The ongoing global pandemic has impacted our lives in countless ways, including career and technical education. ACTE has been closely monitoring federal policy updates related to the coronavirus and how they might impacted CTE programs. You can find a complete list of CTE-related coronavirus federal policy updates at this link, which will be continually updated. Below is a brief summary of the most recent updates, along with important resources.
RESOURCES
- ACTE Resources on Distance Learning
- CDC Coronavirus Webpage
- U.S. Department of Education Coronavirus Webpage
SUMMARY OF THE CARES ACT
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a wide-ranging, more than $2 trillion package that includes a variety of provisions. On the education front, the law allows Federal Work Study payments to continue, doesn't penalize students who dropped out of school from Pell Grant eligibility, allows additional flexibility on the student loan front, provides the Secretary of Education with certain waiver authority, defers student loan payments/principal/interest for 6 months on all federally owned loans without penalty, provides local workforce boards with additional flexibility under WIOA, and exempts teachers from certain requirements related to TEACH grant obligations or Teacher Loan Forgiveness if they can't finish the teaching year. It also appropriates $30.9 billion to the Department of Education, including $13.5 billion for K-12 and $14.25 billion for higher education funding to meet a variety of coronavirus-related needs.
- Bill Text
- Summary of Appropriations and Summary of Education-related Provisions
- ACTE Blog Post on CARES Act
ACTE CORONAVIRUS PRIORITIES
- At least $1 billion in dedicated funding for CTE programs in response to the coronavirus
- Additional flexibility and waivers, including by enacting a redistribution waiver for Perkins funds, passing waivers for Perkins eligible agencies, extending the waiver of the definition of “professional development” in ESEA to Perkins, rescinding supplement not supplant provisions for one year in Perkins, and expanding pooling flexibility in Perkins.
- Expand Pell Grants to high-quality, short-term programs and reinstate Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals
- Increase support for non-traditional learners in postsecondary education
- Invest in research and development to scale the quality of online education
SELECTED LETTERS TO POLICYMAKERS
- ACTE, Advance CTE Letter Raising Concerns on the Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families,
Schools and Small Businesses Act (09/10/20) - ACTE, Advance CTE Response to ED's Interim Final Rule Regarding the
Eligibility Determination of Students at Institutions of Higher Education for Funds Under the CARES Act (7/16/20) - ACTE, Advance CTE Response to the HEROES Act and Lack of Dedicated CTE Funding (5/13/20)
- ACTE and Advance CTE Letter on Concerns Regarding Certain Coronavirus Student Aid Exclusions (4/23/20)
- ACTE and Advance CTE Coronavirus-related Funding, Waiver and Policy Priorities (4/8/20)
- ACTE & Advance CTE Letter on CTE-related Coronavirus Investment Priorities (4/1/20)
LATEST UPDATES
July 28
- Congressional Update: Senate Republicans released the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protections, and Schools Act (HEALS Act), an approximately trillion-dollar proposal for the next round of relief funding aimed at quelling the economic and public health crisis ignited by the pandemic. Some of the larger provisions of the HEALS Act include $200 per week in unemployment insurance, down from $600 in the previously enacted CARES Act, another round of stimulus checks, liability protection for businesses and schools, an additional round of Paycheck Protection Program loans, among other measures.
August 8
- Administration Update: With negotiations for a next relief package broken down, President Trump issued four executive orders attempting to provide additional economic relief to millions of Americans on his own. These executive orders include a deferral (not cut) for payroll taxes until the end of the year, waive student debt payments and interest through the end of 2020, extend unemployment benefits at $400 per week (down from $600), and instructs officials to “consider” whether there should be a ban on evictions during the pandemic. It is likely Trump will face a legal challenge over these actions. Since the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the "power of the purse," any changes to taxes or spending are supposed to originate in Congress.
August 13
- Congressional Update: The House is on August recess and is not set to return until after Labor Day, unless a deal on a new coronavirus relief package materializes. As of now, both parties remain far from a compromise on many key issues including, overall price tag, liability protections for businesses and schools, earmarking funds for schools to physically reopen, providing additional assistance to state and local governments, etc. With both parties posturing and placing the blame on the other, there is a growing likelihood that a deal won't come to fruition until at least September.
CLICK HERE FOR ACTE’S COMPLETE COVID-19 FEDERAL POLICY RESOURCES
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