CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

DC Digest August 26 – September 1

This week was another period of low activity in Washington as Congress entered into its last full week of August recess. The Senate returns on September 5 and the House the following week. While recess was wrapping up, items in the headlines this week included a request from the Administration for additional FEMA disaster funds and ramped-up talks on how Congress will move forward on appropriations bills, including the agriculture spending bill and defense spending bill. Read more news and notes below:

• White House Calls on Congress to Pass Short-Term Spending Bill; Submits List of Funding Anomalies to Lawmakers Drafting CR: The Biden-Harris Administration has sent lawmakers on Capitol Hill a list of special funding items and unrelated add-ons for inclusion in the anticipated continuing resolution (CR) needed next month in the absence of a full-year appropriations bill for fiscal year 2024. This list of items represents funding areas that could present problems for major programs if a full bill is not written in time to address them. The Administration addressed policy areas such as student loans, social security, Medicaid and food packages for seniors, among other things.
• Secretary Miguel Cardona Announces “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar”: The Department of Education (ED) has announced a week-long, multi-state road trip showcasing how schools, families and communities support and contribute to student learning. The tour will feature stops in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. CTE and career pathways programs are expected to be featured in several of the states.
• DOE Announces Funding to Provide Workforce Development Opportunities in Energy Communities: The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $3.5 million in federal funding that will be available to assist local communities historically dependent on energy assets to create a roadmap toward building technical capacity and developing a workforce necessary to help revitalize energy systems, address environmental impacts and tackle challenges associated with assets that have been retired or slated for retirement. Program submissions open in early September 2023 with a subsequent informational webinar taking place on September 7.
• Department of Labor and CTE Center in Idaho Falls Align to Promote Workplace Safety and Prevent Exposure to Hazards: The Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Idaho Falls District 91’s CTE Center (CTEC) have announced the establishment of a two-year alliance that is aimed at providing students with opportunities to earn OSHA certifications while in high school to give them an edge in the modern-day competitive job market. During this two-year term, OSHA and CTEC will use data to design joint outreach and communication activities to foster collaboration and train students in workplace safety and health effectively.
• Department of Education Announces Annual ED Games Expo: ED has announced that the ninth annual ED Games Expo will take place September 19-22, 2023, in-person and virtually at the Kennedy Center REACH and other locations across Washington, DC. The free-to-attend multi-day event, which engages shareholders such as researchers, students and educators, is a public showcase of game-changing education technology innovations created through more than 50 programs at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), ED and the government. See the full agenda here.

CTE Among the Pathway Changes for Better Workforce Outcomes

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) recently released a report on youth and young adult pathway changes. More specifically, the report sought to identify 10 pathway changes with “the greatest potential to improve employment outcomes” for this population, considering the impact that pathway changes could have on a person’s future during critical junctures of their lives.

The 10 pathway changes involve a variety of initiatives such as increasing educational attainment toward a certificate, associate degree or bachelor’s degree; specializing in CTE at the high school level; working in the skilled trades; and working in STEM fields. For this analysis, CEW researchers created the Pathways-to-Career policy simulation model that uses longitudinal data to identify the pathway changes that would best increase a student’s chances of working a “good job.” The report defines a “good job” as one that pays at least $38,000 for younger workers and at least $49,000 for workers 45 and older in 2020 dollars, with 30-year-old workers with good jobs earning a median salary of $57,000.

The overarching takeaway from the analysis is that layered pathway changes are almost twice as effective as any individual pathway change, therefore it is important to invest across all three domains: educational attainment, career training and work experience.

When it comes to specializing in CTE in high school, this pathway change was the most likely to lead to good jobs for youth who are expected to graduate from high school but do not plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree by age 22. CTE was also a particularly effective pathway change for white learners, male students and low socioeconomic status (SES) learners; somewhat effective for Black/African American learners; and not effective for Hispanic/Latino learners.

