CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

Policymaker Perspectives: A Discussion with Representative Drew Ferguson

Policymaker Perspectives: A Discussion with Representative Drew Ferguson

Policymaker Perspectives is a discussion series between ACTE and federal policymakers. It is intended to allow CTE professionals to hear directly from policymakers about their priorities and the work taking place in Washington to strengthen the CTE ecosystem.

Representative Drew Ferguson (R-GA) was first elected in 2016 to represent Georgia’s Third Congressional District, located southwest of Atlanta. He previously served as the mayor of West Point, GA for eight years. Rep. Ferguson is a dentist by trade and established a family dental practice in his hometown after graduating from the Medical College of Georgia.

In Congress, Rep. Ferguson has quickly demonstrated leadership on CTE issues. He is a member of the Congressional CTE Caucus and an original co-sponsor of H.R. 2353, the House Perkins reauthorization bill. As a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and as the Freshman Policy Representative for the 115th Congress, Rep. Ferguson is in a strong position to strengthen the CTE ecosystem. He also serves on the Budget Committee and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Congressman Ferguson has deep family roots in his district, and together with his wife Buffy, have four children.

ACTE spoke with Representative Ferguson as part of our Policymaker Perspectives discussion series.

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ACTE: Though you only took office in January, you have quickly become a leader on CTE issues by joining the CTE Caucus, writing an op-ed, and co-sponsoring H.R. 2353. Why is CTE such an important priority for you?

Representative Ferguson: As a local mayor in a manufacturing community I saw firsthand the shrinking pool of individuals who were properly prepared to fill our workforce needs. I also saw how innovative CTE programs in Georgia’s Third District filled that void with a new generation of workers who were graduating from these programs with the skills they needed to thrive. These students were able to immediately secure well-paying, meaningful jobs. I believe that creating a modern American workforce requires enabling programs like these across the nation to meet the needs of our modern workforce and make America the most competitive place to do business.

 

ACTE: As a dentist and an employer, you have firsthand knowledge of the types of careers that are available to CTE students. For example, the Georgia Department of Education lists dental hygienist as a “hot career” with 350 annual openings and an annual wage of more than $65,000 per year. What’s more, dental hygienists only need a two-year degree, which can be obtained at community colleges. In addition to careers in dentistry, countless other occupations also require education beyond high school but below a bachelor’s degree. Did CTE programs help provide skilled workers for your dental practice? Further, do you see community colleges playing an increasingly important role in the nation’s higher education system to ensure a skilled workforce?

Representative Ferguson: CTE programs in the Third District and throughout Georgia provided a number of skilled workers for my own dental practice over the years. Community colleges absolutely play an important role in our higher education system. Whether it’s allowing students to receive a certification, two-year degree or providing another option to gain credits towards a four-year degree, we need to ensure students have flexible options that work for their lives and goals.

 

ACTE: Since Fiscal Year 2007, federal funding for states through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act has declined by 23 percent when adjusted for inflation. In fact, Georgia received over $3 million less this year than it did in FY 2010. ACTE is appreciative of a bipartisan letter you signed in April to leaders on the Appropriations Committee urging “strong funding” for the Perkins Act in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget. What are the prospects for federal CTE funding in FY 2018? What can advocates do to encourage policymakers to restore harmful cuts to CTE funding?

Representative Ferguson: H.R. 2353 authorizes a gradual increase in Perkins CTE funding over the next 5 years. I believe this is the appropriate way to scale up our support. I hope that Appropriators can also support this strategy, but I understand the challenges. Our nation is facing an ever-growing debt crisis as mandatory spending continues to go unchecked. As a member of the House Budget Committee, it is a priority of mine to address and solve our long-term fiscal challenges in order to ensure sustained funding for important programs like CTE in the future.

 

ACTE: In a joint session of Congress earlier this year, President Trump said he would be “asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in the infrastructure of the United States.” Both Republicans and Democrats have since indicated that an infrastructure package could be an area of bipartisan agreement. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, what are your priorities for an infrastructure package? Do you believe it is important to include a CTE component to ensure there are enough American workers with the skills to plan, build, operate and maintain the nation’s infrastructure?

