K-12 education to support safer schools and promote learner mental health. On Monday, October 3, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it had published two grant funding opportunities as part of this legislation.

The first of these is the School-based Mental Health Services Grant program which will provide competitive grants to state (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs), along with consortia of these entities, to apply for funding to increase the number of school-based mental health services available to students. There is more than $144 million available for these grants. More information on how to apply, including related deadlines, can be found here. The second grant announcement is related to the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration grant program. This competitive grant effort is intended to provide financial support to SEAs, LEAs, and postsecondary institutions to hire additional staffing capacity for similar purposes. Additional information regarding this initiative can be accessed here.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
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Making the Case for a Cross-Disciplinary STEM Core

Tuesday, October 26th, 2021

Submitted by CORD, 2021 Fall Meeting Sponsor

The nature of work is evolving right before our eyes. Technological advancements are transforming existing industries and creating new ones at an unprecedented pace. The World Economic Forum predicts significant disruption in the jobs landscape over the next four years. As many as 85 million current job roles may be displaced while more than 97 million new roles could emerge. Many of those roles will be enhanced by technologies that can collaborate with humans to enrich lives and workplaces in what the National Science Foundation (NSF) describes as the “future of work at the human-technology frontier.” Our challenge as state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders is ensuring future technicians acquire the expanding skill sets necessary for success in a rapidly changing environment. 

Through the NSF-Advanced Technological Education (ATE) supported initiative, Preparing Technicians for the Future of Work, staff at the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) led a series of research activities designed to identify the knowledge and skills that will be essential for future STEM technicians. This work has resulted in the Framework for a Cross-Disciplinary STEM Core (The Framework), a set of recommendations for technician education that incorporate knowledge and skills such as Advanced Digital Literacy, Data Knowledge and Analysis, and Business Knowledge and Processes into technician preparation programs. These core content areas are essential to future success in STEM fields because they transcend narrow job specialization and enable technicians to adapt to a complex employment environment. Topics within these areas have been prioritized by educators and industry leaders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Framework offers practical recommendations for implementation, with regional customization, by any community college technical program. Steps toward adoption of the Framework include:

Download the Framework today and discover ways you can advocate for adoption of the Cross-Disciplinary STEM Core in your state.

By admin in Advance CTE Fall Meeting, Resources
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Research Review: Promising Practices for Reducing Racial Disparities in Academic Outcomes

Wednesday, May 12th, 2021

Gaps in academic outcomes between learners of color and their White peers is a challenge that continues to perplex education leaders. Two new studies highlight promising practices for how states can begin to narrow racial disparities in academic outcomes and better prepare learners for the transition to postsecondary education through strong academic support and quality career and academic advising. 

Removing Barriers to Gateway Courses 

Academic and technical proficiency are both essential for career readiness. Career Technical Education (CTE) secondary learners who pursue postsecondary education are required to demonstrate academic proficiency while completing technical coursework. However, traditional postsecondary placement models can be a barrier to learners, extending both the time and costs of completing a program of study, and ultimately serve as a deterrent for learners pursuing a postsecondary degree. 

In a recent study, researchers at Florida State University examined how Florida reformed its introductory college-level course placement policies and the impact the reform had on learners of color. Prior to 2013, Florida postsecondary students scoring below college-ready on a statewide placement test were required to take at least one developmental education course. Nearly 70 percent of first-time-in-college learners were required to take these developmental education courses based on their placement test scores, with Black and Latinx learners being overrepresented compared to White learners. Learners had to pay tuition to enroll in these courses without  receiving credits, and the courses did not count towards degree requirements. Furthermore, learners were required to successfully complete developmental education courses before they were allowed to enroll in for-credit gateway courses such as English and math. 

