This week, there was quite a bit of news on the federal education policy front with the Senate back in session. The House is scheduled to return on June 24, but committee meetings and pro forma sessions continue. Both chambers are working toward legislation related to police reform but have yet to come to a consensus. We will continue to provide updates on any related bills impacting education or workforce development as the process continues. Here is the news!
- Fourth Wave of CTE State Plans Approved: The Department of Education (ED) has approved six additional CTE state plans! The plans that were approved are: Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, New York, South Carolina and Utah. More information on their plans can be found on the ED’s website.
- FY21 Appropriations Schedule Released: The House Appropriations Committee announced on Friday that its Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill is scheduled to be marked up in subcommittee on July 7, at 5pm. At the same time, however, the Senate Appropriations Committee is delaying the start of markups for its FY 2021 bills over partisan disagreements on police reform and COVID-19 spending. Senate Democrats believe that this year’s funding bills should include COVID-19 relief funding and increased funding for programs that promote social justice. Republicans argue this breaches a previous agreement and consider these provisions "poison pills," so it is unclear how the process will move forward.
- Republicans Release Broadband Connectivity and Digital Equity Framework: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, released principles for a legislative framework to expand broadband access and digital opportunity and close the digital divide. Their hope is that this legislation will serve as a foundation for future legislative efforts related to the COVID-19 economic recovery. Read more.
- House Education Committee Member Briefing: On Thursday, the House Education and Labor Committee Democrats hosted a member briefing focused on their $15.6 billion workforce investment bill, H.R. 6646, the Relaunching America's Workforce Act. During the briefing, Members discussed how Congress can help workers sharpen their skills and quickly reenter the workforce in the face of the current economic decline. Watch here.
- Child Care is Infrastructure Act Introduced in the House: Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) introduced the Child Care is Infrastructure Act that would allocate $10 billion over five years for child care infrastructure, and an additional $35 million for early childhood education and workforce development to fund a student repayment program and grants for students pursuing individuals pursuing a Childhood Development Associate (CDA) Credential or an associate’s degree.
- Supreme Court Blocks Administration from Ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA): On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that DACA, which protects deportation and provides work authorization for undocumented immigrants that came here as children, and affects a large number of college students nationally, cannot be ended immediately.
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