The Senate was in session this week while the House remained out after ending their session early last week. There was significant activity across the Administration, including two deadlines for submitting comments on Department of Education (ED) regulatory proposals. ED also launched FAFSA this week and continued approving additional programs for Workforce Pell. Read more updates below. 

• ACTE and Advance CTE Submit Comments on Two Regulatory Proposals from ED: This week, ACTE and Advance CTE submitted comments on two major regulatory proposals from ED. The first set of comments addresses ED’s proposed changes to postsecondary accreditation, while the second set focus on ED’s proposed changes to the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.  

• ED Approves Workforce Pell Programs in Texas & North Carolina: On Sept. 22, ED approved six new Workforce Pell Grant programs in Texas. At Kilgore College, students can now use these federal grants to enroll in Electrical Power Lineman, Phlebotomy Technician, and Pharmacy Technician programs. At Weatherford College, students can now use federal dollars to access HVAC, Basic Machining, and Advanced Machining programs. Then on Sept. 25, six new programs were approved in North Carolina at Forsyth Technical Community College, including programs leading students to careers as firefighters, electrical power-line installers and repairers, welders, cutters, paramedics and nursing assistants.     

• DOL Awards $65M in Grants to Develop Access to Workforce Pell: On Sept. 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the award of $65 million in grants through the Strengthening Community Colleges program. The grants were awarded to consortia in seven states to help community colleges develop high-quality, short-term programs that can qualify for Workforce Pell funding. The states include Colorado, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.   

• ED Launches 2027-28 FAFSA Form: On Sept. 23, ED launched the 2027-28 FAFSA form, marking the earliest launch date in the form’s history. In addition to various technical changes made to the form, students can now view the earnings outcomes of graduates from the colleges to which they are applying. 

• Rep. Bonamici Introduces Bill on AI Education and Workforce Readiness: On Sept. 21, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici—co-chair of the House CTE Caucus—introduced legislation that would implement various safeguards on AI use in education and workforce settings. The bill would also create grant programs aimed at expanding career pathways and workforce development programs. 

• Punchbowl News Interviews Sen. Ted Budd on the Future of the American Workforce: On September 24, Punchbowl News held an event with Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), co-chair of the CTE Caucus, on the future of the American workforce. Read more on the blog. 

• DOE Launches $16 Million Competition on the Mining Workforce: The Department of Energy (DOE) recently launched a $16 million prize competition on the mining and critical minerals workforce. Postsecondary institutions with eligible mining programs can submit plans on how they would increase the number of graduates and credentialed professionals in the mining and critical minerals workforce, including through upskilling and workforce training. Plans are due October 5, with winners receiving up to $1 million. 

• NIST Awards Nearly $2 Million to Support the Cybersecurity Workforce: On Sept. 18, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that it was awarding nearly $2 million in cybersecurity workforce development grants to postsecondary institutions and organizations.  

• GAO Issues Report on Chronic Absenteeism Data: On Sept. 23, the Government Accountability Office found that ED’s method of calculating chronic absenteeism rates is not reliable and often leads to implausible data. Notably, the report found that shared-time centers—where many CTE programs are housed—are significantly more likely to have unreliable data than other schools.\ 

• U.S. Census Bureau Releases Report on Labor Market Outcomes for AI-Exposed College Majors: In September, the U.S. Census Bureau released Graduating into Disruption: Labor Market Outcomes for AI-Exposed College Majors, a report that explores how new college graduates are affected by the rise of artificial intelligence.  

• ED Makes $235M Investment in HBCUs and Tribal Colleges: On Sept. 22, ED announced that it is redirecting more than $174 million to historically Black colleges and universities and $61 million to tribal colleges. It says the “one-time” investments come from programs that generally funded Hispanic-serving and other minority-serving institutions.  

• ED Approves Waiver for Mississippi: On Sept. 24, ED approved Mississippi’s Returning Education to the States Waiver, allowing the state to consolidate $14 million in federal funds for specific state-level improvement priorities.  

• House Passes Science of Reading Act of 2026: On Sept. 16, the House passed the bipartisan Science of Reading Act of 2026 (H.R. 7890) to prioritize evidence-based literacy instruction in federal funding.  

• Judge Blocks ED Teacher Training Funding Cuts: On Sept. 17, a federal judge struck down an ED directive that cut $600 million from teacher-training grants based on what officials called “divisive ideologies.”