CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

DC Digest: January 11-17

News in Washington this week continued to be dominated by the fallout from the attack on the Capitol. On Wednesday, the House voted to impeach President Trump for a second time for incitement of insurrection. It was a 232-197 vote with 10 House Republicans joining Democrats voting in favor of impeachment. The impeachment articles will now be sent to the Senate where Senators would need 67 votes to convict the president. In the meantime, the Presidential Inauguration will take place this Wednesday, January 20, with extremely heightened security throughout DC. Here are some other happenings from last week:

• President-elect Biden Reveals COVID-19 Relief Plan: On Thursday evening, President-elect Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion economic COVID-19 relief package proposal. Included in this relief package is $170 billion for K-12 schools and higher education, including $130 billion for schools to safely reopen. Also included is funding for a national vaccine program, increasing vaccine distribution and expanding COVID-19 testing, as well as funding for small businesses, state local governments and $1,400 individual stimulus checks. 
• Additional College Scorecard Updates: The Department of Education announced additional updates to the College Scorecard. These updates include information on how well borrowers from postsecondary institutions are progressing in repaying their federal student loans, as well as how well student cohort borrowers are doing at certain intervals in the student loan repayment process. 
• New COVID-19 Funding for Postsecondary Institutions: On Thursday, the Department of Education announced that more than $21.2 billion for COVID-19-related emergency relief funding is now available to support postsecondary institutions during COVID-19. These funds were initially provided by Congress in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, signed into law in late December. More details and in-depth analysis of the application process will be coming soon!
• New Strengthening Community College Training Grants: The Department of Labor announced the winners of $40 million in Strengthening Community College Training Grants, which are designed to help Community Colleges address the needs of the workforce. These grants aim to help displaced workers to gain skills to transition to new employment, thus also benefiting local employers. The grants will also help community colleges build capacity to address challenges due to the pandemic, such as online learning. 

DC Digest: January 4-10

We, like all of you, watched with horror as events unfolded at the Capitol last week. As members of the DC community, who have walked the halls of Congress and who have friends and colleagues who serve our country there each day, the attacks on the Capitol were deeply personal. These reprehensible attacks violated one of the most important pillars of our democracy, the peaceful transition of power, and laid bare many difficult realities around issues of racism, national security, the perception of truth and the importance of our words and actions. We hope that conversations around these issues in the coming weeks will allow our country to emerge stronger than ever and forge a new path forward. Ultimately, even with a large group of lawmakers still objecting, Congress did certify Joe Biden early Thursday morning as the 46th president of the United States, and his inauguration will be on January 20, 2021. Despite the magnitude of last Wednesday’s events, there were a few other things happening throughout the week. Here are a few other notes:

• Cabinet Members Resign: In the aftermath of Wednesday’s violence at the Capitol, several members of President Trump’s cabinet resigned, including Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Education Secretary, and Elaine Chao, the U.S. Transportation Secretary. 
• Extending Student Loan Deferral:  Officials from the incoming Biden Administration have stated that President-elect Biden will instruct the Department of Education to continue excusing student loan payments for an additional period of time, potentially into the fall or even later. He has also called for Congress to pass legislation providing $10,000 in loan cancellation for each borrower. 
• COVID-19 Funding for Education Now Available: The Department of Education announced on Tuesday that more than $54 billion of COVID-19-related emergency relief funding is now available to support K-12 schools for learning during the pandemic. Additionally, over $4 billion was released to governors for the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund. Both of these pots of money are from the joint appropriations and COVID-19 relief bill that was passed and signed into law on December 27, 2020.
• Results of Georgia’s Runoff Senate Election: The runoff elections in Georgia were officially called on Wednesday after both the Democratic challengers to the Senate seats defeated their Republican counterparts. Read more on our full blog.

