Most of the attention on the Hill this week was focused on the major housing affordability bill Congress passed on June 23 that President Trump later indicated he would not sign. The House Education and Workforce Committee held a markup this week, approving 11 bills which ranged from combatting antisemitism to health care and civil rights. The committee also held a hearing on the impact of apprenticeship programs for workers and employers. Read more updates below.  

• House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Full Committee Markup: On June 25, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a full committee markup where they advanced 11 bills.. You can watch a recording of the markup here.   

• House Committee Holds Hearing on Apprenticeships: On June 24, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing titled “Workforce Rewired: Modern Apprenticeships for a Modern Economy..” Lawmakers and witnesses discussed the importance of apprenticeship programs in preparing workers for high-wage, in-demand careers.  

• Judge Rules to Void ED’s Definition of “‘Professional Degree’”: On June 24, a federal judge ruled that ED’s narrowing of the definition of “‘professional degree’,” which was originally defined in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was to be voided. The ruling says ED violated Congress’s instructions by adding criteria strictly limiting which degrees qualify for higher federal student loan borrowing caps.   

• FCC Approves Request for Public Comment on E-Rate Reconsideration: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on June 25 to seek public comment on whether the federal E-rate “should be narrowed or reoriented” to meet the goals Congress established 30 years ago for the program that provides discounted internet to schools and libraries. 

• CRS Releases Brief on Workforce Pell: On June 23, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a brief on Workforce Pell Grants, summarizing eligibility requirements and legislative information and comparing Workforce Pell Grants to regular Pell Grants. 

• CTE a Primary Focus in State Strategic Plans: A new analysis from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) found that 43 states focus on postsecondary education and career readiness, including CTE, in their strategic plans for education, the most common goal shared by states. Specific goals states are working on include expanding career and workforce pathways as well as equipping students with durable and career-ready skills.  

• New Tool Examines Wage Outcomes of Certificate Programs: A new tool from the HEA Group and Open Campus explores the wage outcomes for undergraduate certificate programs nationwide. ACTE found that CTE certificates experience some of the strongest returns; interested readers can learn more on the blog. 

• NSCRC Releases New Postsecondary Data: New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC) reveals that, of the 2.6 million students who entered college in fall 2024, 77.1% were still enrolled by fall 2025, similar to the previous cohort.  

• OIG Report Finds ED Staffing Cuts Impacted Legal Duties: A report released on June 22 from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that staffing reductions at ED in 2025 appear to have impacted units that were performing legal duties. 

• ED Approves Waiver for Vermont: On June 24, ED approved Vermont’s Returning Education to the States Waiver, allowing it to consolidate over $4 million in federal funds through 2029, which the state can then align with their state-level improvement priorities and strategic plan.  

• President Trump Signs Executive Order on Quantum Innovation: On June 22, President Trump signed an executive order titled, “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation.” The order calls for expanding and retaining the quantum information science and technology (QIST) workforce and requires  the Secretary of Labor to ensure that QIST industry needs are prioritized in workforce training efforts related to Executive Order 14278 of April 23, 2025 (Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future).  

• Congress Members Reintroduce the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026: On June 24, Representatives Pocan (D-WI) and Scott (D-VA) and Senators Hirono (D-HI), Murray (D-WA), Reed (D-RI) and Whitehouse (D-RI) re-introduced the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act of 2026. The bill outlines a framework to protect and strengthen the Pell Grant program.  

• NCSER Commissioner Announces Departure: On June 22, Dr. Nathan Jones, the Commissioner for the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), announced his departure from the agency.  

The HEA Group and Open Campus recently released a new tool that explores wage outcomes for undergraduate certificate programs nationwide.  

Pulling from federal education and wage datasets, the tool provides data for over 5,500 certificate programs, including number of program graduates (2017-18 and/or 2018-19) and median earnings four years post-program completion, adjusted for inflation. It compares those median earnings to the median earnings of employed high school graduates in the state and rates each program on a scale of 1-5, based on its earnings premium.  

