Conversations around Perkins reauthorization are ramping up in both the House and the Senate with increased attention and activity in recent weeks. Both the House and Senate education committees continue conversations around comprehensive, bi-partisan legislation that could be introduced in each chamber later this year. The Senate remains further along in their discussions, but action is possible in both chambers over the summer.
In the meantime, individual members of Congress continue introducing smaller bills to reflect their priorities for Perkins reauthorization. Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV) unveiled his Career and Technical Education Equity Act, H.R. 5152, at a district event this Tuesday. Rep. Heck’s bill would update Perkins’ “hold harmless” provision, which currently ensures all states receive at least as much funding as they did under the Act in 1998 (assuming the total level of funding doesn’t drop below 1998 levels). Rep. Heck’s bill would remove the 1998 reference year from the hold harmless language and instead guarantee each state a funding level of at least 90 percent of their prior year’s level (again assuming total funding levels do not fall below 90 percent of the prior year's level). This would index state funding levels more closely to current population and poverty rates.
Last week, Reps. Elisabeth Esty (D-CT), Joe Courtney (D-CT), James Himes (D-CT) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) also introduced the Technical Education Creates High-Paying Careers Act of 2016, H.R. 5096, to amend Title II of Perkins to add the American Technical Training Grant Program, modeled off the program included in the Administration’s budget proposal. The bill would provide for competitive grants to postsecondary institutions for supporting the establishment, redesign, or expansion of job training programs that enable economically disadvantaged students to enter into and advance along career pathways that lead to jobs in high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations.
While neither of these bills would move forward on their own, they could be considered to help inform the Committee’s broader efforts.
Comments