February 1 began CTE Month 2023, kicking off the annual celebration of CTE nationwide. ACTE’s CTE Month social media toolkit will help you share your celebrations online and in your communities! The Department of Education also joined the CTE Month celebration with a blog post on some of its Perkins grantees. Both chambers of Congress are currently circulating CTE Month resolutions to recruit cosponsors throughout the next several weeks, so be sure to reach out to your Members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor these CTE Month resolutions! You can do so via ACTE’s Action Center. Beyond CTE Month, Congress spent most of the week working on additional committee organizing activities. Both chambers will be in session next week. In the meantime, here are some notes from Washington:
- Ask Your Representative: Cosponsor the 2023 House CTE Month Resolution: The co-chairs of the House CTE Caucus, Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) are leading the House’s annual CTE Month resolution marking February as CTE Month. These House members are currently circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter asking their colleagues to cosponsor the resolution, which is set to be introduced on February 8. CLICK HERE to ask your representative to cosponsor this year’s CTE Month resolution.
- JOBS Act Reintroduced in Senate and House: The Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2023 (S. 161/H.R. 793) or the “JOBS Act of 2023” has been reintroduced in the Senate by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Braun (R-IN) and in the House by Reps. Bill Johnson (R-OH), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Mike Turner (R-OH) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ). This bipartisan legislation would extend federal Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term workforce training programs between 150-600 clock hours. This is a longtime priority of the CTE community, and ACTE has endorsed the bill. View bill text for the JOBS Act of 2023 here for the House and here for the Senate. Read the accompanying press release here.
- Additional Committee Assignments Announced: Additional Senate and House committee announcements were made this week, leaving only the Senate Appropriations Committee to complete their full subcommittee assignments for the 118th Congress. Democratic Members named to the House Appropriations Committee can be found here; senators named to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee have not been publicly listed on the committee’s website. ACTE will provide a full recap of the committee assignments for CTE-related committees once these members have been named!
- Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) Introduces Bill to Support Youth Apprenticeship: On February 1, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) introduced the Strengthening Youth Apprenticeships Act. This legislation would create an interagency agreement between the Secretaries of Labor and Education to provide publicly available guidance and best practices to support youth apprenticeship programs in secondary and postsecondary education programs. You can read the press release here.
- House Education and the Workforce Committee Holds Organizational Meeting: The Committee met for the first time on January 31 to adopt rules for the year as well as an oversight plan. In her opening statement, Chair Virginia Foxx emphasized workforce development, “We will also strengthen our workforce development programs. We must close our nation’s skills gap and prepare the next generation of workers for our evolving economy.”
- President's Budget Release Announced: The Administration has announced that the President's Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal will be released on March 9 - about a month later than originally expected.
- Energy CLASS Prize Available: The Department of Energy has launched a competition for $4.5 million in funding to support energy management professional-in-training programs in local school districts. The deadlines is February 28 and more information is available here.
- Administration Releases Data on Impact of Postsecondary COVID-19 Relief Funds: On February 1, the Administration released a new fact sheet and report on the impact of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). The aid provided by HEERF impacted an estimated 18 million students directly, including 6 million community college students, helping them stay enrolled.
- New Senate HELP Committee Chair Sanders Participates in EdWeek Interview: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the new Chair of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, recently participated in an interview with Education Week, where he highlighted his concerns about the teacher pipeline, among other priorities.
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