This week, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance the FY27 budget bill that funds the Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL), and the bill now awaits full consideration by the House. President Trump also signed a bill to fund ICE through the rest of his term, following a 115-day standoff with lawmakers over immigration enforcement concerns. Read more updates below.  

• Ask Your Members of Congress to Support Education and Workforce Development Funding: On June 4, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies released its funding bill for FY27. Overall, the bill proposes broad cuts to both ED and DOL. CLICK HERE to urge your Members of Congress to support education and workforce development funding in FY27!   

• House Appropriations Committee Advances Budget Bill: On June 9, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance the FY27 budget bill for the Departments of Education and Labor. The bill will now be considered by the House. Read more about the bill on the blog here.  

• Treasury Previews Forthcoming Guidance on Education Tax Credit: On June 10, the Treasury Department released a preview of forthcoming regulations on the new federal scholarship tax credit to stakeholders during a roundtable. 

• StriveTogether Announces Grant Opportunity: This week, StriveTogether announced that applications for the Pathways Impact Fund are open. The fund will award about $1 million over three years to intermediary organizations working on scaling workforce-aligned career pathways in schools. A screener and letter of interest are due by July 10. 

• DOL Releases WANTO Grant Program: On June 5, the DOL opened applications for the FY26 Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) Technical Assistance Grant Program. Interested organizations must submit their application by July 6. 

• ED Announces CTO Challenge Semifinalists: On June 8, ED selected 10 states as semifinalists for the Connecting Talent to Opportunity (CTO) Challenge, which this year focuses on developing and scaling talent marketplaces. States that move on to become finalists will work to implement their plans.  

• EERC Releases Updated Noncredit Data Taxonomy: The Education and Employment Research Center (EERC) at Rutgers University recently released its Noncredit Data Taxonomy 3.0 and Implementation Guide. The guide outlines important elements of noncredit data and includes information on Workforce Pell data for states and institutions.  

• Senate Committee Holds Nomination Hearing: On June 3, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a nomination hearing for Brett Matsumoto, who was nominated by President Trump to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and for two members nominated to serve on the National Labor Relations Board. Interested readers can watch the hearing here.  

• Lawmakers Call on ED to Address Borrower Default and Delinquency Rates: Over 60 Congress members, led by Sen. Warren (D-MA), sent a letter on June 7 to ED expressing concerns about rising student loan default and delinquency rates, and asked the department for details on its plan to help struggling borrowers. 

• ALI Releases Federal Policy Recommendations on Career-connected Learning: The Alliance for Learning Innovation (ALI) recently released a set of policy recommendations on how federal education research and data initiatives can better support career-connected learning programs, including CTE. 

• House Appropriations Committee Advances Bill Designating Graduate Nursing Degrees as Professional: On June 9, the House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would designate graduate nursing programs as professional degrees, meaning students in those programs would have higher loan limits. 

• House Advances Bill to Combat Identity Fraud in Federal Financial Aid Applications: On June 10, the House passed the No Aid for Ghost Students Act, which would codify a fraud detection system launched in April for the Free Application for Federal Student (FAFSA). Under the system, applicants deemed a high fraud risk must show their government-issued IDs before they can receive federal financial aid.  

• New Long-term NAEP Data Released: On June 10, ED released new long-term data as part of the Nation’s Report Card. The data is primarily focused on reading and math skills for elementary school children. 

• Labor Secretary Visits North Carolina: On June 1, Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling visited Pitt County to see how apprenticeship programs in Eastern Carolina are preparing students for careers in the skilled trades.