CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

CTE Programs Can Now Donate PPE for Coronavirus Response

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that CTE programs may donate or loan medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) in support of the fight against the coronavirus. Eligible recipients of these donations include public health agencies, private nonprofit hospitals, and other licensed health providers. The announcement comes after many CTE programs voiced a strong desire to donate masks, gloves, gowns, 3D printers, and other medical equipment, but were uncertain about the potential unintended consequences of donating items purchased with federal funds and how that could impact funding eligibility in the future. 

The Department's guidance states that grantees and subgrantees who donate equipment should maintain documentation of these donated/loaned items, and that such records should include (1) a description of the items, (2) the source and amount of the federal funding that purchased the items, (3) the receiving entity, and (4) the date of the donation/loan. These records must be maintained for at least three years.

ACTE heard from many of its members on this issue and worked to secure this guidance and provide more certainty to CTE programs that wanted to do their part to help. The full guidance on this topic from the Department can be found here.

ED Releases $6 Billion in Emergency Cash Grants for College Students Impacted by Coronavirus Outbreak

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released the allocations it will make to postsecondary institutions in order to distribute the approximately $14 billion in postsecondary funding provided under the CARES Act. You can visit this page to see how much each postsecondary institution will receive.

Secretary DeVos also announced that the portion of the funding allocated for direct student support will be distributed to postsecondary institutions immediately. The intent is to provide cash grants to students for expenses related to disruptions to their educations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. These expenses include things like course materials and technology as well as food, housing, health care, and childcare.

The formula used to create the allocations weighs the number of full-time students who are Pell-eligible, along with overall enrollment numbers. In order to access these initial funds, ED must receive a signed certification from the institution of higher education (IHE) affirming they will distribute the funds in accordance with applicable law. The IHE will then make the determination as to which students will receive the aid.

The remaining funds will be distributed in the next few weeks, and more guidance is coming on how institutions will be able to access and use the additional dollars. 

You can read the full press release on the announcement here.

CTE Distance Learning: Hands-on Learning at Home

We know that CTE educators are creative professionals, so it’s no wonder that many of you are getting creative to maintain student learning during school closures. In particular, CTE professionals are exploring how to continue hands-on learning when instructors can no longer demonstrate skills up close and students can no longer access campus facilities, equipment and technology that are difficult and sometimes impossible to replicate at home.

The following ideas have been shared by your fellow CTE educators through ACTE social media and our COVID-19 needs survey:

• Ask students to videotape, or take step-by-step photos, of themselves performing a task they can do at home, such as preparing a recipe, working in a garden, practicing knife skills on Play Doh or performing an injury evaluation
• Have students complete online training modules for industry certifications
• Ask students to complete a relevant online course from a legitimate training provider and send you a screenshot showing their proof of completion
• Use online simulators and exploratory sandboxes (these tools can be particularly relevant for health care, IT, business and marketing programs)
• Have students write self-reflections about how well they have performed tasks they can do at home or online
• Give quizzes through your district or institution’s learning management system (LMS)

Some of the more creative ideas shared combine multiple aspects of learning into one project. For instance, an instructor shared on the ACTE Facebook page that he is having students make a garden out of recyclable household materials. This project incorporates students writing out step-by-step instructions, developing a budget and recording their progress.

There are several concerns that CTE professionals are balancing as they try to encourage hands-on skill attainment at a distance:

• Do students have the resources at home to complete the project? Instructors are worried about students going to the grocery or hardware store to buy supplies. Some educators are looking at how they can prepare a kit of materials that could be delivered by school bus drivers, using disinfection protocols. Other districts are talking about whether they can safely have students come one at a time to campus to complete required lab hours.
• Can students perform an at-home project safely? Even if students are likely to have materials at home, such as cooking implements or basic hardware, instructors are concerned about student safety. According to Andrew Wermes, a CTE educator with decades of experience in safety training, now is a great time to ensure your students have completed OSHA 10-hour online training in their CTE program area and understand how to conduct a job hazard analysis. Check out his comment on this blog post for additional ideas and links to more resources about CTE safety training. 
• Is online video sharing secure and private? If you’re encouraging students to post video of their activities, it is best to do so through your LMS or through a private, shared drive or online classroom that has been vetted by your district or institution.

We will continue to share CTE distance learning ideas on this blog. Do you have a CTE distance learning idea to share with your colleagues? Post it on ACTE social media through April 15 and be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon gift card.

In addition, check out ACTE’s growing list of CTE distance learning resources and ACTE Division webinars on teaching CTE in a time of uncertainty. These live Zoom events will be recorded for later viewing.

Research Round-up: College and Career Readiness, Workforce Needs, Equity Principals for Developing CLNAs

While most of the attention in education policy and research of late has been related to the COVID-19 response, there have been a few new CTE-related publications recently and we are catching up on some of the research that has been published. These publications cover topics ranging from reducing recidivism rates by giving opportunities through education and training to young people, to a tool to help states learn from each other’s best practices to improve college and career readiness, and more!