DC Digest: December 21-January 3

We hope everyone had a great holiday season! Normally, the holidays are pretty quiet on the Hill, however this year there was a surprising amount of activity. Today is the final day of the Georgia Senate run-off races between former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) and Democrat Jon Ossoff, and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Democrat Raphael Warnock. The outcomes of the races will determine which party controls the majority in the Senate. Here are some other notes from over the break:

• Joint Government Funding and COVID-19 Relief Bill Enacted: In the last days of 2020, a $2.3 trillion joint COVID-19 relief package and government funding bill was passed by Congress. After some hesitation, it was signed into law by the President on December 27. Under the law, $82 billion will be directed toward the Department of Education for the Education Stabilization Fund. Most importantly for CTE, Perkins Basic State Grants received a $52.25 million increase in funding for FY21! Read more on our full blog.
• Defense Bill Veto Overridden by Congress: On January 1, Congress overrode President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA authorizes $740 billion for national defense spending and includes policies impacting every aspect of military activities. 
• Miguel Cardona as U.S. Secretary of Education Nominee: President-elect Biden chose Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s education commissioner, as the U.S. Secretary of Education nominee. He will need to be approved by the full Senate following the presidential inauguration. Read more on our full blog. 
• Updated CDC Guidance for Decreasing COVID-19 Transmission for Schools: The Operational Considerations for Schools document from the CDC was updated on December 29, 2020. This document provides suggestions for decreasing the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools, and is organized by different strategies for schools to follow: physical distancing, hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, and respiratory hygiene.
• 117th Congress Sworn-in: On January 3, Congress officially started its new term and newly elected Members of Congress were sworn into office. You can read about all of the new Members of Congress in our recent blog series. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), was also reelected as speaker of the House of Representatives.

DC Digest: December 14-20

Happy Holidays from ACTE! We hope you have a safe and cheerful holiday season. ACTE will be closed December 25-January 1, so there will not be a DC Digest next Monday, but the Digest will return after the break. Now onto the news. Last week, Congress stayed through the weekend to come to a consensus on a COVID-19 relief bill. An agreement on that bill was finally reached  on Sunday night, and more details can be found in this blog post. The delay required several additional “continuing resolutions” to be passed by Congress over the weekend to keep the government operating until FY 2021 funding bills could be completed along with the COVID-19 relief bill. T In other news, Moderna’s vaccine was approved by both the FDA and the CDC and will start being used this week. Here are a few other notes from the week:

• Finalists for Rural Tech Challenge Announced: The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education announced the five finalists of the Rural Tech Challenge, a challenge for rural high schools to advance technology education, support rural educators and prepare students for careers. Each finalist team will receive $100,000 and expert mentorship, assistance and other resources during the second phase of the challenge which will last from January 2021 to August 2023.
• Equity in Apprenticeships: The Urban Institute hosted a webinar focusing on expanding diversity, equity and inclusion in tech apprenticeships. The webinar included a panel of business leaders, community organizations, postsecondary institution representatives and a student apprentice to discuss best practices and ways to ensure equitable access to underrepresented groups in tech apprenticeships.
• Educators Potentially Included in Next Wave of Vaccine Distribution: On December 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend to states that educators be included in the second phase of vaccine distribution as part of a group of “frontline essential workers.”
• Department of Labor Announces New SREs: The Department of Labor announced the approval of nine new Standards Recognition Entities (SRE) to oversee the development of its Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAP), which operate outside of the registered apprenticeship system.  

DC Digest: December 7-13

With the holidays soon approaching, Congress is quickly trying to wrap up key legislation before the end of the year. Two key pieces remaining include a COVID-19 relief bill and FY 21 funding. While negotiations continue, the biggest disagreements on COVID-19 funding remain state and local aid and legal protections for businesses from COVID-19 lawsuits. In other news, the FDA and the CDC approved Pfizer and BioTech’s vaccine for immediate use, and the White House team says the first 40 million vaccines will be available by the end of the year. Here are some other notes from last week:

• Defense Bill Passed by Congress: The National Defense Authorization Act was passed in both the House and Senate this week. The bill appropriates $740 billion in funding to the Department of Defense for programs and activities. The bill now goes to President Trump to sign, but it is unclear whether he will sign the bill or veto it.
• Congress Passes Stop-gap Funding Bill: Both the House and the Senate passed a new continuing resolution (CR) in order to keep the government funded one additional week, through December 18, and the President signed the bill on Friday night. This gives Congress another week to come to a consensus on how to avoid a government shutdown.
• Finalist of CTE Mission: CubeSat: The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education announced the five finalists of CTE Mission: CubeSat, a challenge for high school students to build technical skills for careers in aerospace. Each finalist will receive $5,000 and prizes to help with the construction of prototypes during the second phase of the challenge which will last from January to May 2021.

