CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

DC Digest: May 25-31

With the Memorial Day holiday shortening the week and the Senate in recess, activity was lighter this week. The House was in session for most of the week, and considered minor changes to the Paycheck Protection Program. The Senate will return to the Hill June 1. Read more to find out what has been happening!

• Second Wave of CTE State Plans Approved: The Department of Education (ED) announced that they have approved the second wave of CTE state plans! This wave included 9 states: Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. More information on their plans can be found on the ED’s website.
  
  
• House Summer Schedule Announced: On Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sent a letter to Representatives announcing tentative plans for summer. June will be dedicated primarily to Committee work, with only one day of votes scheduled unless additional COVID-19 legislation is ready for floor action. 

DC Digest: May 11-17

The House returned to session on Friday, and activity is picking up on the Hill.  You can read more about the House vote on their next coronavirus relief package here. Catch up on the other happenings from the Hill and Administration below!

• Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award Winners: The Department of Education has awarded Donna Woods from California and Kara Four Bear from North Dakota the inaugural Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award. The criteria for the award were “superior educator accomplishment, academic achievement indicators, and leadership contributing to educational excellence” in cybersecurity education.
  
  
• Senate Hearing on COVID-19: Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School: On Tuesday, May 12, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing where Senators heard testimony from four top health officials and were able to ask questions about issues affected by COVID-19. Regarding the safety of opening up schools again, officials were hesitant to give an answer and stated that it would depend on the landscape of where the country and local communities are in August. You can watch the hearing here.
  
  
• Cohort Announced for the Pathways to Credentials Initiative: The Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education announced the cohort for a new initiative, Pathways to Credentials. The goal is to increase postsecondary institutions’ capacity for stackable, industry-recognized credentials. The cohort consists of 10 community colleges who will receive technical assistance between May 2020 and July 2021.
  
  
• New Grant Competition for Student-Centered Funding Program: The Department of Education has announced a new $3 million grant, funded through ESSA, to give an opportunity to school districts to launch student-centered funding programs. The program will allow local districts the flexibility to spend funds on individual student needs. 
  
  
• New CDC Decision Chart on Reopening Schools: The Center for Disease Control released a new decision chart to provide guidance on when and how schools should reopen. The guidance states that schools should only reopen if there is ongoing monitoring in place which includes screening protocols, daily evaluating of any staff or students with symptoms or previous exposure, and promoting healthy habits such as hand washing and face coverings among other measures.

DC Digest: May 4-10

The Senate is back in session which means the DC Digest is back from its brief hiatus! We will try and catch you up on the happenings in Congress, as well as other news, as policymakers resume work on the Hill. Here are the latest updates on federal policy activities:

• Appropriations Markup Timeline: Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) recently stated that the Senate plans to mark up 10 of the 12 appropriations bills in Committee by June, skipping the Homeland Security and Military Construction-VA funding bills due to partisan disagreements mainly around border wall funding. This would include Appropriations Committee consideration of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill, which funds Perkins  Read more here​.
  
  
•  Next COVID-19 Response Bill: ​​The House is working behind the scenes to finalize a draft of another large coronavirus response measure, with the possibility of holding a House vote as early as this Friday, May 15. The House will give several days’ notice before it holds any votes. We continue to advocate for the inclusion of funding for CTE in this bill.
  
  
• Forum on Impact of COVID-19 on Education System: On May 1, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual forum to discuss the impact of COVID-19 and share ideas to address the crisis within our education system. Each member of the Committee had the opportunity to talk about the unique challenges and positive developments happening within their district as they work through the current pandemic. CTE and other related workforce programs remained a critical part of the discussion throughout the forum, including Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) stating that funding for these programs are critical and should be included in the next relief package. Read more about the forum here.
  
  
• Hearing on Federal Response to COVID-19: Wednesday, May 6, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) held a hearing on COVID-19 and the federal response to the pandemic. Watch the full hearing here.
  
  
• Briefing on Remote Learning and Education Equity: Thursday, May 7, the House Education and Labor Committee held a virtual Members briefing on Remote Learning and Education Equity. They examined the learning challenges schools are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee also discussed how the abrupt closing of schools have exacerbated longstanding inequities in K-12 education and underscored disparities in school funding, curricular resources, school facilities and teacher quality. Watch the full briefing here.
  

