On Tuesday, December 12, the House Education and the Workforce Committee amended and approved on a party-line vote the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act (H.R. 4508). As we previously reported, this measure is the House Republican proposal to reauthorize federal higher education policy. There are a number of proposed changes to the existing higher education law that would impact postsecondary CTE, but ACTE is concerned that the bill does not adequately address issues of access and quality that are critical to ensuring all students are truly prepared for success in the 21st century economy. You can read our response to the PROSPER Act here.
The bill proposes a single definition for an institution of higher education that includes community colleges, postsecondary vocational institutions and area technical schools alongside four-year colleges and universities. However, the new definition also encompasses for-profit colleges—a change that would allow proprietary schools to access federal funds and programs that were previously unavailable to those institutions.
The PROSPER Act would allow students to use financial aid for programs under 600 clock hours in length, which is a step in the right direction toward providing greater access for students to short-term education and training. ACTE has endorsed the bipartisan Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act, which would expand Pell Grant eligibility to students enrolled in short-term education programs that lead to a recognized postsecondary credential and are least 150 clock hours of instruction time over a period of 8 weeks. The JOBS Act would also ensure that programs are providing real value to students through quality control provisions, such as those embedded in career pathways.
There are other potential changes to the federal student aid programs that merit further thought and refinement. It is unclear how the proposal to replace the existing institutional cohort default rate with a new measure that would tie financial aid program eligibility to student loan repayment rates would be operationalized by smaller CTE programs with very few student borrowers. Moreover, ACTE is concerned that the overall focus in the PROSPER Act on consolidating the existing financial aid programs into a “one grant, one loan, and one work-study” system will result in less funding for student aid, and fewer resources for student borrowers.
The most concerning piece of the PROSPER Act is the plan to eliminate programs supporting teacher education and development. To address the nationwide shortage of CTE teachers, ACTE has endorsed the bipartisan Technical Education and Career Help Act, which would permit partnerships between school districts and postsecondary institutions to access funding for the development of CTE teacher preparation programs. The PROSPER Act would eliminate all funding for teacher prep, as well as TEACH Grants and public service loan forgiveness programs that benefit educators.
During the markup hearing, the committee considered over 60 amendments to the PROSPER Act on issues like apprenticeships, free community college, competency-based education and student-level data systems. A full list of those amendments is available here.
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