12/19/24 NOTE: Since this blog was posted yesterday, the apparent deal on the CR has run into a number of issues, and it is unclear when or if it will move forward. Congressional leaders are now considering a number of different strategies to attempt to avoid a govenment shutdown on December 20, and we will share more as the situation unfolds.
Yesterday, lawmakers revealed a new Continuing Resolution (CR) that would keep the government open until March 14. The current CR is set to expire on December 20.
The CR includes several other policy priorities of lawmakers, including a proposal which would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The leaders of the House Education and the Workforce have been publicly supportive of including the “A Stronger Workforce for America Act” (ASWA) in the stopgap funding measure.
The WIOA reauthorization bill contains several provisions that would impact the CTE community:
- Authorizes an approximately 3% increase in funding for Title I formula programs in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 and maintains these levels of funding through FY 2030.
- Eliminates requirements that local stakeholders, including mandated one-stop partners programs like postsecondary CTE programs, attempt to negotiate the sharing of the physical infrastructure costs of local one-stop centers. Instead, the bill directs states to make use of the law’s existing “state funding mechanism” and slightly increases the contribution amounts from within WIOA to help cover these expenses.
- Renames out-of-school youth “Opportunity Youth” and adds new underlying youth populations that would be eligible under this definition. ASWA also slightly modifies the law’s prescribed split of Title I Youth funding to 70% for this population and 30% for in-school youth activities, allowing more flexibility to serve youth who might be enrolled in CTE programs.
- Establishes the Youth Apprenticeship Readiness Grant, a new $65 million mandatory-funded youth apprenticeship competitive grant program. These funds could be used to develop, expand, or improve youth apprenticeship programs, and it includes language seeking to align these efforts with programs funded by Perkins V.
- Maintains the existing governance structures of WIOA while slightly increasing the required organized labor representation of local workforce boards.
- Codifies the “Strengthening Community Colleges Workforce Development Grants Program,” which is intended to support community colleges workforce development programs.
- Includes a requirement that at least 50% of Adult and Dislocated Worker Title I funding be used for training activities. However, the legislation would allow up to 10% of this requirement to be fulfilled through the provision of supportive or individualized career services.
The CR will head to the House floor where many expect lawmakers to vote on the measure tomorrow. Then it will head to the Senate where it is expected to be taken up quickly.
As new details emerge, ACTE will keep you updated on all the latest activity, and we will be providing much more information on the new WIOA provisions if they are enacted. If you have any questions about any aspect of the bill, please don’t hesitate to reach out to ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch ([email protected]).
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