The average earnings premium for certificate programs nationwide is about $8,200, with states such as Vermont ($36,800), North Dakota ($21,700) and Minnesota ($16,500) offering programs that produce particularly high earnings premiums. Returns varied based on program fields, with CTE and skilled trades programs yielding some of the strongest earnings gains. The certificate programs most likely to deliver high earnings outcomes include: 

• Registered Nursing  

• Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians  

• Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/Technicians 

• Fire Protection  

The most popular programs with high-wage outcomes include practical nursing and nursing assistants (48,400 graduates), precision metal workers (23,000 graduates) and allied health professions (13,400 graduates). Certificate programs in other CTE fields also produce strong wage outcomes: 

• At Guilford Technical Community College in North Carolina, the vehicle maintenance and repair certificate program produces an earnings premium of $28,900 for over 100 graduates. 

• At Hillsborough Community College in Florida, the criminal justice certificate program produces an earnings premium of $32,500 for over 200 graduates. 

• The agricultural mechanization program in Northeast Iowa Community College leads to a premium of nearly $40,000. 

• The biotechnology program in Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts produces a premium of $33,800. 

In addition to undergraduate certificates, research shows that CTE associate and bachelor’s degrees as well as high school industry certifications boost students’ earnings. Readers with any questions may reach out to ACTE’s Research and Policy Coordinator Jesus Galvan. 

Perceptions of CTE Teachers: An article by Felix Quayson and Chris Zirkle in the Journal of Research in Technical Careers examines how novice CTE teachers perceive teacher evaluations during their first years in the profession. The researchers analyzed CTE teacher responses from a master’s degree examination and organized their findings into a framework they refer to as the DEEPS framework: 

• Development: Teacher evaluations should center on developing and improving teacher quality through actionable feedback from trained evaluators.  

• Evaluation: Clear standards, competencies and rubrics specific to CTE teaching in the classroom and laboratory setting are necessary. Topics should include safety rules, industry credentials, hands-on experiences and classroom management strategies.  

• Engagement: Many novice CTE teachers report receiving insufficient training to prepare them for the classroom, finding new teacher orientations lacking in substance and often not knowing what to expect from teacher evaluations. More work is needed to better engage novice teachers with administrators and evaluators, ensuring that expectations are clearly laid out. 

• Partnerships: Evaluations should be focused on growth and improvement and lead to meaningful partnerships between teachers, mentors, administrators, evaluators and other stakeholders.  

• Skills: Evaluations should contain meaningful performance measures and focus on examining instructional skills, student skills development, relevance of teaching materials and work-based learning activities, among other topics.  

Community College Credentials of Value: A report from the American Institutes for Research examines how community colleges produce graduates with credentials of value linked to high-wage, in-demand occupational fields. The researchers interviewed leaders from community colleges with strong workforce credential completion rates (excelling colleges) and from colleges with lower completion rates (aspiring colleges) to identify differences in how each college type implements programming. Findings include the following: 

• While leaders from both college types emphasize occupational skills training, excelling colleges focus more on connecting academic and workforce programs, prioritizing job availability and quality, offering dedicated coursework on career readiness skills and braiding multiple funding sources together. 

• Excelling colleges offer a broader range of support services than aspiring colleges, including more robust advising systems, additional career navigation services and stronger wraparound supports.  

• Both excelling and aspiring colleges engage employers, including by collaborating through advisory boards and aligning programs with industry trends. Both also discussed the importance of offering work-based learning experiences.  

Gaps in State Workforce Priorities: RAND conducted a nationwide scan of state WIOA plans and eligible training provider lists (ETPLs) to assess how well states align WIOA-eligible training programs to labor market demand. ETPLs are state-maintained lists of training providers eligible to receive WIOA funds.  

The researchers found that only 15 states define a “credential of value” in WIOA state plans and only eight states provide measurable benchmarks of value by defining targeted wage increases. In addition, while in-demand jobs identified by states largely align with workforce projections, many states underestimate other occupations that could be targeted in their WIOA plans. The most omitted in-demand careers include computer occupations, community health workers and office supervisors.  

About one-third of WIOA-targeted occupations across states are both in demand and high quality (provide median earnings that exceed the state’s living wage), referred to as IDHQ jobs. Forty-seven percent of ETPL programs offer training in at least one IDHQ job, and 38% offer training exclusive to these occupations. However, ETPL programs produce fewer completers than job openings for most IDHQ careers, on average.  

