CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

ACTE and NASDCTEc Urge Appropriations Committees to Restore Perkins Funding

As we reported last week, Congress approved a budget agreement, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, that will restore most of the sequestration cuts for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. Congress must now begin the task of setting funding levels for individual programs like Perkins before the current funding bill expires on January 15. It will be up to the appropriations committees in the House and Senate to determine which individual programs get funding restored within the overall total increase available. The Bipartisan Budget Act has helped to alleviate some of the harmful sequester cuts, but there is still more work to be done to ensure that Congress acts to restore funding for CTE specifically.

Today, ACTE and the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) sent a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations subcommittee, which have jurisdiction over funding for education and workforce development programs, urging them to restore funding for Perkins to the pre-sequestration level as part of the FY 2014 appropriations bill. 

“The erosion of Perkins has hurt high schools, CTE centers, community and technical colleges, employers and millions of CTE students nationwide,” wrote ACTE Deputy Executive Director Steve DeWitt and NASDCTEc Executive Director Kim Green. “We cannot cut our way to a 21st century workforce! Instead, Perkins funding must be restored to meet the needs of CTE programs around the country and ensure students are fully prepared for their future academic and career goals.” The full text of the letter is available here.

ACTE and NASDCTEc will continue to work closely with congressional appropriators to ensure that Perkins funding is restored. Please help us in our efforts by taking a few minutes to contact your Members of Congress and let them know that it is time to make investing in CTE a top priority!

WDQC Launches New Website

ACTE—a national partner helping to lead the Workforce Data Quality Campaign (WDQC)—is pleased to announce that WDQC has launched its new website, www.workforcedqc.org!

The website explains how better data can help ensure that public policies are preparing skilled workers for our changing economy and the ways policymakers, students and workers, business leaders, and educators can use data to make good decisions. In addition, the site identifies federal and state policy reforms that could improve data quality, and highlights model state practices with brief case studies. Webinars and publications will provide more in-depth discussion of reform efforts and persistent data challenges.

For those who want to stay informed on the latest news, the WDQC blog delivers updates about legislation and research on education and workforce data. The press section links to articles featuring WDQC and its partners.

WDQC will frequently update the site. Please contact info@workforcedqc.org to let the campaign know of any news, publications or other information that should be added to the website. To receive regular updates about education and workforce data, sign up for the WDQC e-mail list.

Congress Turns Attention to Perkins Funding After Passing Budget Deal

Yesterday, the Senate approved a budget agreement, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, by a vote of 64-36. The budget deal will replace a total of $63 billion of sequester cuts over two years. For FY 2014, this will effectively restore an estimated 87 percent of the cuts that were put into place through sequestration last year. The overall discretionary funding cap for FY 2014 is $1.012 trillion, with $492 billion for funding non-defense programs that include education, workforce training and CTE, an increase of $24 billion over current levels.

Congress must now begin the task of setting funding levels for individual programs like Perkins before the current funding bill expires on January 15. It will be up to appropriators in Congress to determine which individual programs get funding restored within the overall total increase available. The Bipartisan Budget Act has helped to alleviate some of the harmful sequester cuts, but there is still more work to be done to ensure that Congress acts to restore funding for CTE specifically. Sequestration resulted in a $58 million cut in the federal support for Perkins in the 2013-14 school year, and our goal is to get those cuts restored!

Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to restore Perkins funding to $1.1 billion, equivalent to the pre-sequester level, as part of the FY 2014 appropriations bill. Tell them that it is time to make investing in CTE a top priority!

CTE and STEM Go Hand in Hand

A new publication from the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium makes explicit the connection between CTE and STEM.

As CTE is Your STEM Strategy  states, "While a state's CTE programs may not encompass everything within a state's STEM strategy, high-quality CTE programs can provide a strong foundation for and serve as a delivery system of STEM competencies and skills for a broader range of students." This includes education and training for STEM jobs, half of which require less than a bachelor's degree, and for STEM competencies more generally.

The brief notes how the elements of high-quality CTE, such as industry partnerships, problem- and project-based learning, technology use, and integrated and interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, support STEM learning. In addition, the Career Clusters framework fosters STEM learning, not only through the STEM Cluster itself, but throughout all 16 Career Clusters. For instance, students in the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Career Cluster acquire knowledge and skills that prepare them for careers in horticulture, animal science, environmental science and more.

