As the new Administration and 115th Congress continue to organize and begin work for the new year, leaders from both branches of government have spoken out about CTE and Perkins reauthorization in recent days.
On February 15, new House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC) published an op-ed in Real Clear Education about the Committee’s agenda for the year. While most of the piece focused on rolling back regulations, she did include CTE as a priority:
One of the first steps will be strengthening career and technical education (CTE). CTE has helped a lot of students gain the knowledge and skills they need to compete in the workforce. Recently, we came close to achieving reforms that would provide states more flexibility, reduce administrative burdens, improve accountability and better ensure students are prepared for in-demand jobs. It is my hope we will finish this important work in the coming months.
In addition, on February 16, new Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke before the American Association of Community Colleges and Association of Community College Trustees National Legislative Summit. In her speech, she spoke highly of community and technical colleges and their partnerships with business and industry, and made some specific comments about CTE:
The President’s 100-day action plan is his contract with the American voter. This plan notes the importance of expanding vocational and technical education – the types of career and technical education that community colleges excel at providing – and making two- and four-year college degrees more affordable. He has called multiple paths for postsecondary education “an absolute priority” for his Administration, and I share that vision.
Unfortunately, there are also already reports about potential budget cuts and program elimination at the Department of Education as well, so it will be critical for advocates to speak out in support of critical federal funding to support CTE.
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