CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

DC Digest: January 13-19

Despite the fact that much of Congress’ attention was focused on preparation for the impeachment trial, several new developments regarding education occurred in the third week of the new year. Read more below to find out more!

• House Disapproves of Borrower Defense Rule: The House passed a resolution to revoke the Department of Education’s borrower defense rule, which they think would make it more difficult for students to receive debt forgiveness from defrauded colleges. The resolution now goes to the Senate, but faces an uphill battle to enactment.
  
  
• Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) Joins the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP): Loeffler replaces Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) on the HELP committee, which oversees authorizing legislation affecting education like Perkins, making her the second woman to represent Georgia in the Senate. She was formally the chief executive of Bakkt, which is a trading platform for bitcoin.
  
  
• Updated Rules Treatment for Faith-Based Education Institutions and Guidance on School Prayer: The Department of Education has announced a series of actions related to religious liberty. The actions include proposing new rules related to equal treatment of faith-based institutions and the implementation of First Amendment freedoms on college campuses, and updated guidance on prayer in schools. The new documents are based on current legal rulings, so do not represent policy changes, but do contain some new institutional requirements.

DC Digest: January 6-12

The second week into 2020 has been relatively quiet for federal education policy, despite the House and Senate coming back in session. However there have been some CTE-related activities and news that have kick-started the new year.

• 2020 National Career Development Summit: On January 8, the National Career Development Summit brought together over 200 attendees (including ACTE representatives) to discuss topics of career readiness. Scott Stump, the Education Department’s Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education, spoke about promoting career development and ensuring accountability. There were other panels on promoting equity, the role of businesses, career development technology and work-based learning.
  
  
• Representative Phil Roe (R-Tenn) Retiring: Rep. Roe, who is on the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Veterans Affairs Committee, has announced he would not seek reelection for a seventh term in 2020. While in office, he supported CTE and the passage of Perkins V.
  
  
• ED Games Expo: The Education Department hosted the 7th annual ED Expo Games which brought together students, developers, government representatives, and industry partners to exhibit learning games and technologies. The game topics ranged from STEM to early learning, and emphasized that this type of technological learning can be accessed in all classrooms.
  
  
• Federal Financial Aid Deadlines: The Department of Education released deadlines for institutions participating in campus-based aid programs for the 2020-21 award year, including the Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant programs. If your institution participates in one of these programs be sure to check out the deadlines here.
  
  
• IES Update: The Director of the federal Institute of Education Sciences, which oversees federally funded research projects across a wide range of topics, released an update on the agencies plans this week, including simplifying research reports and releasing more info on CTE in community colleges.

DC Digest: December 16 – January 5

Happy New Year! While we hope you were able to unplug and relax over the holiday break and to ring in the New Year, on the CTE policy front, things remained busy. 

• Several Bills Signed into Law: Among a number of bills signed into law in the final days of 2019, an appropriations bill increased Perkins Basic State Grant funding by $20 million for Fiscal Year 2020. The FUTURE Act was also signed into law, which extends mandatory funding programs for historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, including some postsecondary CTE programs. Additionally, the bipartisan Building Blocks of STEM Act was signed into law, which creates and expands STEM education initiatives at the National Science Foundation, including a special focus on girls in computer science.
• National Competitiveness Forum Held: Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos spoke at the National Competitiveness Forum, where she touted a proposal for federal tax credits in exchange for donations to state scholarship programs as a way to address workforce development needs in the 21st century.
• New White House Child Care Principles: As part of the Trump Administration’s child care reform principles, the White House states it aims to address the child care workforce shortage. Postulating that postsecondary education is an “uncertain proxy for quality child care,” the Administration aims to pursue alternative metrics for competencies and skills “irrespective of academic degrees.” Additionally, it seeks to promote child care apprenticeships.
• New Student Aid Website: The Trump Administration launched a new gov website aimed at providing additional information for students, parents and borrowers. The website aims to be a centralized hub to assist those pursuing financial aid.
• New Bill on Community College Reporting: Three Republican senators recently introduced a bill to amend reporting requirements at community colleges to reflect and account for the often more diverse populations of part-time, returning students at community colleges.
• Senate, House Return: While the Senate returned on Friday, January 3 with potential votes scheduled for Monday, January 6, the House is set to return on Tuesday, January 7.