After the Florida legislature passed Senate Bill 1720 (SB 1720) in 2013, learners who entered a Florida public high school in the 2003-2004 school year or later and graduated with a standard high school diploma were presumed to be college-ready, were exempt from college placement testing and developmental coursework, and could enroll directly into gateway English and math courses. The passage of SB 1720 also reformed developmental education courses overall by requiring colleges to design them in a way that better meets the needs of learners in the following ways:

These reforms allowed learners who choose to enroll in developmental courses the opportunity to complete them faster, only enroll in the courses they needed, and complete their education on-time. Additionally, under SB 1720 colleges were required to reform their advising services, which increased learner awareness of developmental course options along with other academic services such as tutoring.  

Comparing three cohorts of learners who had enrolled in a Florida postsecondary institution prior to SB 1720 (Fall 2011 – Fall 2013) and three cohorts of learners after SB 1720 (Fall 2014 – Fall 2016), researchers found that after the passage of SB 1720, the percentage of first-time college students enrolled in gateway math and English courses increased overall for learners; however, gains were most significant for learners of color and outpaced the growth of White enrollment by 15 percentage points. 

Similarly, the percentage of learners who passed the introductory college-level courses increased across the board; however, the gains were much more pronounced for learners of color when compared to their White peers. 

The findings from this study indicate that traditional postsecondary placement models may be underestimating the ability of learners to be successful in college-level courses, particularly learners of color who are overrepresented in developmental education.

STEM Dual Enrollment Leading to College Persistence

Another study by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) illustrates the importance of dual enrollment courses in reducing racial/ethnic gaps in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program outcomes. About one-third of CTE high school concentrators pursue a program of study in the STEM Career ClusterⓇ, reaffirming that high-quality CTE programs can provide a strong foundation for and serve as a delivery system of STEM competencies for a broader range of learners. 

CCRC found that when Florida high school learners enrolled in college-level algebra courses through dual enrollment, they were more likely to pursue and persist in STEM programs in their first year of college compared to learners who did not participate in dual enrollment. When disaggregated by race/ethnicity, the study found that, even though dual enrollment algebra learners were much more likely to be White, Black and Latinx learners who enrolled in dual enrollment courses were much more likely than White learners to enroll and persist in STEM programs in college. 

Conclusion

Taken together, these studies suggest promising practices that can narrow racial/ethnic academic achievement and opportunity gaps and prepare learners for success along their career pathway. The research demonstrates how increased access to introductory college-level courses, strong academic supports, quality career and academic advising, and access to college in high school programs can have significant access and equity implications and begin reducing disparities in outcomes for Black and Latinx learners. 

For more information on advising and dual enrollment, please visit the Learning that Works Resource Center. 

Brian Robinson, Policy Associate

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HEA in Practice: Title III HSI STEM Articulation Grant

Wednesday, January 30th, 2019

Title III of the Higher Education Act (HEA) is the main source of institutional level funding in HEA, primarily supporting minority-serving colleges. Title III authorizes the Hispanic Serving Institutions Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics and Articulation Program (HSI STEM). An institution is categorized as an HSI if at least 25 percent of the full time undergraduate students are Latino. As of the 2016-2017 school year, HSIs include 65 percent of Latino undergraduate students and 15 percent of colleges and universities across the country, and these number will continue to increase.

This piece of HEA has two goals: the first is to increase attainment of STEM degrees and the second is to create a model transfer and articulation agreement for STEM degrees between two- and four-year institutions. Appropriations for this program are mandatory through FY2019. Funding can be utilized for purposes such as:

A great example of how this has been implemented is the Laredo Community College in Texas, which developed its STEM Articulation and Summer Bridge program through the HSI STEM grant. The STEM articulation program supports learners interested in STEM in both the college enrollment process, as well as successfully navigating the two to four year transfer. This program includes a Summer Bridge component, which provides incoming college students with advisement on everything from what to expect academically to the interpersonal skills that will be required. Learners in this program graduated at twice the rate of the college’s overall graduation rate.

Meredith Hills, Policy Associate

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