President Proposes Large Increase for Perkins CTE in FY 2021 Budget Request

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 federal budget and appropriations process finally kicked off today with the release of the president’s budget request to Congress. The president’s budget proposal is not binding, but is a reflection of the Administration’s priorities for the year and can serve to inform congressional negotiations over spending decisions and new policy proposals.

In exciting news for CTE, the budget proposal included nearly $900 million in additional funding directed to career and technical education (CTE). This is composed of a $680 million increase (53%) for Perkins Basic State Grants, approximately $83 million increase (1112.8%) for Perkins National Programs (with a focus on competitive grants for innovation and modernization of programs), and over $100 million in additional funds that could be generated for Perkins through changes to the H-1B visa program. 

However, overall, both the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Labor (DOL) received glaring proposed cuts in their budget. The president’s ED budget came in 7.8% lower than the enacted FY 2020 level, while the DOL budget came in 10.7% lower. 

The ED budget proposes:

• Level funding for adult education programs 
• Significant cuts to Federal work-study programs, with a new funding level of $500 million (a 57.6% cut)
• The elimination of 11 programs, including State Longitudinal Data Systems, Gear Up, and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education 
• A $100 million increase for IDEA (0.73%)
• The combination of programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into a block grant with an overall cut of $4.673 billion (18%)
• Expanding Pell grants to short-term programs and incarcerated students

The DOL budget proposes:

• $855 million for WIOA Adult Employment and Training Activities, equal to the FY 20 enacted level
• $913 million for WIOA Youth Activities, equal to the FY 20 enacted level
• $1.213 billion for WIOA Dislocated worker programs, a cut of $110 million from FY 20 
• $200 million to expand both registered and industry-recognized apprenticeship opportunities
• Appropriations language changes to grant automatic WIOA training provider eligibility to institutions of higher education that already qualify as eligible to participate in Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs
• The elimination of several programs, including those targeting seniors, farmworks, and Native Americans.

You can read ACTE’s response to the budget here. We will be releasing additional analysis of other specific proposals soon, and in the meantime, you can also access additional budget materials on the Department of Education’s website at https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget21/index.html and the Department of Labor’s website at https://www.dol.gov/general/budget. 

What’s Next?

This budget request signals a large shift toward prioritizing CTE for the current Administration, and shows that our collective advocacy work is beginning to pay off. However, keep in mind the historic treatment of Presidents’ requests in Congress and our current budgetary environment. Most Presidents' budget requests are routinely ignored by Congress, for a variety of reasons, so the job is far from done. Further, the two-year budget deal that was signed into law last year provided only a small increase in Non-Defense Discretionary (NDD) funding for FY 2021 (which includes the Departments of Education and Labor). This will make it difficult for Congress to give any NDD program a significant increase. Within this context, we will need to continue to fight hard, be vocal and press for CTE this appropriations season! 

The next step will be for Members of Congress to begin discussing their FY 2020 appropriations bills and committees will begin to hold hearings where they host department and agency heads advocating on behalf of the President’s budget request. After this, the Appropriations Subcommittees will begin to write their prospective funding bills. Then they go through the normal legislative process, until they are ultimately signed into law by the president. At each step of the way, we will provide opportunities for you to engage your policymakers on the critical importance of increased funding for CTE.

Comments

[Sharon]

We should align the key Family & Consumer Sciences adulting skills with all CTE core competencies and Perkins V funding. These skills essential for all careers and job holders and avert many problems for young consumers if they are taught and achieved prior to secondary graduation. The outcomes for managing money, decreasing food insecurity with food preparation and management skills, understanding of early child development care and needs, and the strong interpersonal and team skills highly sought be industry are all key adulting skills FCS is prepared to teach as a core part of CTE.