CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Address CTE Teacher Shortage

Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) recently introduced the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act, S. 2737. The bill establishes a grant program to stem the CTE teacher shortage plaguing programs all across the country. The bill, intended to encourage and support prospective educators, would add a new section related to CTE teachers under the Higher Education Act's partnership grants. The full bill can be found here.

Upon introduction of the bill, a press release noted the bill aims to encourage "mid-career professionals in related technical fields, recent college graduates, veterans or currently licensed teachers with a desire to transition to a CTE focus."

ACTE member Toinette Outland, a CTE instructional supervisor for Newport News Public Schools, was quoted in the press release in support of the bill:

“The American economy relies on a skilled workforce, and career and technical education is the important link helping students succeed in the classroom and in their careers. Today we see critical shortages in the CTE educator workforce that threaten students' access to high-quality CTE. The Creating Quality Technical Educators Act will help fuel the CTE educator pipeline, creating positive benefits for both students and the economy.”

In introducing the bill, Sen. Kaine cited the bill as "a big step forward in equipping the next generation with the skills they need to succeed." Sen. Portman highlighted the critical role CTE educators play in expanding high-quality programs and ensuring students and parents are aware of the opportunities CTE provides. Sen. Baldwin cited her own experience meeting with students and businesses in her home state of Wisconsin as evidence that CTE prepares students for the "high-skilled jobs of today and tomorrow." Sen. Capito added that CTE educators are essential to students' academic and career success, and are therefore essential to America's "economic growth and development."

Senators Kaine, Portman, and Baldwin are all co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus. Senator Capito is a caucus member. All four senators introduced a similar bill in the 114th Congress. ACTE endorses S. 2737 as an innovative way to expand access to high-quality CTE to all students and to help meet the demand for CTE educators. ACTE also endorsed the similar bill in 2015.

Friedemann Testifies at Workforce Funding Hearing

This week, Dr. Tom Friedemann, superintendent and CEO of Francis Tuttle Technology Center (an ACTE Educational Institution Member) in Oklahoma City, OK, testified before the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee at a hearing that focused on the role of federal funding in supporting the workforce pipeline. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over funding for education and workforce training, and Dr. Friedemann’s testimony comes at a critical time in the federal budget cycle. In addition to Friedemann, the appropriators heard from a panel of expert witnesses that included other educators and representatives of the employer community.  

During the hearing, Friedemann discussed the importance of Perkins funding in supporting secondary and postsecondary students at Francis Tuttle. Specifically, he noted that Francis Tuttle utilizes Perkins dollars to provide career counselors and specialists in local high schools and at partner postsecondary institutions. He also highlighted the Women in Technology initiative, which helps to prepare female students for high-demand careers in non-traditional fields. “A greater federal investment in CTE will support these efforts,” said Friedemann. “Additional resources for Perkins can help to strengthen employer partnerships, provide educator professional development, ensure the latest technology and equipment in the classroom, and promote work-based learning opportunities.” You can view the full hearing here.

   

25 Organizations Write to Oppose OCTAE Consolidation

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)

ED Announces 2018 Perkins State Allocations

As we reported in March, Congress approved an omnibus appropriations bill to fund federal programs for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. The funding bill included a $75 million increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant! The U.S. Department of Education has released estimated state allocations based on the increased FY 2018 funding for Perkins. All 50 states and the U.S. territories receive both current year funding through an allocation that is made available on July 1, as well as advance funding that is released on October 1. The estimated FY 2018 state allocations table is available here.

ACTE Participates in CTE Caucus Briefing on Veterans

Last week, ACTE participated in a Senate CTE Caucus briefing on how CTE provides opportunities for veterans to obtain credentials and new workforce skills. The panelists also discussed postsecondary CTE delivery systems for veterans, and challenges that veterans may face as they enter the civilian workforce. ACTE's Deputy Executive Director Steve DeWitt moderated the panel discussion. The other panelists included

• Davy Leghorn, The American Legion
• Ashely Moore, National Career Development Association
• Herman Odom, University of the District of Columbia Community College
• Jennifer Wilkerson, NCCER

The panelists also spoke about the Troop Talent Act, a bill Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced in 2013 that was incorporated into the 2014 defense bill. The Act makes it easier for veterans to earn credentials for the skills they gain through their military service. Also mentioned on the panel was the critical role that guidance counselors and career development professionals play in both informing students about careers in the military and in helping veterans transition to civilian employment. The panel also raised challenges that CTE programs face in marketing themselves to veterans, and the importance of ensuring veterans have access to meaningful information about their post-service educational options.