DC Digest: November 30-December 6

Last week, we hosted ACTE's CareerTech Virtual VISION and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! While Virtual VISION was happening, there was a lot of movement in DC. The start of the 117th Congress is right around the corner, bringing with it a number of changes in congressional leadership posts. Also on the Hill, both the House and Senate were in session last week and are still trying to pass a COVID-19 relief package before the holiday break, and a funding bill to keep the government funded after the continuing resolution runs (CR) out on December 11. Here are some notes from the federal education realm from last week:

• New Bipartisan COVID-19 Relief Package Proposal: Last week, a bipartisan, bicameral group of 12 members from the House and the Senate unveiled a new $908 billion coronavirus relief proposal. Within the bill is $160 billion for states and cities, $180 billion for unemployment insurance, $288 billion for more small business assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and $82 billion for education funding. House Speaker Pelosi, Senate Leader McConnell and the White House continue  negotiating to try and pass a bill as soon as possible, and this new proposal could be considered as part of those negotiations. 
• Applications Available for Grant Funding for Native American CTE Programs: The Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) has started accepting applications for the Native American Career and Technical Education Program. Application details are located in the Federal Register. The purpose of this grant program is to improve CTE programs in Native American and Alaska Native communities. The deadline for applications is January 29, 2021, and an information webinar for prospective applicants is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, 2020, at 2PM ET.
• New Elements Added to the College Scorecard: As part of the process of updating the College Scorecard, the Department of Education has added second-year post- graduation earnings and cumulative loan data to ensure students are informed when choosing a postsecondary institution. These new additions will allow students to make side-by-side comparisons of different fields of study within or across institutions. The new loan data on the Scorecard will also show Parent PLUS loans, how much parents borrowed to help their children pay for their education, to give a more holistic view of the financial cost of the postsecondary institution. 
• House’s 2021 Legislative Calendar: House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) released the House’s 2021 legislative calendar for the 117th Congress. The House will officially conviene for the 2021 session on Sunday, January 3, 2021, and there will be  101 voting days and 59 committee work days, for a total of 160 days. Find the full calendar here.
• House Committee Leaders Selected: Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) won the House Appropriations chairwoman seat, and will take over for Nita Lowey (D-NY) starting in January. DeLauro is currently the chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, and may also retain that role. On the Republican side, Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) was selected once again to serve as the Ranking Member on the Committee on Education and Labor, and CTE Caucus Co-Chair Glenn Thompson (R-PA) was named Ranking Member of the Agriculture Committee. 
• Last Minute Efforts on HEA Reforms: Two key reforms to the Higher Education Act are receiving last minute attention as the 116th Congress wraps up. First, a bipartisan group of Senators called on Senate leadership to include the College Transparency Act in the omnibus funding bill. The Senators state that students need access to high-quality postsecondary data in order to ensure they are informed about their postsecondary options. In addition, congressional leadership is hopeful that both parties are close to finding a deal to simplify the FAFSA form. The simplification of the form would include reducing the number of questions and automatically filling in many of the questions from tax documents. 
• Student Loan Forbearance Extended: The Department of Education has extended the deadline for student loan forbearance for another month. The forbearance period was set to expire on December 31, however, due to the complications from the pandemic, the deadline is now January 31, 2021. Until then loans will have 0% interest and payment collection is suspended. 

DC Digest: November 23-28

We hope you had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday! Though it was a short week here at ACTE, and the House and Senate were out of session for the holiday, we still have a couple of notes from DC last week: 

• Updated CDC Guidance for Schools During COVID-19: The CDC has updated many of its guidance documents regarding COVID-19 in K-12 schools and childcare centers this month. Some of the updated guidance includes screening students with symptoms, contact tracing in schools, cleaning and PPE in schools and facts about COVID-19 vaccines. 
• Appropriations Bill Update: Last week, the House and the Senate reached a bipartisan agreement for a framework for an omnibus spending package to ensure that the government can continue to operate after the continuing resolution (CR), which is currently funding the government, expires on December 11. The details on how the $1.4 trillion for discretionary spending will be split up have not been released, and are likely to be kept confidential as negotiations continue on individual program funding levels within the broader framework.