In addition, the analysis shows that pathway changes produce different effects based on students’ race/ethnicity, gender and SES:

• The single most effective pathway change leading to “good jobs” is earning a bachelor’s degree by age 22.
• Most pathway changes are more effective for men than for women, particularly for men without a high school diploma in low-wage jobs who transition to skilled trades occupations.
• For Black students, earning a bachelor’s degree and working in a STEM or other high-paying occupation are the most effective pathway changes.
• For Hispanic/Latino learners, the most effective pathway changes are earning a certificate, associate degree or bachelor’s degree.

Researchers noted the importance of prioritizing pathway changes considering both effectiveness and the total number of individuals who could be affected by a particular change as well as differential impacts across race/ethnicity, gender and class. The best approach is to make strategically targeted interventions for underserved groups over a one-size-fits-all solution. For instance, the findings above suggest value in promoting CTE pathways that incorporate postsecondary credentials and lead to high-paying jobs for all learners and particularly for Black/African American students and Hispanic/Latino students.

One important caveat to this analysis is that it is based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, an ongoing study that tracks the outcomes of a nationally representative sample of individuals who were aged 12-16 in the late 1990s. Therefore, this data predates many innovations in CTE program offerings and delivery that have occurred in the past 25 years. The researchers acknowledge that their analysis may understate the current impact of CTE on increasing access to good jobs.

OCTAE Equity Webinar Series Discusses Career-connected Education

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) recently held its second webinar series on equity titled Equity in Career-Connected Education: Advancing Economic Mobility.

The first webinar in the series, Work-based Learning Opportunities for Native American Students, featured guests from the Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) Employment and Training Services Department such as Megan Mielke, the organization’s Youth Services Manager. This series opener covered how CITC provides work-based learning opportunities to learners through its Youth Services Program, which serves individuals aged 14-24 by assisting them in finding employment, furthering education and identifying leadership development opportunities. More specifically, this program provides students with the opportunity to engage in a 10-to-12-week paid internship in which they are employed by Cook Inlet or with a partner employer. Other services provided by the Youth Services Program include assistance with postsecondary education, GED completion, work-readiness training, career assessment, resume and cover letter writing, and interview coaching, among other activities.

The second webinar of the series titled Second Chance Pell and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) featured Kathie Stromile Golden, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Rochelle McGee-Cobbs, Ph.D., Lead Official of PEPP at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU). In this webinar, speakers discussed MVSU’s Prison Educational Partnership Program (PEPP) with the federal government designed to offer incarcerated students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree. MVSU will be the first HBCU in the state to provide postsecondary education to incarcerated learners. The program aims to advance enrollees’ educational attainment levels to improve employment prospects once released from prison, reduce their odds of recidivating and increase their levels of civic engagement and self-esteem. Students can pick from one of three majors with different concentrations: Business Administration, Computer and Information Science and Engineering Technology.

Lastly, the third webinar in the series was titled Michigan Vocational Village and the Second Chance Pell Grant and featured Heather Gay, the Education Manager for the Michigan Department of Corrections. This webinar focused on Michigan’s unique model for prisoner education, rehabilitation and preparation for release. Michigan uses vocational villages for its skilled trades training program, a first-of-its-kind format that aims to provide learning opportunities through CTE. Currently, three facilities throughout the state have a vocational village on-site. Prisoners who participate in the vocational village are housed together to create a positive learning environment. They have full days of training and classroom instruction to mimic a typical workday and upon completion of their courses, they receive state and nationally recognized certifications in their trade of choice. A total of 1,580 villagers have been paroled since 2016, with a 70% employment rate for graduates and only 193 recidivists.

Apply Now: CTERN 2023 Research Training Institute

The Career and Technical Education Research Network (CTERN) is now accepting applications for the 2023 CTE Research Training Institute, which will be held virtually August 7-11. 

The training institute takes place over the span of five days and supports researchers with an interest in CTE and quantitative experience. Early-career researchers and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Those who are selected to be a part of the training institute will
receive a $500 stipend and a Certificate of Training from the Institute of Education Sciences upon successful completion.

