Last month, ACTE participated in a Senate CTE Caucus briefing on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The HEA supports postsecondary students and institutions nationwide, including two- and four-year degree granting programs, as well as those that culminate in a certificate or other non-degree credential. The law includes major components on student financial assistance, teacher preparation and institutional accreditation.
After the House Education and Workforce Committee passed an HEA reauthorization bill at the end of last year, more congressional action is expected in the coming months. The briefing focused on how a reauthorization of HEA can be used to better reflect the nature of today's postsecondary CTE landscape.
The panel was moderated by Kimberly Green, executive director of Advance CTE: State Leaders Connecting Learning to Work. The panelists included ACTE's legislative and regulatory affairs manager, Mitch Coppes; Northern Virginia Community College's vice president of workforce development, Steven Partridge; and the STEM Education Coalition's executive director, James Brown. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a founding co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus, also stopped by the briefing to make remarks.
Panelists discussed how community and technical colleges, along with other subbaccalaureate programs, are preparing learners for today's in-demand jobs. The panel also highlighted pending legislation that could be incorporated as part of an HEA reauthorization, including the JOBS Act, which expands Pell Grant eligibility to shorter term programs while imposing safeguards to ensure quality. Other topics, like career exploration, guidance and advisement, teacher preparation and professional development, the connection between postsecondary education and the workforce, and competency-based education were also mentioned.
ACTE's reauthorization priorities for the HEA can be found here. You can keep up with the latest HEA-related news through the CTE Policy Watch Blog here.
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