Senator Todd Young (R-IN), a co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus, attended the briefing. He made some remarks about the importance of "harness[ing] the potential of our veterans to improve their lives and their families' lives, while at the same time investing in the needs of our workforce." The briefing, and the Senator's remarks, were covered in a blurb on the website of an Indiana radio show.

ACTE looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Senate CTE Caucus to raise CTE's profile in Congress and to promote all it has to offer.

Bipartisan Senate Bills Merge Job Training and Addiction Recovery

Earlier this month, Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Todd Young (R-IN) and Doug Jones (D-AL) introduced the Jobs Plus Recovery Act (S. 2642). The bill, a first-of-its-kind pilot program, allows WIOA-funded training programs to provide support services to people challenged by substance use disorders and integrates addiction treatment and recovery with workforce training. The bill also aims to support individuals in work-based learning by providing pre-employment, early employment and continuing employment services. Senators Kaine and Young are co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, and Sen. Jones is a member of the caucus

In a press release, Sen. Kaine pitched the bill by highlighting workforce training as an important way to invest in the community to combat the opioid epidemic. Similarly, Sen. Jones asserted job training to be an integral part of supporting individuals throughout their recovery. Sen. Young told a story about an individual in Indiana who beat addiction and continues to be a successful employee at a manufacturing firm.

ACTE has endorsed the Jobs Plus Recovery Act as an innovative approach to support student success and ensure program participants are equipped with the services they need to succeed in the workforce.

Less than a week after the introduction of the Jobs Plus Recovery Act, Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced a full, comprehensive bill to address the opioid crisis that incorporates some of the elements of the Jobs Plus Recovery Act. The bipartisan bill, the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 (S. 2680), is co-sponsored by Sens. Kaine and Jones, along with another Senate CTE Caucus co-chair, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). The bill would make regulatory changes impacting drug manufacturers, boost opioid grants for states facing the most severe epidemics, and improve treatment options and access to them. There are also several provisions related to CTE.

The Alexander-Murray opioid bill would provide grants to address the economic and workforce impacts of the opioid crisis, using WIOA as the infrastructure through which training and employment services would be offered to individuals challenged by the opioid epidemic. That training would include, among other things, using the career pathways framework to lead individuals to "high-demand, high-wage jobs." To improve job retention rates during the first few months of employment, the bill specifies that services may include "a continuation of skills training and career and technical education." Additionally, the bill includes grants to establish or operate "comprehensive opioid recovery centers" that would serve as resources, providing "job training, job placement assistance, and continuing education assistance to support reintegration into the workforce." The bill also provides loan forgiveness to "masters level, licensed substance use disorder treatment counselors."

In addition to the full text of the bill, a summary can be found here. The HELP Committee held a hearing on the bill earlier this month and is expected to mark it up soon.

Conscientiousness Helps CTE Students Succeed

CTE students exhibit key non-cognitive skills that lead to positive education and labor market outcomes, according to a new report from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

AEI researchers Collin Hitt and Albert Cheng begin their analysis with a synthesis of CTE research showing that, on average, high school students who take more CTE courses have lower test scores in math and reading, but have positive outcomes when it comes to high school graduation, employment and earnings.

Given these lower test scores, what propels CTE students to labor market success? What skills and abilities do CTE students have that is not captured by these tests? Hitt and Cheng analyzed several measures of non-cognitive skills related to conscientiousness and found that CTE students performed higher on these measures than their non-CTE peers. These measures include teacher reports of attendance, attentiveness in class and homework completion as well as how much effort students put into completing tasks. (The researchers previously demonstrated that students and adults who take more care in accurately and completely filling out forms are more likely to achieve better education and labor market outcomes).

This research adds to a growing body of information on the connection between CTE and cross-cutting skills that lead to success in the workplace and further education.