DC Digest: December 9-15

This week, lawmakers were busy with impeachment hearings, but they managed to make progress toward year-end deals on a number of issues, such as a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada and a final appropriations bill. Here’s what was happening in DC this week related to education and workforce development:

• Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Anniversary: Policymakers and advocates for ESSA celebrated the four-year anniversary of its passage this week. . An  event on the Hill featured discussions on the impacts ESSA has made, and speakers including Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), the chair of the House Education and Labor committee; and former Committee Chair John Kline (R-MN) all shared their thoughts on the law’s implementation
  
  
• Expanding Computer Science Access to Women: On December 9, the House passed a bill to increase access to computer science education for women, sending it to the President to be signed into law. This bill will award grants to incentivize women to pursue computer science degrees.
  
  
• Expanded Access to Teacher Education Assistance for College Higher Education (TEACH) Grants: Secretary DeVos proposed a new rule to expand access of TEACH grants by eliminating some certification and annual reporting requirements, reducing the chances that grants are converted to loans, and creating processes for resolving grants that were incorrectly converted to loans. Access is also proposed to be expanded to elementary school educators who teach in high-need areas and. faith-based
  
  
• The Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act: On December 10, the House passed the FUTURE Act to allow for permanent funding for historically black colleges and universities, as well as simplify the FAFSA by eliminating up to 22 questions and allowing tax information to be shared from the IRS to the Department of Education.
  
  
• Another Appropriations Update: Republican and Democrats have reached a tentative federal spending deal to avoid a government shutdown. Details have not been released, but we will provide more information on education and workforce development funding as soon as it is available.

DC Digest: December 2-8

Last week, ACTE hosted our annual VISION conference in Anaheim, California! We, as the Public Policy Department, hosted a number of sessions where we got to hear feedback and suggestions from you, our members, based on the programs and issues that we are advocating for on your behalf. You’ll see more opportunities to provide input on these critical issues in the new year. In the meantime, let’s catch up on some other news that happened while we were out.

• Secretary DeVos Unveils Her Vision for Federal Student Aid (FSA): On December 3, Secretary DeVos announced her vision for a stronger, more student-centered FSA Office. Her plan entails continuing what FSA is currently doing, as well as including a myStudentAid app and adding in structural and governing changes. Read more.
  
  
• The Opportunity Zone Priority: Secretary DeVos announced that the Department of Education will prioritize funding for grant applications to “Opportunity Zones” which include students, teachers and parents in economically distressed communities. The goal is to provide students who are the most economically burdened with innovative educational opportunities no matter where they live. Read more.
  
  
• Government Funding Update: The new Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded ends on December 20, and Congress continues negotiations in hopes of reaching agreement on funding bills before the holidays. If an agreement is not reached, the House and Senate will likely pass another CR to keep the Government from shutting down—as a shutdown does not seem likely at this point.

DC Digest: November 18-24

Though Congress was mainly focused on impeachment hearings this week, there were a number of CTE-related activities as work wrapped up leading into the Thanksgiving holiday recess. The most significant activity occurred on appropriations, where significant movement occurred for the first time in weeks. You can read more about that on the blog here, and see other news below:

• Briefing on Access and Equity in CTE: The House CTE Caucus held a briefing on advancing access and equity in CTE, which ACTE attended. Career and Technical Education Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Glenn Thompson spoke at the briefing, along with other panelists to discuss the challenges that many special populations, such as low-income earners, students with disabilities and nontraditional students face. See photo and read more from our partners at Advance CTE!
  
  
• 2020 House Floor Schedule: Majority House Leader Hoyer (D-MD) has released the 2020 House Floor Schedule for the Second Session of the 116th Congress, which begins on January 7 and will meet for 113 days. Hoyer says the 2020 schedule will continue addressing health care costs, infrastructure investments, climate change and expanding economy opportunity. Take a look at the schedule to identify congressional recess times when Congress is not in session. These are great times to invite Members of Congress to visit programs or to schedule meetings with your representatives while they are back in their home districts!
  
