CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

House Appropriations Committee Approves FY23 Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill

On June 30, the House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved by a vote of 32-24 the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 spending bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.

The legislation proposes a $45 million increase to the Perkins Basic State Grant program, a year-over-year increase equal to what was enacted in FY22. In addition, $50 million is allocated to a new competitive grant program as proposed by the Administration in their Career Connected Learning proposal. Overall, the bill provides a 15% increase to the Department of Education and a 12% increase to the Department of Labor.

The bill maintained the investments put forth in the draft text of the legislation.

An amendment was offered by Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) to prevent the Department of Labor from proposing any regulation after the date of enactment of the bill that is not estimated to support the “quality and availability” of CTE. The amendment was defeated by voice vote. An amendment to continue funding industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (in addition to registered apprenticeship programs) was offered by Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA), but was also defeated by voice vote. 

The next steps are for the full House to approve the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill, and for the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee to draft and mark up a FY23 spending bill in the Senate. The previously agreed upon timeline for this was July, but an injury to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) could extend that timeline. ACTE will continue to push for robust funding in the FY23 appropriations cycle. If you have any questions, you can reach out to ACTE Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis ([email protected]) or Media Relations and Advocacy Associate, Jori Houck ([email protected]).

Research Roundup: Student Aid and Equity in Postsecondary Education

Trends in Financial Aid: Recently, the National Center for Education Statistics published a report covering trends in student financial aid during the 2017-18 academic year. After examining financial aid data by type and source across 1,900 Title-IV-eligible institutions, researchers shared the following findings:

• Roughly 55% of students at community colleges received some type of financial aid, with the most common form being grants or loans, and were awarded $5,300, on average.
• Among community college students that received financial aid, 47% received federal aid, 24% received state aid and 6% received institutional aid.
• For students at public less-than-two-year institutions, 41% received some form of financial aid and they were awarded $5,500, on average.
• About 42% of community college students received Pell grants and 28% of students at public less-than-two-year institutions received Pell grants. ACTE supports the expansion of Pell grants to cover high-quality short-term programs so that more students at these institutions can access education and training for careers.

Analyzing Equity in Postsecondary Education: The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education and the University of Pennsylvania collaborated to publish a report on equity trends in the postsecondary education system. The report reviews national and state data on equity as well as historical data on Federal TRIO programs, which are outreach and support services programs targeted at individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, with the goal of identifying policies and practices that improve overall postsecondary education attainment and equity in postsecondary outcomes.

Prospective and Current Students’ Perspectives: As postsecondary institutions seek ways to enroll and retain students, a report by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation provides helpful insights from prospective and current students. In 2021, researchers surveyed adults enrolled in an associate or bachelor’s degree program, adults with some postsecondary education who stopped out, and adults who never enrolled in postsecondary education. Some of their key findings are detailed below:

• Among adults who have never enrolled in postsecondary education, 40% have considered enrolling. In addition, 85% of those who stopped out in the past few years have considered reenrolling. For these adults, associate degrees and certificates were the top credentials of interest.
• Most enrolled students report that they are pursuing postsecondary education to obtain knowledge and skills, pursue a more fulfilling career and obtain a higher paying job.
• About 41% of associate degree students said they considered stopping out in the past six months with many citing emotional stress as a cause. However, about half report that financial aid and the value of their degree were important factors in helping them remain enrolled.

Postsecondary Education in Southern States: This May, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) published a factbook that provides a comprehensive overview of postsecondary education in the 16 SREB states. The book addresses statistics on the population and economy, enrollment, completion, affordability, faculty and administrators, and revenue and expenditures. In addition, the book includes over 100 tables of data related to these topics.

Financing Postsecondary Education: Recently, the State Higher Education Executive Officers association (SHEEO) released this year’s State Higher Education Finance Report, which gives a detailed analysis of state and local postsecondary education funding, tuition revenue and student enrollment during the 2021 fiscal year. The following are selected statistics about public two-year institutions from the report:

• Total state and local support for public institutions was $9,347 at two-year institutions, 88.6% of the amount at four-year institutions ($10,555).
• About 29 states increased state financial aid for full-time students at public two-year institutions. State aid for these students grew by 4.6%, reaching $510 per full-time student.
• Total education revenue for public two-year institutions averaged $11,928 per full-time student, which is an 8% increase from 2020.