This week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos appeared before the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee to defend President Trump’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request for education. As we reported in February, the president’s budget request proposes to level-fund the Perkins Basic State Grant at the FY 2017 enacted level ($1.118 billion). DeVos testified before the committee just days before Congress voted to increase Perkins funding by $75 million above the FY 2017 level as part of the current year funding bill.
During the hearing, DeVos touched on a number of non-funding issues related to CTE. She noted that the Administration has suggested expanding Pell Grant eligibility to short-term training programs. This idea already has bipartisan support through the JOBS Act, which ACTE has endorsed. DeVos highlighted the work of the Administration’s Task Force on Apprenticeship (she serves as the vice chair of the task force), as well as a controversial proposal to promote the development of industry-recognized apprenticeships. Finally, she expressed her desire to provide school districts with the flexibility to use Perkins state grant funding for career exploration activities in middle grades.
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