Perkins Funding Letter Receives Big Support in Senate

ACTE applauds the 38 Senators who are working to champion federal funding for CTE! In a recent letter, this broad coalition of CTE supporters on Capitol Hill called for a big increase for Perkins as part of the Fiscal Year 2019 funding bill. This great boost for CTE in the Senate comes on the heels of the record-breaking support that a similar Perkins funding letter received in the House of Representatives last month. Indeed, more Senators signed this letter than did in FY 2018! We again extend our appreciation to Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) for leading this effort. A complete list of the Members of Congress who signed the letter is available here.

New Data on CTE Delivery Across the Nation

New information on how CTE is offered in public school districts was released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). According to the data, which was collected in spring 2017, 98 percent of public school districts provided CTE programming to high school students in the 2016-2017 school year

Public school districts described a diverse delivery system for CTE: 83 percent of districts offer CTE in comprehensive high schools; 43 percent offer CTE at part-time area career centers; 35 percent provide CTE for high schoolers on postsecondary campuses; and 12 percent offer CTE at full-time CTE high schools. About one-third of districts reported that all of their CTE programs align with postsecondary programs, and another one-third reported that most of their programs align with postsecondary.

Many school districts offer students in CTE programs the opportunity to earn college credit (73 percent) and academic credit (61 percent). While 77 percent of districts provide on-the-job training, internships, practicums, clinical experiences or cooperative education, only 20 percent of districts reported that all or most of their CTE programs require work-based learning.

Finally, districts reported that the most significant barriers to offering CTE programs are funding (50 percent of districts); recruiting and retaining teachers in high-demand fields (44 percent); and facility limitations (43 percent). When it comes to barriers to student participation, 25 percent of districts reported scheduling restrictions; 23 percent reported difficulty finding work-based learning opportunities; and 20 percent reported issues with transportation for work-based learning.

This report contributes to a growing body of data on CTE and career readiness, including recent NCES data on non-degree credentials and new nationwide Perkins performance data from the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education. Check out the full report at https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2018028.

Growing Focus on Work Requirements

In state legislatures and across the executive and legislative branches of the federal government, policymakers are exploring and imposing new work requirements on public assistance programs. While work requirements already exist in some programs, like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), they would be new in others.

“Work requirements” condition public assistance on individuals' working, actively seeking work, or participating in some type of job training or other allowable activity. There are exceptions usually built in to these requirements to exempt individuals who are sick, have a disability or are elderly. However, opponents to these requirements contend that the exemptions do not adequately reflect legitimate reasons individuals may not be employed.

In January, the Trump Administration, for the first time in the program's history, allowed states to impose work requirements on their Medicaid recipients. Medicaid provides health care coverage to low-income individuals and people with disabilities. Consequently many states have either imposed the requirements or are exploring doing so.

In addition to work requirements as they relate to Medicaid, President Trump issued an executive order earlier this month directing federal agencies to review their work requirement policies and to develop recommendations. These could include expanding work requirements to other programs.

In legislative branch activity, House Republicans recently introduced their 2018 Farm Bill, which includes making major reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as "food stamps." The bill imposes work requirements on SNAP recipients, which can be satisfied with at least 20 hours of workforce training per week to maintain public assistance. While the bill would provide an additional $1 billion annually for these workforce programs, it falls far short of the estimated $15 billion it would take to fully fund what would be a drastic increase in workforce development participants.

Work requirements impact the CTE community because the requirement can often be satisfied through job training activities. The goal is to encourage individuals to increase their earning potential by pursuing career-focused education, which would theoretically lead to a smaller population of people eligible for public assistance, thereby reducing government expenditures. However, as structured, job training requirements sometimes limit economic opportunities. For example, TANF limits CTE programs to only counting as a work activity for 12 months, thereby making it exceedingly difficult and infeasible for participants to earn longer-term credentials like associate degrees that are more highly correlated with upward economic mobility.

ACTE believes any changes to current law that would result in increased enrollment in job training programs should be met with the financial resources necessary to serve these new populations. Additionally, eligibility to qualify for public assistance programs through any new or existing work requirements should allow for workforce training of at least 24 months so that participants are allotted sufficient time and flexibility to earn meaningful credentials that could actually increase participants' earning potentials and catalyze upward economic mobility.

ACTE is interested in learning more about how new work requirements across public assistance programs could impact your CTE program. To share your thoughts, comment below or email us at [email protected].