DC Digest: November 16-22

Both the House and the Senate are back in session and are working toward a consensus on FY 21 appropriations bills, which they hope to complete during the lame duck session. The continuing resolution (CR) currently funding the government expires on December 11, so some action must be taken before that date to avoid a government shutdown. In addition, the House and the Senate have still not reached an agreement on a COVID-19 stimulus relief package and are far apart on how much to invest, with House Democrats wanting $3 trillion in relief funding and Senate Republicans wanting $500 billion. Here are a few more notes from last week:

• National Apprenticeship Act Passed in the House: The National Apprenticeship Act was introduced and passed in the House on Friday. This new Act would invest more than $35 billion to fund one million new apprenticeship opportunities over the next five years, and creates pathways for students and employees to participate in registered apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, among other things. ACTE endorsed this bill earlier this Congress, but it is not expected to be taken up by the Senate this Congress. 
• New Online Portal for CARES Act Data: The Department of Education created a new online portal to show how states and other grantees are using the CARES Act funding which was allocated to ensure continued learning during the pandemic. The online portal is interactive and features state profiles which provides information on both the award recipients and expenditures within each state. However, the data should be interpreted with caution, and is not necessarily an accurate picture of how much money local school districts or states have obligated or how much CARES Act money is still available. In many cases, funds have already been allocated for contracts or other expenditures which are not reflected in the portal. Numerous groups have already pushed back on the accuracy of the information.

DC Digest: November 9-15

Last week was National Apprenticeship Week! All throughout the week, many organizations, schools and federal agencies celebrated apprenticeship programs with informational webinars or virtual events, some of which are highlighted below. Activity was relatively quiet on Capitol Hill as new Members of Congress arrived for orientation, but along with events for National Apprenticeship Week, the Department of Education made a few announcements. Read on for more details:

• Webinar on Policy Impacting Past and Future Apprenticeships: The Urban Institute collaborated with Jobs for the Future (JFF) and held a webinar to recognize National Apprenticeship Week. During the webinar, three groups of expert panelists ranging from industry leaders to state practitioners spoke about the current successes of apprenticeships and potential policy recommendations for the future.
• Nominations for Second Annual Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award: The Department of Education announced that nominations are now open for the second annual Presidential Cybersecurity Education award, which will recognize two K-12 educators for their excellence in cybersecurity education. The nomination period will remain open until January 31, 2021. For more information about the rules and specifics on how to apply, please visit the Department’s website here.
• Applications for Career and Educational Pathways Exploration System Program Award: The Department of Education announced that applications for new awards under the Career and Educational Pathways Exploration System Program are now open. This program aims to encourage the development of technology-based career exploration systems to ensure students have access to tools for career exploration and education or training planning. The deadline to apply is December 9, 2020.
• Joint Project Between the US and Germany Announced: The Departments of Labor, Commerce and Education ratified a Joint Declaration of Intent partnership with Germany regarding cooperation on apprenticeships and career and technical education and training during National Apprenticeship Week. This partnership encourages quality apprenticeship programs in both countries, increased work-based learning, public-private partnerships between business/industries and CTE programs, and bilateral exchanges of apprentices and trainers.
• White House Recognition of Apprenticeship Programs: During National Apprenticeship Week, President Trump issued a proclamation praising the successes of apprenticeships and recommitted to supporting apprenticeships while encouraging stakeholders to expand apprenticeship education and training. 

DC Digest: November 2-8

All eyes in Washington were on the election last week, as votes continued to be counted in the Presidential race and many congressional races. Now that more information is known, we’ll have complete coverage in other posts on the blog. Though the election consumed much of the airtime, here are a few other notes from last week:

• New Post-COVID-19 Workforce Initiative: The Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Labor and Department of Agriculture launched a new initiative, Engaging as One Workforce for America. This initiative seeks to increase the capacity of local and state governments to engage displaced workers to lessen their time unemployed and create clear pathways back to employment, through a public-private partnership.
• Agreement in Congress for Funding the Government: On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that both he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have agreed that an omnibus to continue funding the government should be passed, instead of another continuing resolution (CR). Congress must come to agreement on appropriations bills or pass a new CR during the lame duck session lto avoid a government shutdown, since the current CR expires on December 11. 
• COVID-19 Stimulus Relief Bill Update: Before the election, some lawmakers were hopeful that they would be able to pass a stimulus relief bill when both chambers are back in session, however, it is still unclear when or if that will happen. Both Senate Majority Leader McConnell and House Speaker Pelosi called for a stimulus relief package to be passed now that the election is over, but the two are still at odds on the size of the bill. McConnell is calling for a “skinny” relief package while Pelosi rejects that idea and wants a more comprehensive relief package.