CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

Good Jobs Without a BA

The United States has 30 million "good jobs"—characterized by median earnings of $55,000—for individuals without a bachelor’s degree, according to the latest analysis from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce.

While 16 million people are still employed in good jobs in manufacturing, transportation and utilities, construction and skilled trades, the new good jobs are shifting to health care, finance and information technology—skilled service sectors—in occupations like computer support technicians, financial managers, sales representatives and engineering technicians.

These good jobs increasingly require some college education or an associate degree, with associate degree holders gaining the most good jobs in recent years, in both blue collar and skilled services industries.

The fall, the Center will be launching a website with data on good jobs for those without a bachelor’s degree nationwide and in each state. Visit http://goodjobsdata.org to learn more. In addition, you can learn more about how CTE prepares youth and adults for good jobs through ACTE Sector Sheets.

Education Funding Bill Advances in House

This week, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance their 2018 education funding bill. As we recently reported, the bill proposes to maintain funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant at $1.118 billion and CTE National Programs at $7.4 million. The level funding for CTE comes despite a $2.4 billion cut to the Department of Education’s budget overall. The funding measure was approved by the education appropriations subcommittee last week. By advancing the bill, lawmakers rejected the Administration’s request to cut the state grant program by 15 percent. In a recent letter to President Trump, the members of the moderate New Democrat Coalition in the House expressed support for the Administration’s efforts to promote apprenticeships, but argued that proposed cuts in funding to CTE and job training programs are contrary to the goal of building the nation’s workforce. “We value results over rhetoric,” wrote the 48 members of the coalition. “These budget cuts are incongruent with the promise you made to the American people.” 

Trump Cuts to CTE Excluded from House Funding Bill

This week, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved a Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 education funding bill. The bill proposes level funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant at $1.118 billion. Despite calls by the Trump Administration to cut the state grant program by 15 percent, the subcommittee chose to maintain funding for CTE!

Unfortunately, the subcommittee did propose to make significant cuts to other education and workforce programs. The bill would fund the Department of Education at $66 billion, which is $2.4 billion below the current FY 2017 level. It would eliminate ESSA Title II funds for educator training, which can support joint professional development and common planning time for academic and CTE teachers, as well as funding for innovation and research grants. The bill would cut funding for afterschool programs, and rescind $3.3 billion in “reserve” funds for the Pell Grant program, which helps low-income students pursue postsecondary education. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, noted the potential long-term impacts of the funding bill on students. “If we do not investing in our children, we deny them the tools for their success,” said DeLauro.

For the Department of Labor, funding for employment and training services would be cut by $1.5 billion below the current level. The three state formula grants under Title I WIOA would be cut by $85.7 million overall. Despite recent efforts by the Administration to promote apprenticeships, the bill would also eliminate $95 million in funding for apprenticeship grants. The bill will now be considered by the full Appropriations Committee next week.

Creating a Learning and Earning Exchange

The nation needs a learning and earning exchange to guide individuals in making education and career decisions, advances a new report from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce.

Options for education and training are proliferating, as are the number of documented occupations—from 270 in 1950 to 840 in 2010—and we still know too little about which programs and credentials best set students on the path to success. With this in mind, authors Carnevale, Garcia and Gulish suggest integrating education and workforce data to improve education and training, place learners and workers onto career pathways, and meet employer needs.

The report breaks down this learning and earning exchange into five areas: statewide business recruitment, program alignment with labor market needs, curriculum alignment with workforce competencies, counseling and career pathways, and job placement and skills gap analysis.

It also provides examples of how states are taking on pieces of this challenge, including:

• Connecticut’s Training and Education Planning System to help college administrators consider labor market needs in program planning
• The Skills Outcome Analysis program from the Center for Employability Outcomes at Texas State Technical College, which helps colleges align curriculum with skills needed in industry
• A number of variations on online career information and exploration tools from Indiana, Virginia and Colorado, among others

Relatedly, ACTE is wrapping up its work to integrate state education and workforce data with data from industry certification providers, so that states can learn more about students who are earning industry certifications and whether they are benefiting from these industry credentials. Look for a final report on the project in September.

Policymaker Perspectives: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi

 

 

 

 

 

Policymaker Perspectives:
A Discussion with Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi

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 Raja Krishnamoorthi is serving his first term in Congress and represents Illinois’ Eighth Congressional District, located in the suburbs of Chicago. Congressman Krishnamoorthi  graduated from a public high school before earning a mechanical engineering degree from Princeton and a law degree from Harvard. He later returned to Illinois and took up public service in a variety of capacities, including as an Illinois Special Assistant Attorney General and Illinois Deputy Treasurer. Rep. Krishnamoorthi also served as the Vice-Chair of the Illinois Innovation Council and co-founded a non-profit that prepares inner-city students and veterans for careers in solar technology.

