CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

DC Digest: May 31-June 6

Congress was out of session last week, but that did not mean that it was a slow week in DC. There was continued focus on the Administration’s budget release, and continued negotiations on infrastructure dominated most of the week. A number of proposals were discussed, however, there has yet to be any consensus between the Administration and Republicans in Congress. Here are a few other notes from last week: 

• Democrats Introduce Highway Bill: On Friday, House Democrats introduced a five-year, $547 billion highway bill that would potentially be included into the ongoing infrastructure talks. The bill would boost funding to projects to fix bridges and roads, increase funding for rail systems and build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and contains a few workforce development-related provisions. This could become the foundation of a broader infrastructure proposal in the House, depending on the progress of negotiations.  

• Department of Education Releases COVID-19 Handbook for Higher Education: On Friday, the Department of Education released the third volume of their COVID-19 handbook, Strategies for Safe Operation and Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education Students, Faculty, and Staff. This latest volume provides strategies for higher education institutions to safely and equitably reopen institutions for in-person learning. The Handbook highlights ways to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campuses, as well as strategies to utilize relief bill funding for student needs, boost vaccination efforts and address inequities brought on by the pandemic. 

• Department of Education Launches COVID-19 College Challenge: The Department of Education announced details on the COVID-19 College Challenge, a challenge intended to encourage postsecondary institutions to get students, faculty and staff vaccinated. This move is part of President Biden’s goal of getting 70% of the U.S. population vaccinated by July 4th. In addition, efforts are underway to establish vaccine clinics on community college campuses.  

• Senators Request Update on Student Loan Repayment Freeze: Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the ranking members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and House Education and Labor Committee, sent a letter to Education Secretary Cardona requesting and update on the Department of Education’s plan to transition student loan borrowers from the repayment freeze in effect during the COVID-19 pandemic to an active repayment status. The committee members urged the Department not to continue the payment freeze.  

DC Digest: May 24-29

Congress had a busy week last week before a long Memorial Day weekend. The week was capped off on Friday, when President Biden released his full FY 2022 federal budget proposal. The total budget proposal included $6 trillion, including funds for FY 2022 appropriations, as well as a breakdown of proposed spending under the previously released American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. A $20 million increase was proposed for the Perkins Basic State Grant. You can read more about the proposed budget in our full blog post. Here are a few other notes from last week:  

• Senators Reintroduce Legislation to Increase Student Success and Career Readiness: Co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced the Assisting Community Colleges in Educating Skilled Students (ACCESS) to Careers Act. The bill would establish a community college and career training grant program to provide funding for states and community colleges to increase student success and career readiness, such as increasing work-based learning opportunities, ensuring students have access to support services and creating career pathways for in-demand jobs. ACTE supports this legislation.  

• Education Secretary Discusses Importance of Pell Grants for Incarcerated Students: On Tuesday, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with current and former incarcerated students to discuss the importance of Pell Grants. The discussion centered around the students’ stories and potential strategies for providing access to high-quality postsecondary education opportunities to incarcerated students in the future.  

• Department of Education Announces Public Hearings on Postsecondary Regulations: The Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education announced it will host virtual public hearings to receive stakeholder feedback on potential issues for federal rulemaking, including ability to benefit, gainful employment, protections for students, loan repayment, targeted loan cancellation programs and other postsecondary issues. The purpose of this feedback is to help identify topics for the establishment of negotiated rulemaking committees to prepare proposed regulations for programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act. The hearings will be held on June 21, 23 and 24. 

• HELP Committee Holds Labor Nomination Hearings: On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the nominations of Rajesh Nayak for Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy, Taryn Mackenzie Williams for Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, and Doug Parker for Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. The committee will next vote on whether to confirm these nominees to their respective positions.  

• Education and Labor Committee Holds Hearing on WIOA Reauthorization: On Wednesday, the House Education and Labor Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee held a hearing titled, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Reauthorization: Creating Employment Pathways for Dislocated Workers.” The hearing was intended to share strategies to support dislocated workers and help workers avoid future displacement through lifelong learning. 

