Earlier today (Wednesday, July 25), the House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the Perkins Act. Following a successful vote on the measure in the Senate on Monday, the bill will now head to the president’s desk where he has indicated, both on Twitter and through a statement, that he will sign it into law.

Upon House passage, ACTE and Advance CTE issued a joint statement. Senate passage of the bill came after a recent flurry of activity, following a long impasse in the Senate largely focused on the issue of secretarial authority. Earlier this week we reported on the Senate action and linked to a letter ACTE and Advance CTE sent to congressional leaders regarding some outstanding concerns with the bill. The House had previously been more active on Perkins reauthorization, holding numerous hearings and approving legislation in 2016 and 2017.

ACTE hopes to continue working with the House and Senate to clarify certain aspects of the legislation to ensure there are no unintended consequences for states and locals. The bill will take effect on July 1 of next year, and will commence with a transition year.

As ACTE continues to monitor this process, clarification language from the House and Senate and the soon-to-be-law's implementation, check back on the CTE Policy Watch Blog for updates.

On Monday evening, the Senate passed legislation to reauthorize the Perkins Act. The bill comes after several weeks of intense negotiations and hard work by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and its staff. ACTE and Advance CTE worked closely with the bill's sponsors throughout the process and secured some important changes to the legislation after it passed out of the HELP Committee last month. There are several positive aspects of the bill, including increasing the reserve fund and expanding career exploration into the middle grades. However, both ACTE and Advance CTE have concerns that there may be some unintended consequences of the bill, and we hope to continue working with both the House and Senate to clarify several provisions in the weeks ahead.

Following the bill's passage, ACTE and Advance CTE issued a joint statement and sent a letter to congressional leaders. We believe the House intends to take up the Senate version of the bill this week before its August recess, which would clear the bill to be signed into law by the president.

If the bill is signed into law, then it would take effect July 1, 2019 and begin with a transition year to allow time for planning. Should the legislation be enacted, ACTE will prepare and distribute a number of resources related to the new law. Check back on the CTE Policy Watch Blog for updates throughout this process.

Earlier today President Trump signed an executive order to establish the "National Council for the American Worker." The council will include senior administration officials and develop plans for how the public and private sectors should approach demand-driven education, spearhead a national campaign to address the skills gap, encourage companies to invest in their workforces and make specific policy recommendations. Additionally, the executive order established a policy advisory board to make recommendations to the council

According to remarks made by Ivanka Trump at the signing ceremony, she will lead the White House's efforts to spur economic growth through "vocational education and workforce development." In explaining the purpose of the event, the first daughter noted that "America's vocational education… should be as innovative, dynamic and successful as our people."

Similar efforts to raise awareness around workforce development and the skills gap have been launched by past administrations. For instance, former Vice President Joe Biden chaired a White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families during the Obama Administration, which had similar aims. Nonetheless, using the presidential bully pulpit to shine a light on the important role CTE plays in helping prepare today's students for tomorrow's careers helps to increase awareness around CTE and its benefits.

In addition to the executive order, 23 companies and associations were on hand to sign the "Pledge to America's Workforce." The pledge was a commitment for those companies and associations to invest in new jobs, training opportunities, or additional opportunities for advancement within the company. The companies and organizations are listed at the bottom of this blog post. The president expressed his hope that other companies would join the existing signatories in making the pledge.

ACTE will continue to work with the Trump Administration, Congress, industry and other organizations to strengthen the nation's education and workforce development system. We will be closely monitoring any proposals to emerge from the new council, and will provide updates on the CTE Policy Watch blog accordingly.

Aerospace Industries Association
American Hotel and Lodging Association
American Trucking Association
Associated Builders and Contractors
Associated General Contractors of America
FedEx
Foxconn
General Motors
Home Depot
IBM
Internet Association
Lockheed Martin
Microsoft
National Association of Home Builders
National Restaurant Association
National Retail Federation
North America's Building Trades Union
Northrup Grumman
Raytheon
Wall and Ceiling Alliance
Society for Human Resource Management
UPS
Walmart

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.

This week, the House Appropriations Committee voted to advance the chamber’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 education funding bill. The measure was approved by the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations subcommittee in June, but the markup to consider the bill in the full appropriations committee was twice postponed. As we previously reported, the bill proposes to increase funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant by $102 million above the current level—bringing the total to nearly $1.3 billion. Additionally, Perkins National Programs would be increased by approximately $13 million in the House bill. These additional funds for National Programs would be earmarked for a new grant competition that would focus on supporting CTE in STEM fields. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), chairman of the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations subcommittee, noted that the proposed funding increase for Perkins would help ensure that students obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for success in a rewarding career.

The House bill significantly differs from the FY 2019 education funding bill that was approved by the appropriations committee in the Senate, which proposes to maintain current levels of funding for Perkins programs. It is an important to let lawmakers know that you want to see this much-needed increase in Perkins funding. Please take a few minutes to contact your Members of Congress through our CTE Action Center.

A summary of the Senate Perkins reauthorization bill is now available! Released jointly by ACTE and Advance CTE, this document outlines all the changes included in the Senate bill, section-by-section. It also includes highlights from the legislative process. While this summary considers the Senate text in comparison to current law, additional resources will be forthcoming that compare the House and Senate bills on key areas of concern. Please send us your thoughts on changes included in the bill in the comments below!

Since the National FFA Organization's federal charter was adopted more than 60 years ago, the organization has undergone significant transformation, including more than doubling its membership and expanding into all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Accordingly, to reflect the evolution of National FFA, some changes to its federal charter and structure are necessary for its continued growth and success.

Proposed changes to National FFA's charter in S. 2432 and H.R. 5595 would still maintain the organization's relationship with the U.S. Department of Education, but would grant it additional structural flexibility and self-governance abilities. Indeed, National FFA's current charter is the only federal charter where the U.S. Department of Education must select or approve the majority of the board of directors.

The amendments would also better integrate business and industry involvement in the organization, which is an essential piece to ensuring programs are aligned with local labor market needs and coursework preparing students for success in more than 255 unique careers in agriculture. Other aspects of the amendments would more clearly explain the agricultural education model, involve educators and stakeholders in the organization’s mission, and more.

In the Senate, the bill was introduced by Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), James Lankford (R-OK) and Doug Jones (D-AL). In the House, Representatives Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA), Jim Langevin (D-RI) and David Young (R-IA) introduced the legislation. Notably, Sen. Young and Reps. Thompson and Langevin are co-chairs of their respective chamber's CTE caucuses.

National FFA has endorsed both bills, and ACTE likewise supports efforts to update the charter. For more information, visit National FFA's detailed FAQ page.