The deadline to apply is May 22, 2023. A doctoral degree or enrollment in a doctoral program is preferred but not required. Further requirements for eligibility include the following:

• Possess some training in quantitative research methods (for example, linear regression)
  
• Have experience using Stata and/or R for statistical analysis 
• Work in academia (faculty or graduate student) or at an organization that conducts education research (for example, an applied research organization or state agency) 
• Show a demonstrated interest in CTE evaluation research 
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident 

The course will cover topics such as an introduction to CTE policies and theories, randomized control trials for CTE research, causal research design, regression discontinuity designs and many more. To learn more and apply, visit the CTERN Research Institute application page.  

ACTE is one of the Network leads, supporting CTERN’s goal to increase the number and quality of CTE impact evaluations and strengthen the field’s research capacity. 

Summit Gathers in D.C. to Discuss Workforce Development for Young Adults

The U.S. Department of Labor recently hosted workforce development advocates and professionals from around the United States at the Youth Employment Works Summit to discuss its new youth and young adult employment initiative that prioritizes these workers in developing the workforce of the nation. The initiative is called the Youth Employment Works Strategy and its goals are the following:

• Deliver accessible supportive services and workforce development opportunities for youth and young workers.
• Improve partnerships between the private and public sectors to increase investment in high-quality pathways for young people and develop a strong basis for the future workforce.
• Offer guaranteed paid work-based learning opportunities to ALL young people.

The summit featured guests from organizations like the United Federation of Teachers, New America, Jobs for America’s Graduates and professionals from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Transportation. The summit was intentionally diverse in the types of guests featured to demonstrate that better developing the nation’s workforce around young people is a collective effort that will require individuals from all walks of life.

The summit held multiple panels on topics such as worker and educational diversity, public-private sector partnerships, cross-agency collaboration and reimagining the secondary-level school experience for students throughout the nation. Panelists like Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, emphasized the importance of making CTE more accessible to all students in the country and putting less emphasis on building curricula around the traditional four-year degree path. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only about one-third of 18-24-year-olds enrolled in a four-year institution in 2020, with more than 60% of young people choosing a different pathway after high school. Weingarten also called for increasing career pathways access to all students around the nation.

The event was closed with remarks from U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, who reiterated the importance of the new initiative, the calls to action of all the panelists, as well as the importance of ensuring all learners around the country have access to CTE and work-based learning opportunities across state lines.

Research Roundup: Recent Postsecondary CTE Trends and Developments

The following research roundup will look at five reports by four different publishers that recently sought to analyze some of the most important issues surrounding community colleges and other institutions offering postsecondary CTE. The reports come from New America, the RAND Corporation, Columbia University’s Community College Research Center and Work Shift.

Getting Non-Degree Workforce Programs Right at Community Colleges: New America has released a multiple-part series that focuses on how to plan, deliver and use data to improve non-degree workforce programs at the community college level. The series was produced by the think tank’s Center on Education & Labor as part of the New Models for Career Preparation project, which aims to create stories and research for building a better understanding of non-degree workforce education with the ultimate goal of unlocking the full potential of non-degree workforce training. Researchers looked at literature to “synthesize, develop and pressure-test” a framework for non-degree programs at colleges. This work is based on five criteria for quality non-degree workforce programs:

• The program leads to quality jobs with strong labor market outcomes.
• The program advances equity and diversity in occupationally segregated jobs.
• The program opens doors to advanced credentials or degrees.
• The program is affordable.
• The program has strong completion rates.

Community Colleges Can Increase Credential Stacking by Introducing New Programs Within Established Technical Pathways: In a recent study conducted by the RAND Corporation, researchers analyzed stackable credentials in community colleges, their cost, their return on investment, as well as their value for students, government and local economies. The report analyzed the effects of the introduction of new certificate or associate degree programs in the Ohio community college system from 2004-05 to 2016-17. Researchers found that students who had just completed a credential program were more likely to re-enroll and earn more credentials within two years if their college had an additional program within their field of study. Additionally, researchers were able to confirm that further short-term enrollment did not significantly decrease student participation in employment or transfer to four-year university programs, showing that stackable credentials fit naturally within these students’ career and education pathways.