• Department of Education releases new COVID-19 Funding FAQs: On May 26, the Department of Education released a new set of frequently asked questions for states and school districts related to the use of American Rescue Plan funds for K-12 education, including through the Education and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund. Don’t forget, you can find more info on using these funds to support CTE in our recent publication, “High-quality CTE During COVID-19: Leveraging Federal Relief Funds at the Local Level.” 
   
• Infrastructure Proposal Moves Froward: On Thursday, Senate Republicans made another counteroffer on the Administration’s infrastructure plan, this one totaling about $928 billion, still far short of the president’s goals. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that negotiations have been healthy between Republicans and the White House. Negotiations will continue for now, but a decision will be made soon about whether to continue bi-partisan negotiations or move forward with the proposal in Congress. 

DC Digest: May 17-23

Though both the House and Senate were in session for a majority of the week, DC was relatively quiet with regard to federal education policy. Most of the focus on the Hill surrounded the possible creation of a January 6 commission, the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that was signed into law. However, there were a few relevant activities that are summarized below: 

• White House Counters Infrastructure Proposal: On Friday, the White House presented a counterproposal of $1.7 trillion in response to the recent Republican infrastructure proposal. This proposal is $550 billion lower than the Administration’s original infrastructure proposal in an effort to work toward a more bipartisan deal, according to the White House. Workforce development investments were one of the items not included in the Republican proposal that continue to be emphasized by the White House.   

• Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Broadband Access: On Wednesday, the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government held a hearing on “The Need for Universal Broadband: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The subcommittee hosted panelists who discussed equity issues surrounding access to broadband and potential solutions to solve these issues to create more equity. Many of the panelists highlighted issues that students faced during online learning without access to broadband services.  

• House Approves STEM Related Bills: The House considered several STEM-related bills last week. The first bill was the Rural STEM Education Research Act, which would analyze STEM in rural communities and research strategies to improve broadband access. Another bill, the STEM Opportunities Act, promotes research on the participation and trajectories of women, minorities, and other groups historically underrepresented in STEM studies and careers at postsecondary institutions.  
   
• House Announces Appropriations Committee Schedule: With the Administration’s full budget release scheduled for Friday, May 28, Congress is busy preparing to begin their appropriations work. House leaders have announced that Appropriations Subcommittees will mark up their bills beginning on June 24, with full Committee work to begin on June 29 and wrap up by July 16. These markups will be our first indication of congressional intent related to funding for Perkins and other education and workforce programs for FY 2022.  
   
• OCTAE Issues Memo on Perkins Accountability: On May 20, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education issued a new program memo outlining some flexibilities that will be offered to states, and in turn, that states can offer to locals, related to Perkins accountability for the 2020-21 school year. Perhaps more importantly, the memo outlines requirements that remain in place, including data reporting and improvement plans if performance level targets are missed.  

DC Digest: May 10-16

It was quite a busy week in DC with the return of Congress after a short break and several announcements from the Department of Education. Members of Congress continue to negotiate on President Biden’s proposed infrastructure package, with a counterproposal from Senate Republicans expected sometime soon. The main sticking points are defining what qualifies as infrastructure and how to pay for the proposal. Here are some of the other happenings from DC last week:  

• Students Receive Emergency Broadband Discount: The Federal Communications Commission announced that postsecondary students who receive Pell grants and families with children participating in the free or reduced-price lunch or school breakfast program at the secondary level are now eligible to receive a monthly discount of $50 to help pay for broadband internet services. Also, each household can receive a one-time discount of up to $100 for one connected device, such as a laptop, desktop or tablet computer. More information can be found on GetEmergencyBroadband.org. 

• Federal Communications Commission Announces Funds for the Connectivity Fund Program: On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission announced that the final rules for distribution of $7.17 billion in the Connectivity Fund Program from the American Rescue Plan. This funding will enable schools to purchase laptop and tablet computers and Wi-Fi hotspots, and will fund increased broadband access that is needed for distant learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.   