The brief concludes by highlighting STEM initiatives that incorporate CTE, including the North Carolina STEM Network, the Michigan STEM Partnership and Ohio's CTE-STEM hybrid curriculum in health informatics, and recommends ways that stakeholders can work together for the benefit of both STEM and CTE.

Senate to Hold Final Vote on Budget Deal

Today, the Senate approved a procedural measure to advance the budget agreement, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. The procedural vote will allow the bill to proceed to a vote on final passage this week. As we previously reported, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 budget agreement was reached by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) after weeks of negotiations in the budget conference committee. The House passed the Bipartisan Budget Act by an overwhelming vote of 332-94 on December 12, before the chamber adjourned for the holiday recess. The Senate is expected to vote on final passage of the bill as early as Wednesday.

The agreement would replace a total of $63 billion of sequester cuts over two years. For FY 2014, this will effectively restore an estimated 87 percent of the cuts that were put into place through sequestration last year. The overall discretionary funding cap for FY 2014 would be $1.012 trillion, with $492 billion for funding non-defense programs that include education, workforce training and CTE. Please take a few minutes to contact your Senators and urge them to support the Ryan-Murray Bipartisan Budget Act!

If the budget agreement is approved in the Senate, the appropriations committees will begin the task of setting funding levels for individual programs like Perkins before the current funding bill expires on January 15. ACTE, with the support of CTE advocates nationwide, will continue to push Congress to restore funding for Perkins!

New Resources for Youth CareerConnect Grant Applications

As we previously reported, the Department of Labor (DOL) is currently soliciting applications for the new Youth CareerConnect grants, which are "designed to encourage America's school districts, institutions of higher education, the workforce investment system, and their partners to scale up evidence-based high school models that will transform the high school experience for America's youth."

Recently, DOL posted a new set of Frequently Asked Questions about the grant process that may be helpful to potential applicants. They also plan to post a pre-recorded webinar with additional details soon, so check this page frequently for more information - http://www.doleta.gov/ycc/resources.cfm.

The Alliance for Excellent Education is also hosting a webinar on December 18, with free registration. Details are below!

Wednesday, December 18: Youth CareerConnect Program: An Opportunity to Redefine the High School Experience and Increase College and Career Readiness: This webinar will provide guidance on how to approach effective secondary school reform within the context of the U.S. Department of Labor's new $100 million Youth CareerConnect grant competition. Get more info and register using the link above.

Just a reminder, applications for the grant are due on January 27, 2014!

Sen. Stabenow Introduces Postsecondary Job Training Bill

On December 10, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced legislation to establish a federal tax-credit-matching program to complement existing programs in states that provide a “new jobs training” tax credit. The New Skills for New Jobs Act (S. 1795) is modeled after a state program in Michigan which allows employers to enter into training contracts with community colleges to train individuals for new jobs created by the employer.

Established in 2008, the Michigan New Jobs Training Program supports employers creating new jobs by authorizing community colleges to finance the cost of training for eligible new jobs. The training cost is then repaid by redirecting the state income tax generated by the new employee to the community college. The federal proposal under S. 1795 would provide a federal match to the state income tax paid to the community college, this match would decrease the repayment period to community colleges by half and allow them to train additional individuals.

S. 1795 also requires that contracts between the community college and employer ensure that the employer will hire individuals for full-time employment and that individuals hired will receive a wage that is not less than 175% of the federal minimum wage or another amount established by the state program, whichever is greater.

ACTE worked with Sen. Stabenow’s office in the introduction of this bill, and we believe that it provides an incentive for more states to enact programs similar to the Michigan program. We would however, like to see the program expanded to include training provided not only by community colleges, but also public, non-degree-granting postsecondary institutions, such as area CTE schools. These institutions provide effective, short-term skill training programs and expanding this opportunity to those institutions would be a benefit to employers who require skilled employees in a timely fashion.

U.S. Secretary of Educations Speaks at VISION 2013

With CTE getting much warranted attention on Capitol Hill lately and ACTE’s Career Tech VISION 2013 happening last week in Las Vegas, it is an exciting time to be an ACTE member! Adding to that excitement was the appearance of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the ACTE Awards Banquet during VISION 2013.

Having made appearances at many other education related conferences during his tenure, last week’s remarks at the awards banquet were the Secretary’s first at VISION!

