With significant attention on the budget reconciliation process, the FY 2022 appropriations bills have been on the back-burner. However, with the current continuing resolution (CR) expiring on December 3, significant congressional action is needed to wrap up this work. To begin to move things forward, on October 18, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill, which funds education and workforce development programs, including Perkins. In the Senate bill, the Perkins Basic State Grant received a $50 million increase over the FY 2021 level and $30 million over what President Biden recommended in his budget proposal in May. This total funding level, $1.38 billion, is identical to the House of Representatives’ bill that was released in July, providing a solid foundation for a potential increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant in the final appropriations bill.
With the Perkins National Programs line item, the Senate bill fell short of the House bill’s $100 million competitive grant program to carry out evidence-based middle and high school career and technical education innovation programs, instead allocating just $25 million total for Perkins National Programs, including this competitive grant. That said, on a positive note, the Senate bill did not include the House’s language amending Perkins V making apprenticeship programs eligible for Basic State Grant funds. The discrepancies between the two bills will need to be hashed out between the House and the Senate over the coming weeks.
Overall, the bill allocates $98.4 billion to the Department of Education, an increase of about $25 billion over FY 2021 (although about $4.4 billion lower than the House bill and the President’s request). This would represent a historic investment in education overall, with large programs such as Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and Pell grants seeing considerable increases in funding. The Department of Labor would receive $13.8 billion under the Senate bill, which is a $1.3 billion increase over FY 2021.
Additional funding levels of programs relevant to the CTE community include:
- Federal Work Study – $1.23 billion, a $40 million increase over FY 2021
- ESEA Title II – Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants – $2.2 billion, a $50 million increase over FY 2021
- ESEA Title IV-A – Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants – $1.3 billion, a $100 million increase over FY 2021
- Registered Apprenticeships – $245 million, an increase of $60 million over FY 2021
- Workforce Innovation and Opportunity (WIOA) State Grants – $2.9 billion, an increase of $93 million over FY 2021
- Adult education – $723 million, a $34 million increase over FY 2021
- National Youth Employment Program – a new program that would receive $25 million
Moving forward, the House and Senate will likely begin negotiating on a final bill that must be passed by December 3, unless Congress passes another CR on or before that date. It is not expected that the Senate will hold committee markups or entertain any amendments to its version prior to these bicameral negotiations. There is much to come over the next 6 to 8 weeks, so please stay tuned for more information and further opportunities to take action in support of CTE priorities!
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