• Department of Education Announces Grants for Postsecondary Education: Also on Tuesday, the Department of Education announced that postsecondary education institutions can now receive $36 billion funds in emergency grants under the American Rescue Plan funds. The grants are intended to provide financial aid to postsecondary students to ensure student learning is not negatively impacted during the pandemic. Read more in our full blog post.  

• Department of Education Announces 2021 Presidential Scholars: On Thursday, the Department of Education announced the 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars. Nationwide, 161 high school students were awarded for their accomplishments, specifically, 20 scholars were awarded the U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education. 

• Secretary Cardona Holds Virtual Roundtable with Asian American and Pacific Islander Community: Secretary of Education Cardona held a virtual roundtable event with members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. During the event, Cardona talked with teachers, parents and other community members about their experiences during the pandemic and ongoing educational challenges within their communities. 

• Senate Confirms the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education: On May 11, Cindy Marten was confirmed by the Senate as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education on a 54-44 vote. She has spent 32 years as an educator in various roles, her most recent one being the superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, a position she has served in since 2013. Secretary of Education Cardona’s statement on her confirmation particularly noted her response to the coronavirus pandemic and how that will translate to her work at the Department of Education. . 

• House Kicks Off WIOA Reauthorization Hearings: On May 13, the House Education and Labor Committee held the first of a series of hearings around the reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This hearing focused on youth employment and the challenges youth are facing in the job market as a result of the pandemic. Read more on our full blog post.  

DC Digest: May 3-9

The House and Senate were out of session, though a few events and announcements concerning federal education policy occurred last week. The infrastructure bill proposed by President Biden in early April remains a key topic of discussion in Washington, but has yet to gain traction with Senate Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said last Monday that no Senate Republican would back the $4 trillion proposal, but negotiations are expected to continue this week. Here are a few other notes from last week:

• House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Department of Education 2022 Budget: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education hosted Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to testify on the Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget Request for the Department of Education. Community schools, IDEA, Pell Grants, HBCUs and CTE were among the topics that were discussed during the hearing. Read more on our full blog. 
   
• House Committee Holds a Hearing Addressing COVID-19 Impact on Students with Disabilities: The House Education and Labor Committee’s Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee hosted a hearing on Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Students with Disabilities. During Chairman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan’s (Northern Mariana Islands) opening statement he emphasized the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on learners with disabilities, and stressed the need to address the barriers that these learners face in order to provide them equitable access to educational opportunities. 
   
• Department of Labor Accepts Applications for Apprenticeship Advisory Committee: The Department of Labor is now accepting applications for members to serve on the reinstated National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships. It will include a diverse group of stakeholders and focus on equitably expanding apprenticeships into fast-growing industries, such as clean energy, technology and healthcare to create more high-quality training and employment opportunities.

• President Biden Visits Community College: President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited an HVAC workshop at Tidewater Community College in Portsmouth, Virginia. Throughout the tour, the President was shown how to program provided pathways to good jobs, and the different types of certifications and/or degrees students could earn while in the program. This visit was aimed to build support for the president’s infrastructure proposal. 

• Department of Education Announces New Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid: The Department of Education announced Richard Cordray as the chief operating officer of Federal Student Aid Office. This department is responsible for managing student financial assistance programs, which include grants, work-studies and loans. Cordray will likely be involved in the discussions happening within the Department of Education to determine whether President Biden has the legal authority to cancel some student loan debt.

DC Digest: April 19-25

The House and Senate were in session last week, and there was a lot of activity in DC. Conversations and activity continued on COVID-19 relief and recovery, and on the Administration’s proposed infrastructure package. On Thursday, Senate Republicans revealed their $568 billion counterproposal to the White House’s $2.2 trillion infrastructure proposal, and the White House indicated its plan for ongoing talks. In other new, Senate Republicans voted to keep their symbolic ban on earmarks instead of following in the footsteps of House Democrats and Republicans and Senate Democrats. However, the top leaders of the caucus acknowledged that the ban was not enforceable and Senators will be able to request and get earmarks if they desire. Here are some other notes from last week: 

• NCDA Recognizes CTE Caucus Co-Chairs: The National Career Development Association (NCDA) held a press briefing on Wednesday featuring their NCDA 2020 Legislative Award winners, Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Glen Thompson (R-PA), who also serve as co-chairs of the House CTE Caucus. During Langevin and Thompson’s remarks, they stressed the need for career counseling to ensure students are informed about the multiple pathways that are available to them. The press briefing also featured a panel discussion where experts spoke on topics of career development and career services.  
   
