Last week, ACTE and Advance CTE circulated a sign-on letter for organizations to oppose the Department of Education's (ED) proposed consolidation of the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) into a new Office of Postsecondary and Lifelong Learning. ACTE has previously reported on the proposed consolidation.
The letter was sent to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees; Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee; and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The contents of the letters sent to each committee were identical; as an example, the one sent to the House Appropriations Committee can be found here. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was cc'ed on the letters. The letters outlined the groups' collective concern that CTE requires a dedicated office and leader to thrive.
The organizational sign-on letters come after ED itself acknowledged that the consolidation would require congressional authorization. Last month, Representatives Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn Thompson (R-PA) wrote a joint letter to Sec. DeVos concerned about reports on the consolidation. The Department's acknowledgement came in response to that letter.
ACTE firmly believes that OCTAE should remain as a standalone office, and we oppose any efforts to consolidate it. ACTE staff recently met with ED staff and we will continue to work closely with congressional leaders to thwart OCTAE's consolidation.
The following groups, organized alphabetically, signed on to the letter:
AASA, The School Superintendents Association
Advance CTE
AESA
Alliance for Excellent Education
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Federation of Teachers
Association for Career and Technical Education
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE)
National Association for College Admission Counseling
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
National Coalition for Literacy
National Council for Workforce Education
National Education Association
National Immigration Forum
National Rural Education Association
National School Boards Association
National Skills Coalition
SkillsUSA
Society of Women Engineers
The Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP)
UnidosUS
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
World Education Services (WES)
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