Representative Ferguson: Targeted investments in infrastructure are key to developing our economy and making America the most competitive place in the world to do business. I’m glad there is bipartisan agreement on this topic, and we are having thoughtful conversations about what exactly that package should look like. I think we should focus firsts on projects that are already in the pipeline and have demonstrated clear economic development benefits for our communities. This demonstrates again why completing Perkins Reauthorization is so critically important so we can continue to enhance our investment in the skilled workforce to meet the needs of tomorrow.

Gaps in Education and Career Planning

Counselors for about three-quarters of public high school students report that those students were required to have a graduation, career or education plan, according to a 2012 National Center for Education Statistics survey following up on students who entered ninth grade in 2009.

But less than half—43 percent—created a personalized plan, while 23 percent selected from a menu of plans and 5 percent were assigned a plan by the school. In addition, when asked to develop and revise their own plans, only 11 percent of students created, submitted and reviewed the plan with school staff.

Since 2012, a number of states have enacted policies strengthening career and education planning, which likely has led to a greater percentage of students developing personalized plans.

Sec. DeVos Defends Budget on Capitol Hill

One day after the release of President Trump’s full budget request to Congress, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos went before the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee to defend the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget plan for education. As we reported, the budget proposes drastic cuts in federal support for CTE, including a $168 million cut in the Perkins Basic State Grant! It also proposes to put an additional $20 million in the Perkins National Programs to establish a new grant that would support only certain CTE programs in STEM fields that are able to compete for funds. ACTE has strongly rejected the proposal, and will work with Congress to ensure strong funding for CTE.

In her first appearance before congressional appropriators, Secretary DeVos was often at pains to defend the budget outline. She struggled to reconcile the proposed cuts with her stated priorities in education. In response to a question from Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), she praised innovative partnerships between community colleges and employers, while also agreeing with Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) about the importance of secondary CTE in providing students with a comprehensive career pathway. Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) noted the disconnect between the secretary’s praise for CTE  and the proposed cut to Perkins—admonishing DeVos to quit “talking out of both sides of her mouth” on the issue.  Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) added to the chorus of support for CTE, and invited DeVos see the great work being done at programs in his home state of Oklahoma.

The secretary also took criticism for plans to eliminate Title IV grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which can support career guidance programs and other CTE-related initiatives, along with ESSA Title II funds for educator training and professional development. On the postsecondary side, cuts to Federal Work-Study student aid, as well as TRIO and GEAR-UP programs that support college access for low-income students, received a cold reception from committee members.

Trump Budget Pushes Big Cuts for Perkins

Today, the White House released President Trump’s full budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. This document outlines the Administration's spending priorities for the coming year fiscal year, including federal education and workforce training programs.  The budget proposes drastic cuts in federal support for CTE, including a $168 million cut in the Perkins Basic State Grant! It also proposes to put an additional $20 million in the Perkins National Programs to establish a new grant that would support only certain CTE programs in STEM fields that are able to compete for funds.

Despite past statements from the president and members of his Administration in support of CTE, this 15 percent cut in state grant funding would have a devastating impact on millions of students across the country. The cut would be so deep that it would actually trigger a “hold harmless” provision in the Perkins Act and its “ratable reduction” rule, which means that certain states would see disproportionately larger cuts to their funding allocations before all states are reduced.

In joint statement with Advance CTE, ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson said of the budget plan, “While the Trump Administration talks about supporting workforce and skills development, this dramatic cut is nothing short of an attack on CTE and the students and employers who benefit from it.

Overall, the budget would cut $9 billion (13 percent) in total from the Department of Education and $2.5 billion (21 percent) from the Department of Labor. Many programs supporting students and job seekers would be drastically cut or eliminated under the president’s budget plan, including:

• Adult education would be cut by $96 million.
• Teacher Quality Partnership Grants for teacher education would be eliminated.
• ESSA Title IV grants that can support career guidance programs and other CTE-related initiatives would be eliminated.
• ESSA Title II funds to support effective educators would be eliminated.
• WIOA youth, adult, and dislocated worker state grants would see a combined cut of over $1 billion.

We call on Congress to reject the Trump cuts to education and job training. Take a few minutes to tell your lawmakers on Capitol Hill that we cannot cut our way to a 21st century workforce!

