On Thursday, the Trump Administration announced a proposal for a massive overhaul of executive agencies, one it billed as the largest since President Roosevelt's "New Deal" in the 1930s. The plan would include merging the Departments of Education and Labor into a new Department of Education and the Workforce (DEW). In doing so, the proposal claims to streamline federal workforce development programs, reducing the number of programs by more than 60 percent.
According to the plan, DEW would be organized into four sub-agencies: K-12; American Workforce and Higher Education Administration (AWHEA); Enforcement; and Research, Evaluation, and Administration. CTE would fall squarely within AWHEA, even though it clearly encompasses K-12 as well. Within AWHEA, there would be various "components" that would each be led by an official appointed by the president. Two of these components are "Adult Workforce Development" and "Youth Workforce Development." According to the document, the Adult Workforce Development component would focus on consolidating funding programs to serve adult populations, and the Youth Workforce Development component would include both in- and out-of-school assistance for students and "create stronger pathways to postsecondary paths and employment." Additionally, AWHEA would include a federally-administered "Apprenticeship and Impact Fund."
Thus far, reaction from policymakers has been mixed, primarily along party lines. Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce has expressed optimism about the proposal, while Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) has thrown cold water on it. Similarly, while Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee was more reserved than his House counterpart, he too expressed a willingness to explore the plan. Conversely, HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) called it "unrealistic, unhelpful, and futile."
The proposal still lacks many details. For instance, Perkins is not mentioned in the document. ACTE is reserving final judgment until more details emerge and we are able to comprehensively evaluate the proposal. However, we remain skeptical that the CTE community would benefit from a proposal that isolates CTE from K-12 considering how many learners participate in secondary CTE. Additionally, having an undersecretary solely devoted to CTE, as is the case with the current Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) within the Department of Education, is important given the unique role CTE plays across secondary and postsecondary education, and the workforce development system. We will continue to monitor developments, and continue to post updates to the CTE Policy Watch Blog. It is important to note that these changes would have to be approved by Congress, which already has a very full schedule leading up to the mid-term elections.
The flowchart below, which comes from the report, illustrates the organization of the new department. The full plan can be found here.