The Secretary centered his speech on, what he called, President Obama’s “north star” goal – for every student to graduate from high school and obtain some form of postsecondary training or degree. High-quality CTE was directly acknowledged by him as an important piece of the solution for helping every student meet the President’s goal.

Also using his time at VISION to highlight CTE programs from around the country, Mr. Duncan spoke about two schools he has visited this year. Wheeling High School in Illinois recently opened a nanotechnology lab, one of the first in a secondary school, to prepare students for careers in fields such as engineering and healthcare. Transmountain Early College High School in Texas has CTE programs in energy, engineering and robotics. Through these CTE programs, students at Transmountain have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree while still in high school.

While ACTE may not always agree with the Secretary on policy specifics, such as the Administration’s Blueprint for Perkins reauthorization, we do agree that high-quality CTE is a major benefit in the lives of those students that are able to participate and that we must expand these opportunities to more students. And, while the Perkins CTE Act reauthorization will take place in Congress, ACTE looks forward to continuing to work with the Secretary to enhance CTE opportunities.

   

For a transcript of the Secretary's remarks, please see the Department of Education’s website.

Possible Budget Deal Reached by Negotiators

On December 10, a budget agreement was reached by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to set new federal spending caps, restore a portion of the sequestration cuts and allow the appropriations process to move forward under regular order. The modest deal, termed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, would replace a total of $63 billion of sequester cuts over two years, but still cuts the deficit by $23 billion due to the inclusion of increased fees and other non-tax revenue. Passage of the deal should limit the threat of another government shutdown in January when the current continuing resolution expires.

Under the agreement, the negotiated spending cap of $1.012 trillion for FY 14 would be higher than the original House-passed total ($967 billion), but lower than that proposed by the Senate ($1.058 trillion). The sequestration relief provided in FY 14 would be evenly split between defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending accounts, which has been a major goal of ACTE and partner organizations. The NDD relief would amount to enough funding to restore 87% of the cuts that were put into place through sequestration last year, raising the spending cap in this area from the current $469 billion to $492 billion.

Within these higher caps, Congress would be able to begin restoring some of the devastating sequester cuts that occurred last year, opening the door for increases to programs like Perkins. Joel Packer, executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a coalition ACTE works closely with, explains the importance of the deal to education, saying that this is a "funding level that stops moving investments in education backward but instead turns the corner so we can start catching up to where we were."

However, the Bipartisan Budget Act must be approved by the House and Senate and signed by the president in order for the new caps to take effect. Leaders in the House and Senate have spoken out in support of the bill, although concerns remain on both sides of the aisle. The House is expected to consider the deal on the floor on Thursday or Friday, and it is important that you connect with policymakers to let them know you support this initial step toward replacing sequestration. Contact your Members of Congress and urge them to support a budget plan that allow for the potential of restoring funding for CTE!

Update 12/13/13:
The House approved the Bipartisan Budget Act on December 12 by a vote of 332-94, and it now awaits Senate action, which is likely to occur on Tuesday, December 17. Once the bill has passed the Senate, the hard work of determining individual appropriations bill and program funding levels will begin in earnest, and CTE advocates will need to weigh in to promote a restoration of Perkins funding.

Congress Moves Closer to a Budget Deal

The budget conference committee is continuing its efforts to craft a compromise FY 2014 budget plan before the self-imposed deadline of December 13. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the conference chairs, are reportedly moving closer to a deal that could be announced early next week. The agreement that ended the protracted government shutdown in October included the creation of a conference committee of members of the House and Senate who are tasked with creating a finalized budget plan and setting overall funding levels for FY 2014.

The deal will likely include a replacement of at least some of the discretionary funding cuts that occurred in FY 2013 as a result of sequestration. Perkins funding was cut by 5.2 percent in FY 2013, reducing federal support for CTE by $58 million. ACTE recently sent a letter to the conferees urging them to strengthen our nation’s investment in CTE by replacing the harmful sequestration cuts in the FY 2014 budget proposal.

The government is currently operating on a short-term funding measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), which will expire on January 15, 2014. The budget agreement will be the first step toward passing a full-year funding bill and averting another government shutdown in the new year. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said that he will adjourn the House for the holiday break on December 13, with or without a deal in place. Contact your Members of Congress and urge them to support a budget plan that supports funding for CTE!