In Congress, Rep. Krishnamoorthi has quickly made a name for himself as a leader on workforce development and education issues. This year, he introduced H.R. 2353, the Perkins reauthorization bill that recently passed the House, with Representative Glenn Thompson (R-PA). He also co-founded the Middle Class Jobs Caucus, and is a member of the Congressional CTE Caucus, Manufacturing Caucus and Community College Caucus. Rep. Krishnamoorthi serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Rep. Krishnamoorthi and his wife, a physician, live in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg with their two sons and daughter.

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

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ACTE: After taking office earlier this year, workforce development issues quickly emerged as a top priority for you. For example, you are now a member of the CTE, Manufacturing and Community College caucuses. Why is CTE such an important issue for you and your constituents?

Representative Krishnamoorthi: I was elected to Congress to fight for working families by strengthening and expanding the middle class. Part of that, is helping the families that have already made it into the middle class stay there and the other part is expanding the opportunities Americans have so we can keep everyone on the up escalator of the economy. CTE is one of our best approaches to achieving both these goals because it provides so many Americans with the skills they need for good-paying, family-sustaining jobs. CTE already help millions of Americans and our bill will strengthen and modernize these programs so they can help millions more.

 

ACTE: President Trump recently released his FY18 budget, which outlined a 13 percent cut to the Department of Education and a 15 percent cut to Perkins Basic State Grants. Further, Secretary DeVos has shown an openness to cutting her agency, saying that she can “guarantee there are things the department has been doing that are probably not necessary or important for a federal agency to do.” Do you believe that the federal government and Department of Education play an important role in supporting career and technical education programs across the country?

Representative Krishnamoorthi: I believe the federal government and Department of Education play an essential role in supporting career and technical education programs across the country. While I have serious concerns with the President’s FY18 budget proposal, he seems to have shifted away from many of its proposed cuts and has also embraced the potential of career education. It’s essential we not only continue to support funding for Perkins grants but expand them, as our bill will. Considering his more recent comments on apprenticeships and career training, I’m hopeful the President will embrace our bipartisan legislation to help navigate it through the Senate and sign it into law.

 

ACTE: In the 2014-15 school year, Illinois served over 250,000 CTE high school students and over 160,000 CTE postsecondary students. You introduced a Perkins reauthorization bill that just passed the House. If enacted into law, how would H.R. 2353 strengthen the CTE ecosystem for students in Illinois’ Eighth Congressional District and beyond?

Representative Krishnamoorthi: Our bill will provide more resources for CTE programs through increasing funding for Perkins grants by 9 percent over 6 years, but this legislation also expands accountability and efforts to connect students with local employers. Perkins funding goes to both high schools and Community Colleges and under the previous law, school districts submitted a local plan to their state department of education. Under our updated bill, districts will submit a more detailed application that includes information on how their programs will train students in the skills they need for in-demand careers through building relationships with local businesses.

 

ACTE: Earlier this year you co-founded the Middle Class Jobs Caucus. What was the impetus for starting that caucus? How does your work on CTE issues overlap with the issues that the caucus addresses?

Representative Krishnamoorthi: I founded the Middle Class Jobs Caucus earlier this year with my Republican Co-Chair Congressman Mike Gallagher because middle-class jobs are at the heart of our country’s success and the success of working families. I’m afraid Congress loses sight of that too often and this caucus is about maintaining the focus we need on creating those jobs. Strengthening our career education programs and infrastructure are fundamental to creating middle-class jobs and both are central to the work our caucus does.

 

ACTE: Before your election to Congress, you co-founded InSPIRE, a non-profit that prepares students for careers in the growing field of solar technology. Renewable energy technologies are creating new jobs every day. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fastest-growing occupation is wind turbine service technicians, who earn a median salary of greater than $50,000 per year. What role does CTE play in the growing renewable energy field?

Representative Krishnamoorthi: Renewable energy’s been a focus of mine as a co-founder of InSPIRE and also as the former president of a green energy company. The environmental benefits of these technologies are enormous but their potential to create jobs and strengthen our economy is just as important. As our clean energy sector continues to grow and mature, CTE-trained workers will continue to be on the frontlines of making that technology work, improving it, and bringing it into more American homes.

House Committee Must Reject Trump Cuts to CTE

This week, the House Appropriations Committee will begin consideration of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 funding bill for education and workforce training. President Trump’s FY 2018 budget request to Congress, which outlines the Administration's spending priorities for the coming year, proposed a $168 million (15 percent) cut to the Perkins Basic State Grant!

Despite the calls from the White House to drastically cut funding for CTE, a bipartisan group of 140 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter in support of strong funding for Perkins. It’s an important time to reach out to your Representative and tell him or her to reject the Trump cuts to education and job training, and support increased funding for Perkins! It’s especially critical to take action if your Representative is one of the members of the committee listed below.

Take Action

• Use our online congressional directory to find your Representative.
• Contact your Representative using the CTE Action Center or by phone through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
• Tell him or her to reject the Trump cuts to education and job training.
• Ask you Representative to support increased funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant in the FY 2018 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill.

