This week is ACTE’s National Policy Seminar! Participants will get updates on current education policy and the new Congress and Administration, as well as opportunities to advocate for CTE with their representatives during virtual Hill visits. It is an important time for advocacy, as Congress works to complete the next COVID-19 relief bill. While both the Senate and the House were out of session last week, work continued behind the scenes on a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Here are a few other notes from last week:
- Student Load Forgiveness Conversation: President Biden, when talking about student loan forgiveness last week, indicated that he supports forgiving $10,000 of student loan debt due to the strain on borrowers from the pandemic.
- Under Secretary of Education Announced: On Friday, President Biden announced the nomination of James Kvaal to be the Under Secretary of Education. Kvaal’s background has primarily been in higher education, and he is expected to continue this focus during his tenure if approved.
- President and Department of Labor on Registered Apprenticeships: On Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced several initiatives related to expand and invest in registered apprenticeship programs. Actions including endorsing the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, reinstating the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships, and pausing or reversing efforts around Industry-recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs). As a response to the President’s announcement, the Department of Labor announced several actions being taken related to the suspension of the IRAP program.
- Chairman Scott’s Statement on Registered Apprenticeships: Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott of the House Education and Labor Committee released a statement in response to President Biden’s support of apprenticeships. The President endorsed the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which was introduced by the Chairman in January. Scott stressed the need to invest in the registered apprenticeships in order to help with economic recovery efforts in high-demand industries and sectors, such as manufacturing, health care, technology and construction. ACTE has endorsed the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 and is actively advocating for its passage.
- Actions to Increase COVID-19 Testing in Schools: President Biden announced new actions being taken to expand COVID-19 testing, improve the availability of the tests and better prepare for new variants of COVID-19. One of the actions being taken is a partnership between the Health and Human Services Department and the Department of Defense to provide $650 million in funding for K-8 schools to establish regional coordinating centers which organize laboratories across the country into COVID-19 testing networks to collect specimens, perform tests and report results to the relevant public health agencies.
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