On December 15, the Department of Education (ED) announced the launch of the Connecting Talent to Opportunity Challenge, aligning with the Trump Administration’s education and workforce priorities. The challenge invites governors—who must work alongside their state Perkins, adult education and workforce agencies— to develop or scale talent marketplaces in their state. The challenge defines talent marketplaces as public digital systems that integrate learning and employment records (LERs), credential registries, artificial intelligence and skill-based job description generators to translate jobs and credentials to skill-based information that can be shared between employers and jobseekers. ED is particularly interested in states working to engage employers in specific high-demand industries such as aerospace and nuclear energy. 

The challenge will consist of three phases: 

• Pre-phase (Jan-Apr 2026): Governors must submit action plans by April 30, identifying that they are either developing a new talent marketplace or scaling an existing one. Up to ten semi-finalists will be selected to advance onto phase one and are eligible to receive $100,000 each. 

• Phase One (Jun-Nov 2026): Semi-finalists will receive tailored technical assistance from ED and participate in a community of practice as they refine their plans. Upon completion of phase one and after meeting other criteria, participants will receive $400,000 each. 

• Phase Two (Jan 2027-Mar 2028): Finalists will deploy their plans, building out and scaling marketplaces in their state while continuing to receive technical assistance from ED. Upon completion of phase two and after meeting other criteria, up to ten finalists will receive $1,000,000 each. 

State education and workforce leaders interested in learning more about the competition can sign up for informational webinars here. The competition website also contains resources to assist states with their submissions, including an application guide, key terms and definitions and the official competition rules.  

Lawmakers returned to session this month with only a short time left to pass the remaining Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriation bills before the January 30 deadline. As of today, negotiators are still working on compromise legislation, including the bill that would fund the Department of Education (ED). Earlier this year, both the House and Senate released their FY 26 funding bills for the ED, but no agreement has been reached. The Senate bill provides level funding for Perkins State CTE grants, and the House bill provides a $25 million increase. However, there are significant concerns about the House bill because it includes steep cuts to other education and workforce programs that support CTE learners, educators and schools.  

As lawmakers resume work and the appropriations process moves forward, it is essential that advocates weigh in one more time so that Congress understands the importance of both increased support for CTE and sustained investments to education and workforce programs across the continuum.  

ACTION NEEDED: CLICK HERE to urge your Members of Congress to support education and workforce development funding as they finalize FY 2026 appropriations bills!  

Send a message directly using the ACTE Action Center. You can also call or email directly any personal contacts that you have in your Members’ offices, such as from a meeting at NPS, or call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and an operator will connect you to your Member of Congress. 

Today, ACTE released updated versions of our “What is CTE?” and “CTE Works!” fact sheets, providing practitioners and advocates with essential information and resources for their work. 

• The “What is CTE?” fact sheet provides a general overview of what CTE is and the benefits to students and local communities. It serves as a go-to resource for students and families, industry partners, media and policymakers new to CTE. 

• The “CTE Works!” fact sheet highlights research that details the positive impact of CTE on student academic achievement, employment outcomes and local communities and businesses. 

We encourage you to share these resources out to students and their families, CTE teachers and administrators, workforce leaders, policymakers, the media and other stakeholders interested in learning more about and advocating for CTE. Spanish translations of these fact sheets will be available soon. 

Congress continues to work on appropriations bills for 2026, but lawmakers have yet to reach a consensus on a number of budget-related items, including funding for the Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL). The House passed a minibus that includes funding for three other appropriations bills, including the National Science Foundation and other agencies, which the Senate will consider next week. Related to regulatory activity, negotiated rulemaking continues as the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee is convening for the second time this week to continue discussing the implementation of financial aid changes passed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In other news, ACTE is preparing for CTE Month in February, coordinating with lawmakers and other stakeholders. Read more updates below. 

