On May 16, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce during a hearing titled “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education.” The hearing included significant discussions about the value of CTE and the importance of a strong federal investment in CTE and workforce development programs.
Secretary Cardona highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to support CTE and global competitiveness in his opening statement, most notably the Administration’s $200 million investment in a competitive grant program to establish career-connected high schools. He also discussed the $43 million increase proposed for the Basic State Grant, and discussed the expected influx of new jobs created as a result of recent federal investments such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act.
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) spoke about the impact of Perkins funding on regional workforce needs, such as in eastern Connecticut, which boasts a robust shipbuilding industry. “The mission and the curriculum of career and technical education is perfectly positioned to help close the skills gap to fill many of those positions,” said Rep. Courtney. He also called attention to the potential impact of debt limit negotiations on Perkins funding.
Reps. Lori Chavez-Deremer (R-OR) and Committee Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) called out WIOA and short-term Pell as potential areas of bipartisan compromise, while Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-IN) asked how the Administration’s budget proposal would support development of the educator workforce. “Our budget proposal includes measures to drill down and fund pathway programs that are grow-your-own programs,” said Secretary Cardona in response.
Notably, House CTE Caucus co-chair Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA) asked Secretary Cardona about the viability of funding the Career-connected High Schools program instead of directing the funding through the Perkins Basic State Grant program.
“We recognize, sir, that if we continue with the way we're going, we're never going to meet the demand. What we need to do is not only engage in supporting state grants through Perkins, but also make sure that we're providing not only funding, but support, guidance and a push to evolve our high schools to create better college and career pathways to engage to our two-year schools and our workforce partners,” said Cardona of the proposal.
You can watch the full hearing at the link here.
Comments