  
• 90/10 Rule Veterans Legislation Gains Key Support: Senate HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) backed the Protect VETS Act, a bipartisan bill aimed to protect military and veteran students from predatory institutions by closing the 90/10 loophole. Currently, military and veteran education benefits do not count towards federal aid portion of the 90/10 rule, so this bill would reclassify all federal aid under the 90%. This concession, one the Chairman has historically pushed back on, could signal that he is looking to make a compromise on Democratic priorities in order to gain traction on a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA).
  
  
• DC Organizations Release “Green Economy” Policy Principles: A group of national policy organizations, including the National Youth Employment Coalition and Center for Law and Social Policy, released “Building Pathways, Inclusive Economies, and Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults: Principles for Green Economy Legislation and Investment.” These principles outline how to ensure that opportunity youth are connected to the green economy through targeting resources, building policy frameworks on a racial and gender equity lens, involving young people, building career pathways and focusing on quality jobs.

DC Digest: November 11-17

DC Digest: November 11-17

The House returned to session on Tuesday, however, it has continued to be relatively quiet for federal education policy as Congress remains busy with other issues. Members of Congress and the Administration did take time to celebrate National Apprenticeship week though, which you can read more about below! In other news:

• Career Counseling Bill: House CTE Caucus Co-chairs, Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glenn Thompson (R-PA) have introduced a bill to invest in career counseling opportunities at the secondary level. ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson was quoted in the press release.
• Senate CTE Caucus: Tom Cotton (R-AR) has joined the Senate CTE Caucus. This brings the total caucus to 30 members, the largest number of senators to be a part of the caucus since its founding! Continue to encourage your Members of Congress to join the House and Senate CTE Caucuses.
• Short-term Spending Bill Update: Congressional leaders have tentatively agreed to an additional short-term spending deal in the lead up to the November 21 funding deadline. The deal, expected to be voted on soon, will extend funding to December 20 in an effort to give both chambers more time to pass year-long appropriations bills.
• National Apprenticeship Week: In recognition of the National Apprenticeship Week, over 980 events were hosted across the country to display the importance of apprenticeships. Other recognitions included a White House proclamation in support of apprenticeships, a Department of Education video featuring OCTAE Assistant Secretary Scott Stump discussing opportunities and benefits of apprenticeships, and speeches on the House floor, including one by Representative Foxx (R-NC), ranking member of the House Education and Labor Committee, and one by Representative Bonamici (D-OR), also a member of the House Education and Labor Committee.
• Perkins Implementation: Work on Perkins implementation continues as state leaders and data experts gathered in Baltimore this week for the national CTE Data Quality Institute. States discussed the new Perkins V core indicators of performance, measurement approaches and setting performance targets, sharing best practices and innovative solutions to key data challenges.
• International Education Week: The Department of Education celebrated International Education Week on November 12th by hosting a panel of government representatives from the United States, Brazil and China to share ideas on apprenticeship programs and career and technical education. Watch the whole video here.
• National Summit on Literacy: On November 13, the Barbra Bush foundation hosted the inaugural National Summit on Adult Literacy. Scott Stump, the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education, was one of the speakers to highlight best practices in adult education.

 

DC Digest: November 3-10

It was a relatively quiet week on the federal education policy front, with the House on recess and no major Committee activity. The House returns this week though, and Washington will be celebrating National Apprenticeship Week, so there is likely more activity in the future! In the meantime:

• Progress on Education Appropriations: With the current November 21 funding deadline looming, congressional leaders have taken positive steps to ensure the government remains funded while working toward a longer term Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 solution. On Tuesday, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) met to discuss the path forward. Also, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced that the House is likely to introduce a new short-term CR that extends funding to December 20 to give lawmakers more time to come to consensus on funding the 12 appropriations bills for FY 2020.

