Following last week’s deal to lift the federal debt limit, Congress is beginning to shift focus back to FY 2024 appropriations bills. The House Appropriations Committee is expected to begin markups next week of several appropriations bills that were marked up by subcommittees prior to completion of the debt limit deal, and Senate leaders have announced they hope to start markups later this month. In the meantime, here are a few news and notes:
- Acting Secretary of Labor Testifies to House Education and Workforce Committee: On June 7, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Department of Labor FY 2024 policies and priorities. During the hearing, there was substantial discussion of the opportunities available to support workforce development through registered apprenticeships, secondary and postsecondary CTE programs and more. Read more about the hearing here.
- Appropriations Update: We are still awaiting the topline funding level for the FY 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill following the signing of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 into law last week. The schedules for the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill release and markup in the House have not been announced. There are ongoing discussions between some Republicans and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) about whether to draft appropriations bills at a level that accounts for the spending caps in the debt limit bill or a lower amount.
- Department of Education Raise the Bar/Full-Service Community Schools Grants: The Department of Education has released a Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the FY 2023 Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grant program that supports academic acceleration and provides academic and whole child supports to build and strengthen connections between schools, parents, families and their surrounding communities. Learn more about the grant opportunity here.
- Department of Education School Infrastructure Grants: The Department of Education has announced applications for two new competitive grant programs focused on ensuring school facilities provide safe, healthy, sustainable and equitable learning environments: the Supporting America’s Schools Infrastructure (SASI) grant and the National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI) grant. The former will award approximately $40 million to State Education Agencies (SEAs) and state entities to increase the capacity of the state to support high-need districts and schools in leveraging available federal, state, and local resources to improve school facilities and environments. The latter will award roughly $2 million to a research agency, institution, or organization to establish a national center that will serve as a clearinghouse of resources and offer technical assistance to SASI grantees and other high-need districts seeking to leverage existing resources to improve facilities. Applications are due August 7. Learn more about the grants here.
- Department of Education Grant Opportunities to Address Educator Recruitment, Retention and Career Advancement: The Department of Education has announced more than $368 million in new grant opportunities through the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program and the Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Incentive program that advance investments in teacher recruitment and retention. These investments particularly prioritize promoting educator diversity and career advancement and leadership opportunities for effective educators tied to increased compensation. Learn more about the grant opportunity here.
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