Administration Leaders Propose OCTAE Consolidation

Building on themes raised in the President’s FY 19 budget request, Department of Education leaders recently announced plans to restructure the agency at an internal meeting. Much of the reorganization is in response to an Executive Order in 2017 calling for reorganization plans, and a follow-up order directing agencies to reduce staffing.

It is being widely reported (EdWeek, Inside Higher Education, Washington Post) that one of the Secretary’s many proposed changes is to merge the current Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education with the Office of Postsecondary Education in a new “Office of Postsecondary and Lifelong Learning.” Such a merger would eliminate the Assistant Secretary position for CTE and significantly reduce the visibility of CTE within the Department of Education.

ACTE is very concerned about the impact of the reorganization proposal and is reaching out to both Administration and congressional leaders. The department has suggested that some of their proposals will require congressional approval, while others can be accomplished internally. The Department of Education Organization Act, originally passed as Public Law 96-88 in 1979, and last amended in 2015 by Public Law 114-95, establishes key components of the department. This Act explicitly states that there “shall be in the Department an Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education” and requires an Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

It appears that based on this Act, the merger of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education into a larger postsecondary office would be one of the changes that would require congressional approval, but there may be interim changes or ways the department can address their goals outside of the legislative process.

We will gathering additional information as more details emerge and alerting you to opportunities to weigh in on this important issue!

Comments

[Peggy Strong]

In Chicago when CTE programs were combined with core education. These programs were eliminated programs such as Drafting CAD which had a job component, Drafting which taught computer repair. We had wonderful programs where kids were taught real skills, and went to work. So now kids look for guns, and steal cars and ride two blocks away. Why? Lack of knowledge by untrained Administrator looking at programs numbers and not going to visit to know their programs. So, why get rid of CTE classes when every classroom should be CTE and kids learn workforce skills, because they surely learn to read, write and understand Math, in Lab classes. Otherwise if you, and your politics do not do things different. We are going to have an America, no trades men, no mechanics, plumbers,etc. Yes continue on! Just send your problems for repairs overseas. ( Cars, toilets and roofs to homes. ) The kids have no hope. Can't you see this or do you care........

[Steve Foster]

I see CTE growing in the community, state, and nation. It's one of the best programs in existence for the handshake between America's youth, education, and industry. This is not the time to be downsizing anything within this domain. I am a business instructor and this makes zero common sense business wise.

As far as cutting monies from programs I am sure there are plenty of programs that show a whole lot less growth or none at all that Washington could suck from. Don't hurt business, industry or the students.

[Harriet Hollis]

As the world moves to a more hands-on model and as students continue to prove and remind us, there is no "one size fits all" in education. Students learn when we as educators combine book knowledge with real-world experiences. We must continuously connect the dots for our future leaders so they can realize how the transferable skills they are learning will benefit them in life. CTE offers learners who may or may not be college-bound experiential experiences that will shape their careers. Businesses are finally buying into the fact that they have an opportunity to shape and create their workforce and teach them the specific skills needed for their trade. Industry and Businesses are key driving forces that support CTE. The partnerships that CTE educators and local community business and industry leaders forge can continuously be built upon to promote and strengthen CTE programs Nationally and to stimulate local economic development.

[Wade Kenneth Talley]

In a perfect world, every high school and college course sequence and area of study would be clearly linked to postgraduate employment with career potential. Schools and college departments would be “graded” by graduate employment success rates. In that perfect world there would be no need for a separate Office for Career and Technical Education. But we know from experience that core-content teachers and professors do not teach their subjects with a career focus. Academic focus remains on graduation and college because that is what is measured to determine school success. We teach as if graduates can make a living wage as a more advanced student. It’s like we are “kicking the can down the road” concerning employability skills, expecting someone else to teach them, or for the student to learn them on their own.