Helping Former Incarcerated Young Adults Transition: Strategies for helping young adults who have formerly been incarcerated transition to being successful requires support and educational and career skills, according to From Surviving to Thriving: Supporting Transformation, Reentry and Connections to Employment for Young Adults from The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and FHI 360. Of the best practices that the report recommends, education, training and work experience are some of the tools for success that are needed to help young people enter into the workforce. The report’s authors also recommend creating lasting partnerships with employers so these young people are able to be hired once their training is completed. 

Collaboration Between States for College and Career Readiness: A new online tool from the Southern Regional Education Board has analyzed states’ approaches to ensure students are successful in college and careers. This tool compares different state policies on topics ranging from education and workforce alignment to accelerated learning opportunities and academic and career planning activities. These comparisons can be used to help states come up with their own college and career readiness policies based on the best practices of other states.

Addressing the Workforce Needs: In Making College Work for Students and the Economy: A State Policy Roadmap, Jobs for the Future (JFF) found three common challenges states are facing: states are data rich but information poor; states are focused on expanding access to postsecondary education when access is not the only thing that increases credential attainment and talent development; and states are not aligning systems for greatest impact. Based on these findings, JFF created recommendations on how to better address these shortcomings.

Higher Wage Opportunities for Workers with No Degree but Some Skills: The National Bureau of Economic Research found in their new working paper, Searching for STARs: Work Experience as a Job Market Signal for Workers without Bachelor's Degrees, that workers without a four-year degree have jobs that pay higher than the average median state wage. The researchers also found that about 5.2 million workers with some postsecondary education but less than four-year degrees are already in high-wage roles ($77,000 per year or higher), and this could indicate that workers without a four-year degree have opportunities to transition to a higher wage scale.

Equity Principles for Developing CLNAs: The National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) published Equity and the Perkins V CLNA which outlines three equity principles and guiding questions for LEAs to follow when creating their CNLAs. The first principle is developing an asset perspective to encourage leaders to view cultural differences as an asset to the workplace. The second principle is grounded action, which looks at where the hardships are for individuals instead of only relying on external research and contexts. The last principle is that systems are not neutral, so LEAs must disaggregate data to the program level to get an accurate picture of a complex system. 

New Infographic on Connecticut Technical High Schools: Male students in the Connecticut Technical High School System have higher high school graduation rates, improved wage earning potential, higher attendance rates in 9th grade and higher 10th grade test scores, a study from the Career and Technical Research Network reports. This infographic supplements the report that was released earlier this year. Read the full report here.

Discovering Potential Solutions for the Skills Gap in Hiring Decisions: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce commissioned a survey of 500 HR professionals with hiring authority in their organizations and found three key issues with candidates: lacking appropriate/necessary skills; lacking previous work experience; and low numbers of applicants. The top three solutions the professionals recommended to fix these gaps were greater skills initiatives, more CTE programs to build talent pipelines, and improvement in the alignment between skills and competencies taught in education/CTE programs and in-demand skills and competencies needed in the workplace. 

CTE Education in Michigan: Research on CTE education in Michigan suggested that there have been varying degrees of success in providing access and participation to all students. In their new report, the University of Michigan Youth Policy Lab says that female, Black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students are less likely to participate in CTE programs. However, students who attend the same high school were less likely to have these differences, suggesting that expanding access across schools will increase participation in CTE. The findings also showed about half of all Michigan high school students enroll in at least one CTE course, and through 2026, 500,000 skilled trade jobs will become available that align with many high-demand fields. 

New Book on the Evolution of CTE: Authors Howard Gordon and Deanna Shultz released the fifth edition of The History and Growth of Career and Technical Education In America. The book focuses on the history, philosophy, structure and evolution of CTE, as well as emerging trends relevant to the field.

Career Connected Learning for Education: NC3T released a new paper written by Hans Meeder and Brett Pawlowski that focuses on Career Connected Learning as a potential pathway for the education system in the future. In the paper, the authors describe how students, schools and communities can take steps to adopt a Career Connected Learning mindset.

ED Releases Additional FAQ’s Related to Education Grants During COVID-19

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a memo outlining answers to a series of critical questions related to the use of federal education grant funds (including, but not limited to, Perkins funds) during the COVID-19 pandemic. These questions deal with issues related to compensation, travel and conference costs that are otherwise allowable costs under applicable program statutes and regulations.

The first question dealt with whether or not a grantee or subgrantee (grant recipient) could continue to pay employees using grant funds during the period the employee is unable to work because of the closure of the organization due to COVID-19. ED acknowledged that organizations may still do so if the organization pays, consistent with its policies and procedures, similarly situated employees whose compensation is paid with non-Federal funds during an extended closure. However, an employee who is being paid with grant funds while the grant activities are closed due to the pandemic may not also receive pay from the organization or another organization for work on other activities that are not closed down. If a grant recipient doesn’t currently have a policy that addresses extraordinary circumstances currently in place, they may amend or create one to ensure staff can continue to be paid.