• World Standards Week on the “Workforce of the Future”: On November 7, the American National Standards Institute hosted a conference on Building an Effective Workforce for the Future, which ACTE attended. During the day, there were two keynote speakers and four panel sessions which covered challenges to meet the workforce needs of the future and how education and trainings are going to have to adapt to meet those needs.
  
  
• National Day of Action for ESSA Title IV: On November 6, ACTE joined other national associations and advocates for a National Day of Action to support awareness of and funding for Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act, Student Success and Academic Enhancement Grants, which can be used for career development activities and other parts of a “well-rounded” education. You can view our tweet and others that were part of the campaign!
  
  
• Federal STEM Investments Reviewed: On November 8, the Trump Administration reported on $540 million dollars that has been allocated to support STEM education to expand opportunities in the STEM workforce. This is part of the five-year federal STEM education strategic plan in which all Americans will have access to lifelong STEM education, as well as to make America a leader in the STEM field.
  
  

DC Digest: October 27-November 2

The biggest education news this week on Capitol Hill was the House Education and Labor Committee’s marathon mark-up of its Higher Education Act reauthorization bill, which lasted for three days! You can read more about that markup on the blog at https://ctepolicywatch.acteonline.org/2019/11/democrats-pass-hea-reauthorization-proposal-out-of-house-committee.html.

In other news:

• Work on Education Appropriations Remains Stalled: On October 31, the Senate rejected a procedural motion that would have allowed for debate to start on the four-bill minibus, H.R. 2740 (116), that includes the Fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding for the Department of Education. The vote, 51-41, failed to reach the 60 vote threshold needed to advance. Democrats voted against motion on the grounds that their Republican colleagues did not engage them when they set the overall spending levels, which were much lower for education than the House bill.
  
  
• Regulations on Accreditation and Distant Education Finalized: On November 1, Secretary DeVos released the final accreditation and state authorization distance education regulations. These regulations, a part of the broader “rethink higher education” agenda, are aimed to “expand educational options for students, holistically lower the cost of education post-high school, and ensure occupationally-focused education meets current workforce needs,” according to the Secretary, but have been met with some concern. Check back on the CTE Policy Watch Blog soon for a more detailed summary.
  
  
• Senate CTE Caucus Briefing: On October 31, the Senate CTE Caucus, in partnership with the National Skills Coalition (NSC), hosted a briefing on the importance of aligning Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and how they can work together to drive economic success. Organizations who participated on the panel include: the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), Advance CTE, Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation (Rural LISC) and NSC.
  
  
• Nation’s Report Card Results Released: Significant attention in DC was placed on the release of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress results, which were released on October 30. While these results are not specific to CTE, as they are based on assessments in fourth and eighth graders’ reading and math scores, they do have implications for educational policy overall. Unfortunately, the overall news was not positive. The results for reading were lower for both grades compared to 2017, and the results for math were one point higher in fourth-grade students and one point lower for eighth-grade students compared to 2017. Department of Education Secretary DeVos said in a press release that the results were “devastating” and proposed support for school choice initiatives to help counteract the results.

DC Digest: October 20-27

Most of the education attention in Washington was on the Higher Education Act this week, as work moved forward in the House on the reauthorization of that bill. The House Education and Labor Committee has scheduled a mark-up of the legislation introduced earlier this month for October 29. We will provide additional coverage as the bill moves forward! In other news:

• Bills Introduced to Support Working Students: Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Representative Ami Bera (D-CA) introduced the Working Students Act(S. 2655/ H.R. 4787) in their respective chambers. The legislation increases the amount of money that working students can earn before those earnings are counted against them when accessing need-based federal financial aid. ACTE endorsed the bills and was quoted in Baldwin’s press release.
• President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Created:On October 22, President Trump established a council to provide guidance on science, technology, education and innovative policy. The council will also be responsible for informing the public on relevant public policy on the economy, the American worker, national and homeland security and other topics. The council will be composed of 16 appointed members.
• Aspen Institute Highlighted Opportunity in America:On October 27, the Aspen Institute hosted an afternoon of discussions on opportunity in the United States. The three panels, which ACTE attended, included discussions on measuring opportunity, access and inclusion, and the business role in developing economic opportunity. Read more.