• ACTE Endorses Immersive Technology Bill: This week, Reps. John Mannion (D-NY) and Gabe Evans (R-CO) introduced the Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act. ACTE endorsed the bill, alongside Advance CTE and other partners. The bill, if passed, would establish a grant program at the DOL to support the development of immersive technology programs at community colleges and area CTE centers.  
• AHEAD Committee Meets for Second Week: The AHEAD Committee at ED convened for the second time this week to continue discussing the implementation of financial aid changes passed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Conversations centered around gainful employment, the Do No Harm provision and other topics related to student loans and Pell Grants. The committee has yet to reach a consensus at the time of writing. 
• Innovation Challenge Launch Webinar Announced: This week, ED announced an information session on January 13 related to the launch of the $15 million “Connecting Talent to Opportunity Challenge” that was announced in December. Register here for the webinar to learn more about how you can get involved! 
• DOL Awards $13.8 Million to Expand the Shipbuilding Workforce: On Jan. 8, the DOL awarded over $13.8 million to expand programs that prepare students to enter shipbuilding. Grants were awarded to Delaware County Community College and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, each hosting robust maritime workforce programs. 
• ED Approves Funding Waiver for Iowa: On Jan. 7, ED announced that it had approved Iowa’s Returning Education to the States waiver request, giving the state more flexibility under ESSA. Specifically, the waiver will allow Iowa to consolidate its state-level activities funds for several ESEA funding streams—including programs that support English language learners, after-school programs and teacher recruitment—and use them for any activity allowed under the included programs. The waiver also grants Iowa the ability to waive specific ESEA requirements from local education agencies and school districts related to carryover funds, Title IV set-asides and funds for transition services. 
• DOL Announces $145 Million in Funding to Expand Apprenticeships: On Jan. 6, DOL announced over $145 million to expand Registered Apprenticeship programs nationwide, aligning with the Trump Administration’s goal to exceed one million active apprentices a year. Grants will be awarded to up to five cooperative agreements for a four-year period and will focus on pay-for-performance incentive payments programs, with an emphasis on industries with well-established apprenticeship infrastructure. 
• ED Releases $169 Million in FIPSE Grants: On Jan 5, ED announced that it has awarded over $169 million in grants under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The grants, which were originally announced late last year, are focused on several areas outlined by the Trump Administration as urgent needs in postsecondary education, including expanding Workforce Pell-aligned programs, integrating AI into coursework and establishing new accreditors. 
• Opportunity for Skills Validation Funding: Education Design Lab, in technical partnership with Credential Engine and with a foundational grant from Walmart, invites you to apply to Advancing Workforce Mobility: An RFP for Credential Transparency and Skills Validation. This $3.5 million initiative is designed for organizations that care deeply about STARs—workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes—and want to help them clearly show what they know and can do and connect those skills to quality jobs. Key dates and details are available here.  
• Ed & Workforce Committee Considers Bills Related to Pregnant Students and Trafficking: On Jan. 8, the House Education and Workforce Committee approved two bills, H.R. 4307, Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking, and H.R. 6359, the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act. Single parents, including single pregnant women, are a special population outlined in Perkins.  

On December 11, the White House issued a new executive order (EO) to create a uniform national framework for artificial intelligence (AI). The EO, Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, seeks to centralize AI governance at the federal level and allow companies more flexibility.

The Trump Administration states that state-by-state regulation would create a “patchwork of 50 different regulatory regimes that makes compliance more challenging, particularly for start-ups.”

While the Executive Order does not mention education or workforce applications of AI, the components could impact how states address these issues. The core components of the EO include:

• A Federal AI Litigation Taskforce: The taskforce will identify and challenge state AI laws that conflict with the desired federal policy direction.
• Evaluating State AI Laws: Within 90 days, the Secretary of Commerce must evaluate existing state AI laws and identify those deemed onerous or inconsistent with the federal stance.
• Restrictions on State Funding: Within 90 days, the Secretary of Commerce will also issue a policy notice tying eligibility for remaining Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds to whether a state’s AI laws conflict with the federal policy. Other agencies shall also review grants to determine if they can condition funding on State AI policies.
• Federal Reporting and Disclosure Standards: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be tasked with initiating proceedings to determine whether to establish a national reporting and disclosure standard for AI models.
• FTC Preemption of Deceptive AI Laws: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must issue guidance clarifying that state laws requiring AI models to alter “truthful outputs” are preempted under the FTC’s authority to prohibit deceptive acts and practices.
• Legislative Recommendations: The EO calls for federal recommendations to Congress for creating a formal statutory AI policy framework that would preempt conflicting state laws.

ACTE will continue to monitor the implementation of the EO and will inform our members will relevant updates. If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org).

A new playbook published by Advance CTE provides education and workforce leaders with strategies and resources to strengthen the connection between CTE and the green workforce. The playbook argues that as demand for green workers continues to grow, CTE programs are positioned to equip students with the academic and occupational knowledge necessary to enter this large and rapidly evolving field. 

The playbook contains an overview of the current green economy and discusses how the specific components of CTE programs—from work-based learning to industry-recognized credentials—align with what green employers seek. Policy recommendations include the following: 

• Expand Existing Coalitions to Include CTE and Green Workforce Experts: Invite CTE teachers, experts from green workforce organizations, green employers and other relevant stakeholders to join existing partnerships and networks. 

• Leverage Trusted Organizations to Act as Intermediaries between CTE and Green Industries: Organizations such as workforce boards and green workforce organizations are positioned to connect CTE programs with green employers. 

• Create or Expand Funding Uses to Include Green/Climate-aligned CTE Programs: Leverage local, state and federal funding sources to create and expand green CTE programs. 

• Incorporate Green Skills into CTE Pathway Standards and Programs: Existing CTE programs should move to incorporate more green-related content, emphasizing the industry’s applicability across different career pathways. 

• Institutionalize Secondary and Postsecondary CTE Educator Policy, Professional Development and Resources for the Green Workforce: CTE teacher professional development and learning opportunities should work to better integrate green workforce content. 