House Education Appropriations Subcommittee Members
Tom Cole (R-OK)	Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Mike Simpson (R-ID)	Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)
Steve Womack (R-AR)	Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN)	Mark Pocan (D-WI)
Andy Harris (R-MD)	Katherine Clark (D-MA)
Martha Roby (R-AL)	Nita M. Lowey (D-NY)
Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA)
John Moolenaar (R-MI)
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)

How Career Readiness Fared in the First ESSA State Plans

The guest piece below was written by representatives of Advance CTE.

By: Austin Estes and Kate Kreamer, Advance CTE

On December 10, 2015, the day he signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law, President Barack Obama praised the bill, saying “I’m proud to sign a law that’s going to make sure that every student is prepared to succeed in the 21st century.” ESSA did provide a much-needed upgrade to the nation’s largest K-12 education program, adopting measures to ensure all learners would be prepared for success. But now that the first 16 states and D.C. have submitted their ESSA plans for review, are they taking full advantage of the opportunities to prepare students for life after high school? After reading through each of the round 1 plans, Advance CTE and the Education Strategy Group found that, while more than half plan to adopt measures of career readiness in their accountability systems, many states missed an opportunity to fully leverage ESSA to advance a statewide vision of career readiness.

The primary area where career readiness shows up in round 1 ESSA plans is in state accountability systems. Under ESSA, state leaders have broad flexibility to identify the appropriate metrics and methodology to hold schools accountable for student success. Specifically, ESSA’s fifth indicator, a state-selected measure of “school quality or student success,” enables states to innovate in selecting a measure that best values their priorities. Among other measures, states were encouraged to examine advanced coursework and postsecondary success.

In total, 11 out of the first 17 submitted plans identified at least one measure of career readiness in their accountability systems. In Nevada, for example, the state plans to measure the number of students completing postsecondary pathway options such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or industry-aligned and state board-approved credentials. North Dakota, on the other hand, aims to track the number of students graduating “choice-ready,” or prepared for success in college, military or the workforce. The state’s career ready pathway identifies students who complete certain career preparation activities — including work-based learning, Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway completion and industry credential attainment — on top of core academic achievements.

Yet, when it came to other areas of the law, many states missed the opportunity to further a statewide vision for career readiness. Despite what they said in their goals and accountability systems, many state plans were light on details about how they would support local districts to advance career readiness. Only five states identified state-level activities under Title IV, Part A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants) to support career readiness, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and/or dual enrollment. These included Connecticut, which plans to provide technical assistance to districts building new CTE pathways and increasing work-based learning opportunities, and Nevada, which plans to braid funding across Title programs to help districts engage families and facilitate a deeper understanding of a well-rounded education, including enrollment in advanced coursework such as CTE. (Most states listed CTE and other strategies as a state support for well-rounded education, but fell short of describing how ESSA would be used to expand these strategies).

Needless to stay, there is still time to promote career readiness through implementation. In the spirit of flexibility, the U.S. Department of Education’s requirements for ESSA plan submissions were incredibly tolerant, allowing states to describe in loose terms how they planned to implement the law. While state plans were light on details, supporting career preparation was a major theme surfaced through many states’ stakeholder engagement. It is possible that state leaders will yet be responsive to this feedback and find ways to strengthen career readiness beyond accountability.

For the 34 states planning to submit their plans in September, now is the time to ensure career readiness is prioritized. ESSA was designed to create space and flexibility for states to advance their own needs and priorities. But if it is truly going to prepare all students for success in the 21st century, states must maximize every opportunity to connect ESSA to their statewide vision for career readiness.

* The opinions expressed in this piece are those of Advance CTE.

Education Department Delays Gainful Employment Disclosure Requirements

After announcing a few weeks ago that a new negotiated rulemaking panel was being formed to rewrite the gainful employment regs, the Department of Education is formally delaying some disclosure requirements under the current rule. Under “gainful employment,” all programs at for-profit colleges, plus certificate programs at public institutions like community colleges, have to report on metrics related to student debt, employment and earnings to the Department of Education and disclose key data points in program promotional materials. While programs will still have to complete the gainful employment disclosure template for their websites, programs will now have until July 2018 (instead of this summer) to include information in promotion materials and directly distribute it to prospective students. The deadline for appeals of earning data is also being extended.

The Administration characterizes this delay as part of their efforts to reducing burdensome regulations:

"Since their creation under the previous administration, Gainful Employment regulations have been repeatedly challenged by educational institutions and overturned by the courts, underscoring the need for a regulatory reset," said Secretary DeVos. "We need to get this right for our students, and we need to get this right for our institutions of higher education. Once fully implemented, the current rules would unfairly and arbitrarily limit students' ability to pursue certain types of higher education and career training programs. We need to expand, not limit, paths to higher education for students, while also continuing to hold accountable those institutions that do not serve students well."

However, critics of for-profit colleges in particular are concerned about the continued roll-back on regulations that seek to ensure program quality. Postsecondary CTE stakeholders—let us know what you think and how the gainful employment rules should be changed or maintained to both protect students and reduce the administrative burden on institutions!