Scaling Apprenticeship Degrees: A report published by the Urban Institute examines the current landscape of apprenticeship degree programs across the nation. Through interviews with practitioners and a literature scan, the authors highlight how apprenticeship degree programs can help students build academic and technical skills and attain high-wage, in-demand careers. The programs can also address worker shortages and build talent pipelines across different fields.  

From their findings, the authors outline recommendations on how various stakeholders can scale apprenticeship degree programs. For instance, policymakers should alter state licensure requirements and establish Registered Apprenticeship programs as a pathway to licensure, and researchers should create the data infrastructure needed to collect and analyze program data and outcomes. The authors also propose a definition of apprenticeship degrees that stakeholders can adopt and share across systems: 

• Apprenticeship degrees possess all the hallmarks of any Registered Apprenticeship: they are industry-led programs that offer paid work experience with wage progression, on-the-job learning, and supplemental education. Upon completion, apprentices earn both a nationally recognized journeyworker credential and an accredited associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree. 

Members of Congress this week were primarily occupied with the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expired on June 12, with negotiations on this topic stalled. The Senate held a hearing on AI in K-12 education and Vice President JD Vance is in Switzerland to participate in peace talks with Iran. Read more policy updates below.  

• ED Announces Additional IAAs: On June 16, ED announced that it was implementing four new interagency agreements (IAAs), including with the Department of Justice for civil rights investigations and the Department of Health and Human Services for grants related to students with disabilities. K-12 Dive summarizes the 14 current IAAs at ED, including the ED-Department of Labor IAA related to Perkins. 

• ED Announces Student Loan Interest Rate Reduction: On June 18, ED announced that federal student loan borrowers enrolled in auto pay will be eligible for a 1 percent interest rate reduction beginning July 1. Borrowers who enroll in auto pay by September 30, 2026, or who are already enrolled, will benefit from the interest rate reduction through June 30, 2028.     

• Senate Holds Hearing on AI in K-12 Education: On June 16, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing titled “The Future of K-12 Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence..” Readers can learn more about the hearing on the blog.  

• ED Approves Indiana’s Returning Education Waiver: On June 16, ED announced that it had approved Indiana’s Returning Education to the States Waiver, which allows Indiana to consolidate five federal funding streams into one and amends some requirements around federal accountability rules for the state. ED previously approved similar waivers for Louisiana and Iowa.  

• FCC to Meet on the E-rate Program: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently published the agenda for its upcoming meeting on June 25. One of the topics the FCC will discuss is the E-rate program that provides schools and public libraries with discounted internet access and whether to solicit public comments on the state of the program. 

• Twenty State Attorneys General Sue Over Federal Contractor Executive Order: On June 17, 20 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the March 26 executive order regarding diversity, equity and inclusion programs among federal contractors. The lawsuit alleges that the executive order impedes each state’s efforts to prevent racial discrimination and is unclear in what it prohibits.   

• DOJ Deems EEOC’s Disparate Impact Discrimination Guidelines Unconstitutional: The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finding that its guidelines about disparate impact liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are unconstitutional.  

• House of Representatives Call for Another National Reading Panel: Language in one of the House’s 2027 fiscal appropriations bills calls for convening another National Reading Panel, a group with expertise on how children learn to read, more than 25 years after the original.  

• Secretary McMahon Continues National Tour: Secretary McMahon continued her Returning Education to the States National Tour this week, visiting Seymour High School in Connecticut to view the school’s robotics program. 

On June 16, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Subcommittee on Education & the American Family held a hearing titled “The Future of K-12 Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” The witnesses included: 

• Joshua James, CEO of QuantHub 

• Erin Mote, CEO of InnovateEDU 

• Cynthia Marten, Delaware Secretary of Education 

The hearing focused on a variety of AI topics in education, including privacy and data protections, school cybersecurity breaches, AI bias and discrimination, student mental health and development concerns, professional development for teachers, critical thinking skills, the role of chatbots and virtual companions, and the need for more research that examines the long-term, causal impacts of AI on learning outcomes. Witnesses outlined AI initiatives occurring across the nation, including the Alabama Data Scholars program and Delaware’s AI Assurance Laboratory.  