High-demand Jobs, High-cost Education: A recent Work Shift article by education reporter Lilah Burke looked at how community colleges around the country are innovating in the face of a major nationwide struggle to afford the necessary facilities and instructors for high-demand fields like microelectronics and biotech. Postsecondary institutions like community colleges are struggling to compete with the resources available to research universities in the field of experiential learning, which is needed to train the ever-rising number of operators or technicians needed in growth areas like semiconductor manufacturing. However, these institutions are finding creative ways around these challenges. The report looks at how four community colleges in Ohio, Texas, Arizona and North Carolina are succeeding in providing experiential learning to their students through incubators, partnerships with industry and government, and creative funding mechanisms from philanthropies and grants.

How Can Community Colleges Afford to Offer Dual-enrollment College Courses to High School Students at a Discount?: A recent report released by Columbia University’s Community College Research Center looked at the issue of high-cost dual-enrollment programs for community colleges. Researchers determined that in most parts of the country, colleges receive less funding per dual-enrollment student than they do for regular, non-dual-enrollment students, meaning that these programs are a financial burden for these institutions. The main purpose of the study was to explore how community colleges could continue to provide broad access to high-quality, sustainable dual-enrollment programs. Researchers analyzed the economics of dual enrollment from the perspective of three different community colleges to demonstrate the conditions under which dual enrollment can be made affordable and efficient.

Research Roundup: Measuring Secondary Program Quality Indicators, Credentials and Microcredentials

Measuring Secondary Program Quality: A December 2022 report by the U.S. Department of Education describes outcomes of the Department’s Quality Indicator Project, an initiative to assist states in refining the validity, reliability and accuracy of their new quality indicators under Perkins V – recognized postsecondary credential attainment, postsecondary credit attainment and work-based learning participation. This toolkit features suggestions, examples and guiding questions to help state leaders develop and refine these measures. It also describes how states have operationalized their secondary concentrator definitions, recommends business rules for CTE data reporting, and provides tips for setting state-determined performance levels for program quality indicators. ACTE’s Senior Director of Public Policy Alisha Hyslop provided content expertise to the project.

Counting Credentials: In late 2022, Credential Engine released its fourth secondary and postsecondary education credential counting report, which identified a total of 1,076,358 unique credentials in the United States. The report looked at 18 detailed credential categories across postsecondary educational institutions, massive open online course (MOOC) providers, non-academic providers and secondary schools. Researchers concluded that a total of $2.1 trillion is expended annually in the United States for the delivery and attainment of the over one million available credentials, which are offered by over 59,000 providers. The analysts also describe the lack of transparency in the credential landscape and the need for standardization to ensure credentials promote economic development and individual mobility.

Relatedly, a recent report by 1EdTech that sought to find the number of digital badges and badging platforms available in the United States identified a total of 53 platforms and 430,272 available badges; at a worldwide level, the survey reported that over 74 million badges had been issued to date.

The Value of Badges and Microcredentials: Despite their widespread use, badges and microcredentials face a problem of legitimacy since there is no widespread system in place to recognize them across state or national lines or evaluate their quality. In a recently released brief by Higher ED Dive, employers were surveyed by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association and Collegis Education on the value of microcredentials. The surveyed employers expressed that even though they value microcredentials and alternative credentials, assessing their quality can be difficult. However, despite their concerns, 23% of respondents said they believe that alternative credentials give workers real-world experience while 16% of respondents said that they help employees develop specialized skills. Finally, 13% of employers said that microcredentials and badges help improve employee performance.

Employability Skill Badges: One type of credential, employability skill credentials, enable students to demonstrate crucial workforce skills like time management, communication, problem solving and more. In Indiana, a growing number of high schools are rethinking the way they prepare students for life after graduation with the launch of a soft skill credentials badge program in certain areas of the state. The statewide program began in 2018 and has since seen more than 3,400 young people earn at least one badge. As reported in The 74, Yorktown High School, an hour northeast of Indianapolis, is launching such a program for its 800-student population.

