This week, the Senate started a two-week recess after finally passing their foreign aid supplemental spending bill. The House remained in session for a few days, where it voted to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, before starting its own recess. Both chambers will return the week of February 26. The most pressing matter related to CTE is the completion of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations process. Unfortunately, there has been no public update on the specifics of those negotiations, and the March 1 and 8 deadlines that would trigger a government shutdown are on the horizon. While that work continues behind the scenes, CTE Month activities on the Hill have continued, along with a number of other developments:

• State Policies Impacting CTE: 2023 Year in Review: ACTE and Advance CTE published an annual report analyzing state policy trends that will impact millions of students, teachers and families across the nation.
• Career and Technical Education: A Path to Success for Many: CTE Caucus Co-chairs Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) penned an opinion piece on student success within CTE programs to celebrate CTE Month. They also appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this week to discuss CTE, and introduced the Counseling for Career Choice Act to support more access for students to career information, which ACTE endorsed.
• ACTE Endorses Bill to Support Early Childhood Education Pathways: On Feb. 14, R Annie Kuster (D-NH), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Bonamici introduced the Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act, which would support CTE programs of study to prepare students for early childhood education careers.
• Department of Education Releases Updates to Equity Action Plan: This week, the Department released its 2023 Update to its Equity Action Plan, which focuses on ensuring every student has equitable access to an academically rigorous, well-rounded education in a safe and inclusive school. One of the priorities in this plan is “Advancing equity in and through CTE.”
• Biden-Harris Administration Holds First-Ever Interagency Youth Policy Summit – Cultivating Possibilities: The Biden-Harris Administration hosted nearly 90 young Americans at the Department of Education for an interagency summit. The goal was to provide a space for young people to share directly with federal agencies their ideas for policy improvement and programs to ensure they succeed.
• Department of Labor to Host 2024 Construction Ready Career Expo: Experts from the Department of Labor plan to welcome thousands of students to Atlanta to learn about careers in construction and related fields, focusing on workplace safety.
• Key Funding Sources for Educator Registered Apprenticeships (ERA): Over thirty states now have launched ERA programs. There are many ways these programs can access funding grants. New America compiled a list of several funding sources for these programs.