Happy Holidays from ACTE! We hope you have a safe and cheerful holiday season. ACTE will be closed December 25-January 1, so there will not be a DC Digest next Monday, but the Digest will return after the break. Now onto the news. Last week, Congress stayed through the weekend to come to a consensus on a COVID-19 relief bill. An agreement on that bill was finally reached on Sunday night, and more details can be found in this blog post. The delay required several additional “continuing resolutions” to be passed by Congress over the weekend to keep the government operating until FY 2021 funding bills could be completed along with the COVID-19 relief bill. T In other news, Moderna’s vaccine was approved by both the FDA and the CDC and will start being used this week. Here are a few other notes from the week:
- Finalists for Rural Tech Challenge Announced: The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education announced the five finalists of the Rural Tech Challenge, a challenge for rural high schools to advance technology education, support rural educators and prepare students for careers. Each finalist team will receive $100,000 and expert mentorship, assistance and other resources during the second phase of the challenge which will last from January 2021 to August 2023.
- Equity in Apprenticeships: The Urban Institute hosted a webinar focusing on expanding diversity, equity and inclusion in tech apprenticeships. The webinar included a panel of business leaders, community organizations, postsecondary institution representatives and a student apprentice to discuss best practices and ways to ensure equitable access to underrepresented groups in tech apprenticeships.
- Educators Potentially Included in Next Wave of Vaccine Distribution: On December 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend to states that educators be included in the second phase of vaccine distribution as part of a group of “frontline essential workers.”
- Department of Labor Announces New SREs: The Department of Labor announced the approval of nine new Standards Recognition Entities (SRE) to oversee the development of its Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP), which operate outside of the registered apprenticeship system.
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