Reports Indicate Possible New OCTAE Leader

Last week, several Michigan news outlets, including the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press, reported that Michigan state Rep. Tim Kelly is preparing to resign his state seat and move to the federal Department of Education to lead adult education and CTE efforts. Rep. Kelly said that if he passes final background checks and vetting, “I’ll be the assistant secretary for career, technical and adult education.”

This is our first indication of a possible nominee to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education in the Trump Administration, a position that must be formally nominated and confirmed by the Senate. Rep. Kelly previously served as an education policy adviser to Michigan Gov. John Engler, and helped create and organize the Michigan Department of Workforce Development. He was elected as a state representative in 2012, and is currently the chair of the Michigan’s House Education Reform Committee

While Kelly is a long-standing supporter of school choice, which is reflective of Secretary DeVos’s top education priority, Kelly shares more insights in the press reports: “Clearly, I share her ideology on universal school choice, but this is less about vouchers and more about doing what we can to help the 70% of kids who don’t graduate from college,” he said. “This is a great opportunity to help her and the President and do what we can to get kids into meaningful education and jobs.”

ACTE will be following the process closely and will have more information if/when a formal nomination announcement is made.

Stackable Credentials: Data and Definitions

Research from the Community College Research Center reports that between 3 and 5 percent of Americans with a college education have stackable for-credit credentials.

In addition to estimating the population holding stackable credentials, authors Thomas Bailey and Clive Belfield propose working definitions for different methods of stacking:

• Progression: a short-term postsecondary certificate leading to a degree
• Supplemental: a certificate earned after a prior degree
• Independent: multiple certificates

Bailey and Belfield discuss the limited data and research existing on this topic, and the additional challenge of determining how non-credit awards fit into a stack. In addition, they propose creating career pathways and credential maps to help facilitate the meaningful stacking of credentials.

Preview of Trump Budget Predicts 15% Cut for CTE

Policymakers and advocates alike have been awaiting the full details of President Trump’s FY 2018 budget proposal since his “skinny budget” was released in March. The budget outline had originally included a $9 billion (13.5%) cut to education and a 2.5 billion (21%) cut to Department of Labor programs, but few programmatic details were included and funding for Perkins was not mentioned at all.

After several delays, the President’s full budget is now expected to be released on Tuesday, May 23, and will include funding levels for every individual program. In advance of that release, The Washington Post has reportedly received a “near-final” version of the budget documents and posted a story revealing details on the education budget.

Despite positive rhetoric from a variety of Administration officials in support of CTE, the budget proposal, if accurate, would instead suggest deep cuts to CTE and other programs directly serving our students. Reportedly, the Administration will propose a $168 million (15%) cut to Perkins funding—harming CTE programs, students and employers around the country! Other reported program cuts that impact CTE include:

• Student support and academic enrichment grants - eliminated ($400 million)

• Work Study - cut $490 million

• Adult education - cut $96 million

ACTE published a statement on the cuts here, and will be closely monitoring the release of official budget documents next week. Stay tuned for more information and action steps to reach out to your Members of Congress about these cuts!

House Education and the Workforce Committee Approves Perkins Bill

On May 17, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved its Perkins reauthorization bill, H.R. 2353, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. The bill was approved by unanimous voice vote, and received many positive comments from Committee leaders and members from across the political spectrum.

Just a few small changes were made to the introduced version of the bill through amendments as it moved through the markup process. These included additional clarifications around the involvement of both secondary and postsecondary educators, the use of evidence-based practices, and the offering of dual and concurrent enrollment and articulation agreements. Two additional amendments were offered and withdrawn, including one to add ex-offenders to the definition of special populations, and another to reinstate the Secretary’s ability to sanction states after several years of continual low performance. The issue of sanctions is related to the broader issues of Secretarial authority that emerged during Perkins work last fall, and is expected to continue to be part of the conversation as the bill moves forward.

In her opening statement, Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx expressed her support for CTE, "Career and technical education, or CTE, has helped countless men and women gain the knowledge, skills, and real-world experience they need to succeed in the workforce. These valuable programs — conceived and operated at the state and local level — can pave the way to fulfilling careers in a wide range of fields, including health care, manufacturing, computer science, engineering, and more." Rep. Foxx also spoke about CTE and Perkins reauthorization at length in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute on May 16. You can view her speech there at http://www.aei.org/events/remarks-and-discussion-with-chairwoman-virginia-foxx/.  