• Department of Education Releases a New State Plan Template for COVID-19 Relief Funds: The Department of Education released a new state plan template for states to submit in order to receive the remainder of their American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. The template outlines that state plans must indicate how the state will ensure transparency in planning, identify needs of its most impacted students, choose evidence-based interventions, and prioritize educational equity, inclusive stakeholder engagement and strong fiscal safeguards.   
   
• Department of Education Allocates Funds to Support Homeless Students: The Department of Education announced plans to distribute $800 million from the American Rescue Plan to support students who are facing homelessness. On Friday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, joined by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Joe Manchin (D-VA), also led a roundtable discussion with students who have experienced homelessness to understand how to best serve the students’ needs with the funds. 
   
• Department of Labor Introduces a New Online Dialogue Platform: The Department of Labor created a national online dialogue platform, Empowering Teens in the Workforce, as an effort to learn how they can better reach teenagers with information on various aspects of work-related issues, such as jobs teens can and cannot do, workday hours, pay requirements, and other questions and concerns teens may have. The public is invited to participate in these conversations—submit ideas, comment or vote on ideas submitted by others—through April 30.  

• HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Strengthening the Nation’s Workforce Programs: On Tuesday, the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions (HELP) committee held a hearing on COVID-19 Recovery: Supporting Workers and Modernizing the Workforce Through Quality Education, Training, and Employment Opportunities. During Chair Patty Murray’s (D-WA) opening remarks, she stated that workers need to have access to pathways that lead to good jobs. She stressed the need for life-long learning and for investments into workforce programs to provide the training, skills and opportunities to succeed.  
   
• House Holds Hearings on Increasing Investments in Community Colleges and Member Interests: Also on Tuesday, the House Committee on Appropriations held a hearing on Building Capacity, Building Community: Increasing Investments in Community Colleges. Chair Rosa DeLauro’s (D-CT) opening remarks emphasized the important role that community colleges play in making postsecondary pathways more affordable and accessible. DeLauro also stated that the federal government needs to increase funding and understand where the greatest needs are and provide support to both the institutions and students. Later in the week, the House Education and Labor Committee held a “Member Day” Hearing where CTE and workforce pathways also came up.  
   
• HELP Committee Advances Nominations for Education and Labor Appointees: On April 21, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held an executive session to advance three nominations for positions within the Departments of Education and Labor. All three nominations, which included Julie Su to serve as the of Deputy Secretary of Labor; Cynthia Marten to serve as the Deputy Secretary of Education; and James Kvaal to serve as the Under Secretary of Education, were voted favorably out of committee in a bipartisan fashion to advance to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote. There has been no date set for this final vote. 
   
• Congress Increases Focus on WIOA Reauthorization: On April 21, House Education and Labor Committee Leaders Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC) announced plans to begin bipartisan efforts to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The Senate is also working to gather information on WIOA priorities, so this bill could see activity later this year.  
   
• Administration Leaders Visit Illinois Community College: On April 19, First Lady Jill Biden and Education Secretary Cardona visited Sauk Valley Community College to tour programs and made comments emphasizing the importance of community colleges to the nation’s economy.  
   
• Department of Labor Announces Virtual Job Corps Enrollment: Students can now enroll virtually in the first 60 days of the Job Corp program to complete their “Career Preparation Period” of training online, then enroll in a Job Corps Center. More information is available here.  