• Integrate Green Careers into Career Awareness Campaigns: Beginning in elementary school, create campaigns that make students aware of green careers they can pursue. 

• Establish Data-driven Research and Decision-making Processes Linked to Labor Conditions: Incorporate green workforce data into state longitudinal data systems and track CTE program outcomes. 

In addition, the playbook provides implementation steps and examples of exemplary work being done under each recommendation. Initiatives in Massachusetts and Delaware, for instance, offer students and families detailed information on career and educational pathways that lead to jobs in green-related fields, such as clean energy and agriculture.  

For practitioners interested in additional information, Advance CTE has published several other resources related to CTE and the green workforce, including a guide on incorporating green careers into the National Career Clusters Framework® and a case study of work being done in Delaware to better integrate environmental literacy into career pathways. MDRC has also published similar resources, such as this framework for connecting CTE programs with climate jobs.  

Community College Credential Dual Value Framework: A framework from Education Equity Solutions outlines how state and community college leaders can categorize and strengthen the value of the credentials they offer, particularly as Workforce Pell implementation approaches. 

The framework measures community college credentials based on their economic mobility for individual students and the community benefits they provide by supporting essential social functions. Credentials are assigned to four different categories, and the framework provides strategies on how leaders can measure, categorize and take action on specific credentials. The categories are the following: 

• Low-opportunity Credentials: Low individual and community benefits. The framework recommends either revising these credentials by integrating work-based learning experiences or connecting students with other opportunities. 
• Individual-value Credentials: High individual and low community benefits. These credentials should be monitored to ensure that their demand aligns with community needs. 
• Community-value Credentials: Low individual and high community benefits. These are credentials that connect students with low-wage jobs that support essential community functions. The framework recommends stacking these credentials with similar, higher-level credentials and providing students with financial resources to pursue those more advanced credentials. 
• Dual-value Credentials: High individual and community benefits. Students should be able to easily access these credentials, and community colleges are encouraged to scale these programs and remove barriers that prevent participation.  

Counting Credentials: A report from Credential Engine provides data on the number of unique credentials offered in the U.S. in 2025. In total, the report identified about 1.8 million unique credentials from over 130,000 providers. The count for specific credentials includes the following:

Additional disaggregated data as well as a state-by-state breakdown are provided. Other than secondary school diplomas and industry certifications, each credential type increased in number of offerings in 2025 compared to 2022. 

A companion piece outlines the current landscape and challenges surrounding the credential landscape and proposes various solutions and paths forward. These include harnessing the power of AI to match credentials with workers’ and employers’ needs, measuring the economic and social impact of credential attainment and better aligning credentials with career opportunities. 

Employers’ Perceived Value of High School Industry-recognized Credentials: A journal article by Teri Harris, Mickey Kosloski and Philip A. Reed in Career and Technical Education Research (CTER) examines how employers perceive industry-recognized credentials earned by high school students. Over 250 employers from a specific state were asked to rank a list of state-approved industry-recognized credentials in their industry from 1 (never heard of it) to 5 (most important), judging whether the credential is valuable for hiring and prepares students for future careers.  

Analysis of the survey data revealed that industry credentials in the health sciences, family and consumer sciences (FACS) and agricultural sciences were rated the highest, while business and marketing and skilled and technical sciences/STEM did not have any industry credentials that ranked in the top 20%. Although some credentials appear to have more value than others, the analysis indicates that all the credentials measured in the study have at least some value for employers. The authors recommend that high school CTE programs reassess the credentials they offer in light of these findings.  

State Investments in Short-term Credential Pathways: A report from HCM Strategists analyzes state investments and initiatives in the short-term credential landscape. The report found that states have invested nearly $10 billion in supporting and expanding short-term credential pathways, including $8.1 billion for 111 currently active initiatives across 34 states. Of this, $4.5 billion is comprised of initiatives exclusively supporting short-term credentials. 2025 saw significant action, with states investing $511 million to establish 26 new initiatives. Several of these include the following: 

• California Master Plan for Career Education: Released in April 2025, the plan outlines six key areas that state leaders should focus on to improve the state’s career education system. The areas include establishing a state coordinating body and ensuring that education and workforce training opportunities are accessible and affordable.  
• North Carolina Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships (EO 11): Established under Executive Order 11, the council is focused on expanding credential and degree attainment opportunities across the state, including pre- and Registered Apprenticeship programs as well as work-based learning opportunities. 
• Utah’s First Credential Scholarship (HB 260): The First Credential Scholarship, which replaces the PRIME Program, encourages high school students to earn an industry-recognized credential and aims to scale credentialing opportunities across the state. 

Practitioners interested in learning about other similar state-led initiatives can view ACTE and Advance CTE’s longitudinal state policy tracker and filter by the “industry-recognized credentials” tag. Additionally, the National Association of State Boards of Education recently released a series of articles examining how states can equip students with the skills and credentials needed to succeed in the workforce.