DC Digest: March 22-29

Most of the activity in Washington is focused on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find all the latest information about actions by Congress or the Administration on ACTE’s blog in COVID-19 Resources, Laws, Updates for CTE Programs. Understandably, with this the primary focus, there are only a few other updates for federal education policy.

• Deadline Extended for OCTAE’s Pathways to Credentials Incentive: The Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) has extended the deadline for Pathways to Credential applications to 5pm Central on Thursday, April 16, 2020, due to COVID-19. This initiative allows for colleges to apply for free customized technical assistance on stackable credential programs.
  
  
• Department of Education Releases FY 20 State Perkins Allocations: Earlier this month, OCTAE also released the state allocations under Perkins for next school year--the funds available beginning July 1, 2020.
  
  
• Update on Congress’ Schedule: COVID-19 has created a change in the congressional schedule. The House is now in recess indefinitely, while the Senate is expected to be out of session until April 20. Due to this prolonged recess, DC Digest may be on hiatus for a few weeks as most policy activity remains COVID focused.

DC Digest: March 16-22

We at ACTE hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy during these uncertain times. We will continue to bring you news from the federal government on COVID-19. For the most recent updates on federal policy activities related to COVID-19, please visit this blog post, which is being updated on a daily basis with any recent news or activity. While Congress and the Administration are spending most of their time on these response activities, there were a few other news items on CTE-related issues last week:

• The Education Commission of the States (ECS) and National Governer’s Association (NGA) released their new report “Governor’s Top Education Priorities in 2020 State of the State Addresses”. One of the top findings showed CTE and workforce development programs were addressed by Governors in at least 34 states, making it the most addressed issue in 2020 state-of-the state addresses.
  
  
• The Department of Education is now accepting applications for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program. This goal of this program is to decrease, eliminate and prevent isolation of minority groups through grant-based funding to create and reproduce evidence-based programs in schools. The application deadline is May 26.

DC Digest: March 9-15

Most of the news from the federal government is understandably focused on the Coronavirus, so this Digest (and likely others for the next several weeks) largely concentrates on news and guidance coming from the administration and the Education Department. We will certainly still report on other news concerning federal education policy when it occurs! Here’s the news from this week:

 

• Senate Introduces Early Educators Apprenticeship Act: Three Senators—Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)—introduced the Early Educators Apprenticeship Act. The Act increases the number of child care apprentices with credentials or degrees, recruits new workers and offers apprentices career advancement opportunities.

 

• New Resources from the Department of Education for the Coronavirus: Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has released new resources to help education leaders protect student privacy, allow for flexibility on accountability standards under ESSA and ensure students with disabilities continue to receive services that are required for learning. 

 

• COVID-19 Conference Call Between Department of Education and Chief State School Officers: The Department of Education, along with other agencies, hosted a conference call with the Council of Chief State School Officers and discussed issues relating to the Coronavirus such as school closures, school meal programs, testing and accountability measures and grant administration. Read the summary of that call here. 

 

• CDC Guidance on School Closures: The CDC has released guidance for schools when faced with decision to close down for a short period of time due to the Coronavirus or measures that should be taken if your school has already shut down. 

 

For the most up-to-date information on the Coronavirus, the Department of Education has created an information page for schools and educators. You can find more here.

 

DC Digest: March 2-8

It’s March and we’ve hit the ground running this month in the federal education policy realm. The coronavirus is on many people’s minds and on Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) asked top health officials about what school leaders and families should know. Here is what was said in the meeting, and the Department of Education has made additional resources available here. In addition, there were hearings in the House and Senate on appropriations, and in the House on apprenticeship during the week. You can find complete coverage of those in the linked blog posts. In addition, here’s what else is in the news:

• Speaker Pelosi Supports School Infrastructure Bill: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her support of the Rebuild America’s Schools Act at a press conference with teachers’ union leaders. The Act would allocated $100 billion in funding towards improving both the physical and digital infrastructure of public schools.
  
  
• New Legislation for Nutrition Education: Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) are jointly working on legislation to help students learn about healthy eating. The grants from the bill would fund activities such as school gardens, and would target schools that are experiencing high rates of childhood diet-related issues.
  