The second question dealt with the ability to use grant funds to reimburse nonrefundable travel for conferences, trainings, or other activities related to a grant that were cancelled due to COVID-19. ED acknowledged that a grant recipient may seek a reimbursement only after certain options are exhausted. First, the grant recipient must seek to recover the nonrefundable costs from the relevant entity that charged the fee (airline, hotel, conference organizer). ED mentions that some businesses are offering flexibility with regard to refunds, credits, etc. for losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, if the agreement or contract for conferences, training, or other contained an emergency or “act of God” provision, the grant recipient must seek to exercise that clause prior to becoming eligible to use grant funds for reimbursement. If a grant recipient is unable to recover the costs after exhausting the aforementioned options, they are able to charge the cancellation costs to the appropriate grant, assuming the costs were both reasonable and were incurred in order to carry out an allowable activity under the grant.

ED also stated that those seeking reimbursements should not assume additional funds will be available if the cancellation or other fees result in a shortage of funds to eventually carry out the event or travel. Further, recipients must “maintain appropriate records and cost documentation.”

The final question dealt with future travel for events, and if funds under a grant could be used to purchase travel insurance. ED makes it clear in the beginning that grant-supported travel should generally not be occurring right now due to health concerns related to COVID-19. But, they go on to say that if travel is being permitted by Federal, State, and local directives and “is the only means to carry out an essential grant function that must be undertaken on a time-sensitive basis during the pandemic,” than then purchasing travel insurance is allowable provided the cost is reasonable and is allocable to the grant consistent with Federal cost principles.

This is already the second set of FAQ’s covered on the CTE Policy Watch Blog, with the first dealing with series of critical questions facing CTE leaders during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Department acknowledged that there are more questions that will need to be answered as we progress. They will continue to add additional questions and answers as they become available, so please continue to check back on the CTE Policy Watch Blog for any new updates!

Sec. DeVos Touts ED’s Proposed Distance Learning Rules

Last week, Secretary DeVos announced proposed rules on distance learning in higher education. The proposed rules were the result of a negotiated rulemaking last year. In a statement, Sec. DeVos touted the Department of Education’s work on the proposed rules, saying the COVID-19 pandemic highlights why they are important. The Secretary claimed the rules “develop a new set of standards that are responsive to current realities, that embrace new technology, that open doors for much-needed innovation in higher education, and that expand access for students to the flexible, relevant education opportunities they need.”

The proposed rules cover a number of areas, including deemphasizing seat time, clarifying what may constitute interaction between students and instructors, simplifying how to determine equivalent credit hours for certain programs, ensuring incarcerated students remain Pell eligible, incentivizing employer participation in program development and requiring prompter action by ED on institutional applications to participate in HEA Title IV.

You can read ED’s press release on the subject here, or the full notice of proposed rulemaking here. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on April 2, and comments are due by May 4.

ED Releases FAQ’s Related to Perkins and COVID-19

On Tuesday evening, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) released a memo outlining answers to a series of critical questions facing CTE leaders during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The first question dealt with whether OCTAE will extend the deadline for States to submit their Perkins V State Plans, which are currently due April 15, 2020. OCTAE acknowledges the various unique difficulties that states may have in submitting their plans on time and are extending the deadline. If a state is able to get their plan submitted by June 15, 2020, OCTAE expects to review and approve the plan by June 30, 2020. If approved, the state will receive the first installment of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Perkins funds on schedule on July 1, 2020.

If a state is unable to submit their plan by June 15, 2020, OCTAE is able to extend the duration of the state’s one-year transition plan by three months, through September 30, 2020. For these states, OCTAE will issue the first installment of FY 2020 Perkins funds on schedule on July 1, 2020, under the condition that the State will submit its full Perkins V State Plan by September 15, 2020. This will allow states to continuously administer their Perkins V grants without interruption. While most states will likely be able to submit their plans on time, this is important flexibility for those that need a bit more time.

The second question dealt with whether States are able to award sub-grants to local recipients prior to fully approving their local application for funds. The answer to this question is “yes”! States are able to authorize a local recipient applying for a sub-grant to obligate funds when the local recipient submits its application to the State in “substantially approvable form.” States have the authority to define this term, so have flexibility in which requirements of the local application have to be met in order to release funds to locals.

The final question addressed whether States are able to provide local recipients additional time to complete their local applications. Again, the answer is “yes”! If local recipients are unable to submit a “substantially approvable” application by the State’s due date for local applications, OCTAE is using its transition authority under section 4 of Perkins V to enable States to extend the duration of the local recipient’s one-year local application from the transition year by three months, through the end of September. States may still issue the FY 2020 grant award to these recipients on time on July 1 to ensure seamless delivery of services.

The Department acknowledged that there are more questions that will need to be answered as we progress. They will continue to add additional questions and answers as they become available, so please continue to check back on the CTE Policy Watch Blog for any new updates!