DC Digest: April 12-18

The House and Senate were back in session last week after a two-week long break and the focus was primarily on the infrastructure bill proposal. President Biden hosted a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss the proposal last Monday, but both sides of the aisle are very far apart on the price tag of the $2.25 trillion package. The timeline of the bill is uncertain, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hoping to complete work in the House by July.  Here are a few other notes from last week: 

• HELP Committee Holds Hearing on the Nomination of James Kvaal: On April 15, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the nomination of James Kvaal to serve as undersecretary of education. During the hearing, Sen. Kaine (D-VA) asked Kvaal about his support for expanding Pell Grant eligibility to short-term job training programs. You can read a full recap of the hearing in this blog post. 
    
• Kaine, Portman Reintroduce Builds Act: The Building U.S. Infrastructure by Leveraging Demands for Skills (BUILDS) Act, a major infrastructure priority of ACTE’s, was reintroduced in the House and Senate. This bill promotes sector partnerships made up of local businesses and industry organizations, workforce boards, labor representatives, and education and training providers to support workforce training programs in infrastructure-related jobs. The BUILDS Act is supported by Advance CTE, ACTE, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Skills Coalition, Jobs for the Future, the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues, and the National League of Cities. View the press release here. 
   
• CDC Launches the Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice: The CDC awarded the American College Health Association $450,000 to launch a new Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice to share campus-wide information about mitigation strategies for COVID-19. The initiative provides several resources for postsecondary campuses to use, such as an online repository of resources including a discussion board, a twice-monthly webinar series, a planning toolkit for campuses interested in creating a public health ambassador program, and an online database for colleges to upload information about their campus practices. 
   
• National Groups Support President Biden’s Education Investment: On behalf of 100 education organizations, including ACTE, the Community for Education Funding sent a letter to Members of Congress urging them to support the increase in education investments in President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2022 discretionary request . The President’s proposal includes $102.8 billion for the Department of Education, a $29.8 billion or 41% increase over the 2021 enacted level.

• White House Announces its Intent to Nominate Gwen Graham to the Department of Education: The White House announced its intent to nominate Gwen Graham as the Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the Department of Education. Graham has served as a public service leader in Florida’s local public schools and was a Member of Congress. She also practiced law with a focus on public education earlier in her career. Read Education Secretary Cardona’s statement on her nomination.

DC Digest: April 5-11

Though it was another relatively quiet week for Congress since both Chambers were out of session, several announcements from the Department of Education were released last week. In addition, on Friday, President Biden proposed a $1.5 trillion annual budget for 2022 fiscal year, including an increase to non-defense spending for governmental agencies such as the Department of Education, which would see a 40.8% increase from the current funding levels under the proposal (which did not provide detailed funding levels for all programs like Perkins). Here some other notes from the week: 

• Department of Education Releases Second Volume of its COVID-19 Handbook: On April 9, the Department of Education released its second volume of COVID guidance, the COVID-19 Handbook, Volume 2: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students' Needs. In this volume, the Department provides additional strategies for reopening schools for in-person learning, and recommendations for promoting equity by addressing opportunity gaps that were exacerbated by the pandemic. It also provides strategies to address the social, emotional, mental-health and academic impacts of the pandemic on students, educators and staff. Following the release, Sec. Cardona held a roundtable discussion with students and parents on the impact of the pandemic. 
   
• Department of Education Announces More Political Appointees: More political appointees were announced by the Department of Education. Among these political appointees, Amy Loyd was announced as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Strategic Initiatives for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). Read our full blog post here.  
   
• Department of Education Begins Issuing ESSA Testing-related Waivers: The Department of Education issued a number of responses this week to state requests for waivers related to the statewide academic assessments required under ESSA. Waivers granted generally related to timing of assessments, participation and accountability, and for the most part the Department has not supported states efforts to cancel test completely. State ESSA waivers will have a future impact on the availability and quality of data for reporting on student academic achievement under Perkins as well. Copies of waiver responses can be found here. 

• National Groups Support the College Transparency Act: On April 5, ACTE joined 147 education-related groups, including members and partners of the Postsecondary Data Collaborative and National Skills Coalition, to send a letter in support of the College Transparency Act.  The College Transparency Act is a bipartisan legislative proposal which would modernize the postsecondary reporting system to ensure students and families have clear and concise information as learners consider higher education opportunities.  

