Congress is back in session and most of the focus this week was on the extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Last week, House Republicans introduced a bill that would reauthorize WIOA with a number of different funding modifications and structural shifts. That bill is scheduled to be considered by the House Education and Workforce Committee next week. Advocacy efforts to increase Perkins funding are also ongoing in response to President Trump’s FY 2027 budget request, which recommends level –funding for CTE programs. The Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) were active this week as well, engaging in rulemaking and focusing on Registered Apprenticeships. Read more updates below.

• ED Finalizes Priorities on Career Pathways and AI in Education: On April 13, ED finalized Secretary McMahon’s supplemental priorities on career pathways and workforce readiness as well as AI in education for their future use in grant opportunities. The career pathways priority focuses on expanding CTE and work-based learning experiences such as apprenticeship programs, and ACTE and Advance CTE submitted comments regarding the priority last year.  

• DOL Announces $85M for Registered Apprenticeship Expansion: On April 13, the DOL announced the availability of $85 million in grant funding to modernize and expand Registered Apprenticeship programs. States interested in the grant must set goals in expanding their total number of active apprentices and commit to leveraging other federal and state resources. Applications are due on May 26. 

• ED Convenes Accreditation Rulemaking Committee: This week, an accreditation rulemaking committee at ED met to discuss reforming the accreditation process for postsecondary institutions as outlined in a draft proposal released last week. Among the proposed regulations include prohibiting DEI-related accreditation policies, supporting intellectual diversity among faculty members and expanding religious protections.  

• House Announces Appropriations Committee Schedule: On April 13, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) announced the schedule for committee consideration of the 12 appropriations bills for FY 2027. The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill is tentatively scheduled to be considered at the subcommittee level on June 5 and by the full committee on June 9. The consideration of this bill will provide an early indication of Congress’ plans for Perkins funding.  

• ED and DOL Announce Grant Competitions Under Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership: On April 16, ED and DOL issued the FY 2026 competitions for the Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant Program and the Charter Schools Program Grants to State Entities.   

• Deadline Extended in Admissions Data Lawsuit: On April 13, a federal judge ruled that institutional members of six higher education associations, along with six private nonprofit colleges, will now have until April 24 to submit applicant and admissions data broken down by race and sex to ED.  

• House Holds Hearing on AI and Workforce: On April 15, the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held the sixth hearing in a series examining artificial intelligence, titled “Building an AI-Ready America: Understanding AI’s Economic Impact on Workers and Employers.”  

• ED Plans to Dissolve the Office of English Language Acquisition: According to a letter dated February 13, and obtained by Education Week on April 14, ED gave Congress official notice that it plans to dissolve its office that oversees federal programs for English learners. English learners are part of the definition of Special Populations in the Perkins Act, and it is unclear how this move might affect programs serving these learners.