The discussion also centered on important AI skills students should develop, which include: 

• Basic AI literacy and understanding 

• Critical thinking and judgement, correcting generated responses when needed 

• Ethics and responsible use of AI tools 

• AI tool selection, knowing when to use specific tools and how to apply them effectively 

• Collaboration between human and AI partners 

Joshua James with QuantHub discussed the role schools have in preparing students for careers and industries that will increasingly utilize AI tools, such as agriculture and health care, and pointed to programs that focus on applying AI across industries rather than programs solely focused on AI and technology. Several witnesses also advocated for stronger federal support for AI in education, including preserving the E-rate program, sustaining funding for teacher professional development, supporting federal research and restoring staffing within the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology.  

Readers interested in additional information may listen to the hearing here. 

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. 

Condition of Education 2026: The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently published the Condition of Education 2026, an annual report mandated by Congress that examines the state of K-12 and postsecondary education across the nation. Findings from the report include the following: 

• Public school enrollment in grades 9-12 increased by two percent from fall 2019 to fall 2024, totaling 15.5 million students. 

• From 2019-24, a higher percentage of female high school completers immediately enrolled in college compared to male high school completers (69% compared to 55% in 2024). 

• From fall 2014 to fall 2024, total undergraduate enrollment decreased by five percent (from 17.3 million to 16.4 million students).  

• The percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds not working nor enrolled in school decreased from 16% in 2014 to 13% in 2024.  

• From 2013-14 to 2023-24, the number of postsecondary credentials awarded increased at every award level except for associate degrees, which experienced a two percent decrease overall. However, associate degree program enrollment in CTE fields of study has been increasing.  

Paid Work-based Learning: A national survey conducted by the Strada Foundation found that 43% of four-year college students and 26% of two-year college students have engaged in a paid work-based learning (WBL) experience, including internships, apprenticeships, co-ops and undergraduate research experiences. The researchers noted that two-year students are more likely to work full-time compared to four-year students, which may make WBL participation more difficult. Additional findings from the survey include the following: 

• Paid WBL experience varies by field of study, with engineering, business and computer science having the highest participation rates.  

• First-generation students and women are less likely to participate in a paid WBL experience for both two- and four-year colleges. 

• Students in better-resourced and more selective schools are more likely to participate in a paid WBL experience. 

• Four-year college students who receive education-to-career guidance, support and labor market information are more likely to participate in a paid WBL experience compared to those who did not receive such guidance.  

Support for Skilled Trades Education: A national survey from Harbor Freight Tools for Schools found that there is strong bipartisan support for skilled trades education, with 78% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans viewing reduced skilled trades coursework as a major problem across the nation. Ninety-five percent of voters also believe that students would benefit from more opportunities to study the skilled trades in high school. More findings from the survey include the following: 

• 84% of voters believe that the government should provide more funding for skilled trades programs, and 86% say elected officials should do more to support the skilled trades and hands-on learning in high school. Voters supported more federal and local funding for skilled trades coursework.  

• More than three-quarters of parents view skilled trades programs as very or extremely important, and eight in ten parents would encourage their child to take a skilled trades course if they were interested in doing so. 

• About half of the students surveyed are interested in taking a skilled trades course, but only three in ten have. One-third of students who want to take skilled trades courses are unable to because their school does not offer them or there are not enough seats.  

• Black and Hispanic students were significantly more likely to be on a waitlist for a skilled trades class compared to white students.  

• Students who take skilled trades courses reporting being more engaged and confident and feeling more college- and career-ready than those who do not.  

High-wage CTE Pathways: An article by Celeste K. Carruthers, Shaun Dougherty, Thomas Goldring, Daniel Kreisman, Roddy Theobald, Carly Urban and Jesús Villero in the Southern Economic Journal examines high school CTE enrollment patterns to assess how various student groups sort into high- and low-wage occupations. Using data from four states and one large metro area, the researchers found a strong negative relationship between Career Cluster potential earnings and the percent of CTE concentrators who are women. In other words, female students tend to concentrate in Clusters that are tied to lower-paying occupations, such as Hospitality and Tourism, Education and Human Services.  

The researchers examined other student groups and found that Clusters with higher enrollments of students who were ever eligible for free or reduced-price meals pay less after high school compared to other Clusters. In addition, in most states, students with disabilities tend to concentrate in lower-earning Clusters. Similarly, Clusters with more non-white students tend to have lower potential earnings.