Secretary of Education Tours CTE Programs at Francis Tuttle Technology Center

On January 27, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona toured programs and spoke with Information Technology, Broadcast Production and 3D Design students at Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City, OK. The Secretary spoke in a roundtable session with the students about the ways in which Francis Tuttle is preparing students for successful careers through CTE. 

”I came here because I heard this program is great, and it’s providing real-world learning opportunities for employment,” said Secretary Cardona after visiting Francis Tuttle’s programs and learning about the projects that they are currently working on.

”This is an example of what we want to see across the country,” said Cardona. “If we can, what I call ’blur the lines’ between our high school systems, our college systems and our industry, I think our students are going to have better opportunities throughout the country.”

The Secretary also noted his desire to expand CTE in comprehensive high schools nationwide. “Students need to have real-world experiences in the industries that are prevalent in their communities.”

ACTE Region V Vice President Shani Watkins Testifies to House Small Business Committee

On September 15, the House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development held a hearing titled, “Back to School, Back to Startups: Supporting Youth Apprenticeship, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development,” featuring ACTE Region V Vice President Shani Watkins.

During her testimony, Watkins described the CTE programs offered at her school and her varied business partnerships, including how those partnerships provide students with access to paid work-based learning experiences and connections to apprenticeships and future careers.

Watkins was asked questions by several members of the subcommittee, including Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Roger Williams (R-TX), about her experiences as the director of West Sound Technical Skills Center in Bremerton, Washington.

Rep. Williams asked how businesses can form partnerships with CTE programs, and how West Sound Technical Skills Center is preparing students for in-demand careers.

“A huge part of that goes back to what parents understand, and what our typical rhetoric has been, which is college for all,” said Watkins. “So, I think a big part of this goes back to exposing students at younger ages to a variety of careers that go beyond what is typically addressed in an academic environment.”

“It's like a stool with three prongs - [CTE] has government support, it has business support and it has school support.” 

Rep. Crow asked Watkins what barriers students are facing to accessing CTE and work-based learning experiences. 

“First of all, transportation is a huge challenge for us,” observed Watkins. “We are very rural. We have students that travel an hour and a half one way each day to participate in CTE programs with us because they are not offered in their areas, and those students have less access to viable careers in their industries locally.”

“We have a lot of students that have to support their own families, and so that creates a barrier when internship opportunities and work-based learning opportunities are non-paid.” 

The full hearing can be viewed at the link here.

House Adopts Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Resolution

On Tuesday, the House adopted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget resolution, by a 220-212 party-line vote. The resolution is significant because it officially starts the reconciliation process, paving way for the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion Build Back Better plan to be passed by a simple majority. The Senate already adopted the budget resolution on a party-line vote earlier this month.

The House vote also included the rule for floor debate governing a separate voting rights bill and eventually the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, for which Democratic leaders have set a tentative vote date of September 27.

What’s Next?

Now that the reconciliation rules have been adopted in both chambers through the budget resolution, committees can begin officially writing their respective pieces of the larger $3.5 trillion package. For example, the education committees have been allocated over $700 billion to fund initiatives under their jurisdiction, ranging from Pre-K programs to free college, and including any workforce development or CTE investments.  

Within the resolution, there is a deadline of September 15 to have bills done on the committee level, so they can be combined into one large proposal for passage on the floor of each chamber. However, with many moving parts and disagreements even within the Democratic party, it seems somewhat unlikely that the reconciliation bill will be done by the prescribed deadline and may go later into the fall due.

There are a handful of moderate Senate Democrats, namely Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), who have publicly expressed concern over the price tag of the reconciliation bill. With a 50-50 tie in the Senate, it is critical that all Democrats are on board to ensure its passage. This means that their will likely be longer negotiations that may pare down the bill before it is brought to a vote.