DC Digest: March 29-April 4

Last week, President Biden released his highly anticipated Infrastructure bill proposal. The $2 trillion “American Jobs Plan” aims to create millions of jobs while rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure. It is expected to span eight years if enacted, and education and workforce development was a significant part of the proposal. To learn more about the proposal, read more in our full blog post. Elsewhere on the Hill was relatively quiet with both the House and Senate out of session, but there were several other Administration announcements. Here are some notes from last week: 

• Agricultural Workforce Training Priority Released: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative announced an agriculture workforce training priority to help expand student’s access to agricultural jobs through the development of new workforce training programs or the expansion, improvement or renewal of existing workforce training programs at community, junior and technical colleges and institutes. An informational webinar about this priority will be held April 5, from 2-3 p.m. ET. 
   
• President Biden Investigating Legality of Canceling $50,000 in Student Loan Debt: On Thursday, the Biden Administration requested that the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona prepare a report on the president’s legal authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student debt per borrower. This has been a hotly debated topic throughout the pandemic, and more details will be available in the coming weeks. Also under the student loan debt theme, Secretary Cardona joined a roundtable discussion with student loan borrowers and advocates to discuss the impact of student loan debt.  
   
• Student with Disabilities Get Relief for Student Loans: The Department of Education announced actions to help students who have total or permanent disabilities who had their student loans discharged, but have faced reinstatement or other penalties for not submitting earnings documentation during the COVID-19 national emergency.  
   
• Expanding Relief to Additional Federal Student Loans in Default: The Department of Education also announced an expansion of the pause on federal student loan interest and collections to all defaulted loans in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program aimed to help those who were burdened by debt during the pandemic. This expands the action taken by the Biden Administration that included pausing student loan interest, repayment, and collections activity through Sept. 30, 2021. 

DC Digest: March 22-28

The House was in recess last week while the Senate was still in session, and congressional action related to education was relatively light, with the main activity being around nominations. The focus on the Hill has begun to shift toward a potential economic recovery-focused plan with announcements expected in the coming weeks, that would include significant investments in rebuilding U.S. infrastructure. Here are a few other relevant notes from last week:  

• Labor Secretary Confirmed: On Monday, Marty Walsh was confirmed by the Senate as the Labor Secretary to the Department of Labor. This will be the last confirmation of a political cabinet appointee until the Senate returns after their two-week recess. 
   
• Hearing for the Nomination of Cynthia Marten: On March 24, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee held a hearing for the nomination of Cynthia Marten to serve as Deputy Secretary of Education. During the hearing, Senator Kaine (D-VA) asked Marten how equity was achieved in CTE programs during her tenure as the Superintendent of San Diego.  
   
• Letter to Invest in Workforce Development: In a letter sent to President Biden, which ACTE signed on to, more than 70 organizations urged the President to invest no less than $100 billion for workforce development in the next recovery package to ensure that all workers have the skills and reemployment assistance necessary for a truly inclusive economic recovery.  
   
• Department of Education’s National Safe School Reopening Summit: Also on March 24, the Department of Education hosted the National Safe School Reopening Summit which gathered together education stakeholders, President Biden, Vice President Harris, First Lady Dr. Biden, Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona and Director of the CDC and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Welensky to discuss best practices on reopening schools quickly and safely. During the event, the Administration made several announcements about the use of COVID-19 relief funds, including the distribution of funds to K-12 funding.  
   
• NAEP 2021 School Reopening Survey: This week, the Department released the findings of its first national survey on school reopening. The findings show progress of schools' efforts to reopen schools for in-person learning, and as of February, the survey results showed 76% of schools were open for full-time or hybrid learning. The Department of Education released a statement on the findings as well.

• New Outreach on SNAP Benefits Eligibility: The Department is urging postsecondary institutions to make direct outreach to students who may meet temporarily expanded eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) guidelines. Expanded eligibility includes any student eligible to participate in federal work study or who has an “expected family contribution” of 0 in the current academic year.