On Monday evening, Scott Stump was confirmed by a vote of 85-0 to be the next Assistant Secretary for the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE). ACTE had endorsed Stump's nomination, and following the confirmation, released a joint statement with Advance CTE applauding the bipartisan support he received. We previously reported on the nomination on the blog, but as a reminder, Stump's resume includes service with the Colorado Community College System, past president at Advance CTE, and most recently, CEO for Vivayic, Inc., a learning solutions company.

In remarks prior to the vote, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, stated that "Mr. Stump's resumes shows he is a nominee qualified for this position." Following the confirmation, HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) tweeted that Stump "is the right person to implement Perkins CTE at the national level."

Secretary DeVos also tweeted that she was "[t]hrilled to welcome Scott Stump to [the Department of Education]." Noting his "qualifications & wealth of experience," she said that "[h]is leadership will be critical as we work to expand the ed pathways available to all students throughout their lifelong learning journeys."

The confirmation comes on the heels of proposals from the Department of Education (ED) to consolidate OCTAE into a primarily postsecondary office. ACTE strongly opposes the proposal, and helped circulate a letter signed by 25 organizations opposing the move. The Trump Administration also recently proposed merging ED with the Department of Labor.

ACTE has worked with Stump in the past, and congratulates him on his confirmation. We look forward to continuing to work with him in this new role.