You can view an archive video of the markup at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdxylgooZ-M, and other markup materials at http://edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=401646. 

New Higher Ed Data Bill Introduced in Senate

On May 15, U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the College Transparency Act of 2017, S. 1121. This new bill would establish a postsecondary student data system and provide more accurate and complete data on postsecondary student outcomes. This bill would repeal the ban on a federal “student-unit-record data system,” which is one of ACTE’s priorities for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

The new data system it envisions would be secure and privacy protected, and housed at the National Center for Education Statistics. Unlike current higher education data collection, both part-time and transfer students would be included in the data. Information shared (in the aggregate) would include information on enrollment and completion rates, debt repayment, and employment outcomes for postsecondary programs. The benefits outlined in the bill include:

• accurately evaluate student enrollment patterns, progression, completion, and post-collegiate outcomes, and higher education costs and financial aid at the student level;
• assist with transparency, institutional improvement, and analysis of Federal aid programs;
• provide more accurate, complete, and customizable information for students and families making decisions about postsecondary education; and
• reduce the reporting burden on institutions of higher education postsecondary institutions, in accordance with section 5(b) of the College Transparency Act.

Perhaps the greatest benefit to those offering CTE programs would be the reduced reporting burden, as such a national system would ease data collection and reporting requirements, particularly for outcome measures. This would be accomplished through specific agreements to link with other federal data systems to match employment and earnings information. A fact sheet on the bill is available here.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Kicks Off Infrastructure Week

This week marks infrastructure week, and to kick off the week U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao spoke at a forum on Monday hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A variety of infrastructure stakeholders spoke throughout the event, including union and association leaders. The bipartisan infrastructure week aims to bring together various components of the infrastructure ecosystem – including businesses, workers and policymakers – to talk about ways to strengthen America’s infrastructure. Notably, infrastructure extends beyond transportation and also includes water and sewer systems, the energy grid, airports and more.

In her remarks, Secretary Chao spoke specifically to shortages in the skilled workforce and the fact that “far too many workers are being left behind because they are not equipped with the skills in demand in our rapidly changing economy.” To help address these skilled labor shortages, the secretary spoke at length about CTE:

“The good news is that workers don’t need an expensive four-year degree to access these good paying jobs. A two-year program at a local community college is an important resource as well, and far more affordable. And increasingly, employers are offering vocational training to high school students. And there are excellent training programs offered by many skilled trades unions and government programs to help train workers as well. But to be relevant, all vocational and skills training programs have got to involve the employers because they know best which skills are in-demand, which skills they require.”

Later in the forum, Terry O’Sullivan, the general president of the Laborers’ International Union of America, spoke about the importance of using part of the federal funding allocated for infrastructure spending for skills training. O’Sullivan recognized that “there is a worker shortage in this country,” and that infrastructure spending must ensure that we have “a capable and skilled workforce – a workforce of the future.” O’Sullivan continued to talk about the many ways that the building and construction trades are preparing the next generation of skilled labor.

Jay Timmons, the president & CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, warned that when it comes to the workforce, he is “concerned about the manufacturing side… we have not been good at training the workforce of the future, training folks for those upskilled jobs.” Timmons added that there are “350,000 jobs in manufacturing that are open today, and it’s because we don’t have folks with the right skills.” To address the problem, he underscored that industry, federal and state governments, and institutions of higher education all have a role to play in addressing the issue. “If we don’t tackle this now,” Timmons concluded, “we are going to have about 2 million jobs that are unfilled in 10 years… From soup to nuts, we’ve got to have the workforce ready and available to get the job done.”

Throughout the forum, a number of speakers continued to highlight how important workforce development is to American infrastructure. This makes sense given that skilled labor is needed not only to build America’s infrastructure, but also to design, maintain and operate it.

ACTE has long urged policymakers to consider the close ties between CTE and infrastructure. In fact, earlier this year we helped organize a Senate CTE Caucus briefing focused exclusively on the intersection between CTE and infrastructure.

Infrastructure week is a good opportunity to highlight how important CTE is to the American economy. You can join the conversation on Twitter by using infrastructure week 2017’s official hashtag, #TimetoBuild, and tweeting at @InfraWeek.