On February 26, the House Committee on Education and Labor cleared its first education-related bill of the 116th Congress. H.R. 865, the Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2019, was reported out of the committee on a 26-20 party line vote. The bill, introduced by the committee's chairman, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), is co-sponsored by 166 House Democrats.
The bill authorizes more than $100 billion in grants and bonds to tackle physical and digital school infrastructure, and is seen by House Democratic leaders as just one piece of the broader infrastructure conversation. Democrats, highlighting how the bill would address the health and safety threats to millions of students and teachers posed by old schools in poor condition across the country, emphasize that it would also create nearly 2 million jobs, expand access to high-speed broadband and create a database on the condition of public school facilities. Conversely, Republicans claim the bill is too expensive and includes "onerous requirements."
The bill includes CTE under its list of allowable uses of funds. It specifies that "a local educational agency that receives covered funds may use such funds to… provide instructional program space improvements for programs relating to… career and technical education." The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, but we will continue to push for CTE and workforce development to be included in any infrastructure package that moves through Congress this year.
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