  
• CTE Mentioned at Annual Latino Coalition Legislative Summit: Secretary DeVos promoted CTE at the annual Latino Coalition legislative summit on Thursday, giving her support for CTE, and more specifically apprenticeship programs, to help with the increasing number of unfilled jobs.

DC Digest: February 24-March 1

As CTE Month wraps up, we hope that you were able to celebrate and advocate for CTE in your community and state. Take a look at how CTE Month has been celebrated around the country! Switching to the news this week, the Department of Education was very active in the federal education policy realm. Read those stories and more below!

• Applications for Advancing Innovation in Adult Education Project: The Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) has opened applications for the Advancing Innovation in Adult Education project, which encourages new ways to increase innovative practices for adult education. These innovations can include adult education and CTE partnering to offer innovative program designs. Applications are due April 15, 2020.
  
  
• New Upgrade to Federal Student Aid Website: Upgrades to the Education Department’s gov website include new tools to help borrowers receive personalized information about loan repayment plans. These new tools include a new Aid Summary to show users specific information on each grant and loan received, a Loan Simulator to help borrowers chart a repayment plan, and Make a Payment pilot where, in some areas, borrowers can schedule upcoming monthly payments directly on the StudentAid website.
  
  
• New Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault in Public Schools: The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has launched a new initiative to try and combat sexual assault in public schools. The initiative will increase schools’ capacity to respond to all sexual harassment and assault cases and will prohibit schools from moving employees to other schools if they have committed acts of sexual misconduct.
  
  
• House Introduces Bipartisan Apprenticeship Bill: Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the Student Apprenticeship Act of 2020. The bill would create a grant program where students can earn college credit and industry credentials through apprenticeships while partnering businesses cover at least 25 percent of the tuition and fees. ACTE has endorsed this legislation.
  
  
• Joint Op-Ed Pushes for CTE Investment: To close out CTE Month, ACTE and Advance CTE published a joint op-ed calling for a significant funding increase for Perkins Basic State Grants to continue providing services to students through high-quality CTE programs.

DC Digest: February 17-23

Last week the House and Senate finished up their district work periods, and are now set to return to Washington.  Below are some of the CTE-related policy highlights from last week:

 

• Apprenticeship Grantees Announced: The U.S. Department of Labor announced the 28 public-private partnerships that are set to receive $100 million worth of grants through the Apprenticeship: Closing the Skills Gap program. The grants are specifically targeted to paid apprenticeship programs that lead to industry-recognized credentials.
  
  
• Stackable Credential Program Technical Assistance Application Opened: The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education announced that the technical assistance phase for its Pathways to Credentials project has begun. This allows up to 10 community colleges to receive free technical assistance on stackable credential program design. Full details are available here, and you can register for a webinar on the program here.​
  
  
• CTE Month Resolutions Finalized: The deadlines for co-sponsors to the House and Senate CTE Month resolutions closed. We are hearing that each resolution received more than 50 co-sponsors, which is terrific. Final numbers will be posted on the CTE Policy Watch Blog once confirmed. Thank you to everyone who contacted their Members of Congress.

DC Digest: February 10-16

CTE month is still in full swing and we hope that you are spending this time reflecting on the importance of CTE and encouraging others to expand CTE in schools and in your local communities, regions and states! The biggest education policy news last week was the release of the Administration’s budget, but there were several other developments as well.  . Here’s the news from last week:

• New Federal School Safety Website Launched: The Trump Administration released the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse website to help address safety and security in schools. The website is a “one-stop-shop” where students, parents and educators can visit to get more information, tools and best practices regarding safety.
  
  
• Bipartisan Bill providing Community College Innovation and Career Training Grants Introduced: The Assisting Community Colleges in Education Skilled Students (ACCESS) to Careers Act was introduced by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senator Todd Young (R-IN) and is aimed at increasing college and career readiness for students. The bill includes resources to increase local and regional labor market demand for a skilled workforce such as providing work-based learning opportunities, wraparound services and creating career pathways. ACTE has endorsed this bill.
  
  
• Scott Stump Visits Hartland Community College: On February 14, Scott Stump, Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education, visited Heartland Community College in Illinois to see how Hartland is training students to fill the skills gap. Stump met with students and educators and talked about the importance of increasing technical skills and workforce development efforts.