Congress is nearing the end of summer recess with the end of August approaching! The House and Senate will return to in-session activities on September 2, focusing on appropriations work in advance of the end of the fiscal year. In the Administration, the Department of Education (ED) issued new regulations for loan forgiveness eligibility under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), took steps to maintain existing CTE reporting requirements, and certified the 2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) launch. Secretary McMahan also spoke on CTE. Keep reading below for more updates from the past two weeks, and stay tuned for more as Congress returns! 

• ED Issues New Rules for Student Loan Forgiveness Under PSLF: ED released a memo with updated regulations on eligibility for loan forgiveness under PSLF. The proposed revision will allow denial of loan forgiveness if the borrower works for an employer “deemed to have a substantial illegal purpose.”  Individuals in CTE-related public service should continue to monitor employer eligibility for PSLF updates. A final rule is expected by November 1. 

• ED Issues Plans to Maintain Existing Perkins Data-reporting Requirements: ED issued the second notice of revised rules that propose to eliminate the expanded reporting requirements authorized in December 2024 by the Biden Administration that would have required states to track additional CTE performance metrics. The new documents would largely revert back to existing requirements, a move ACTE has long supported.  

• Cabinet Meeting Highlights CTE: During President Trump’s August cabinet meeting, Secretary McMahon highlighted multiple states for expanding CTE in middle school career pathways and enhancing high school dual-credit opportunities. Watch the remarks here.  

• ED Confirms 2026-2027 FAFSA Launch: Secretary McMahon certified to Congress that the FAFSA form will be available by October 1, meeting the statutory deadline requirements. ED conducted beta testing this summer with educational institutions and students to ensure successful operations before the form launches. Read more about it here. 

• Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) Introduce Fusion Workforce Act: Rep. Lofgren and Rep. Obernolte introduced a bill to create a national Fusion Workforce Hub at the National Science Foundation (NSF), which aims to promote CTE in fusion science and technology through curriculum development, career readiness resources, and expanding research opportunities.  

The Front End of the CTE Teacher Pipeline: A working paper from the Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) examines the earnings of CTE teachers who enter the profession with prior industry experience.

After analyzing employment data from Washington state, the researchers found that, on average, CTE teachers with prior industry experience make $13,000 more in their first year of teaching than in their prior industry jobs. Apart from Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technology, CTE teachers in most Career Clusters experience first-year salary increases. 

When comparing the salaries of traditionally and alternatively certified CTE teachers with prior industry experience, the researchers found that although alternatively certified teachers have higher industry salaries, both groups experience salary increases when they transition to teaching. While traditionally certified CTE teachers across all Clusters experience a first-year salary increase, alternatively certified teachers in the Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technology Clusters earn more in industry than teaching. 

Career Education Recruitment and Communication Toolbox: A new toolkit from Advance CTE provides practitioners with resources to effectively recruit and support students in CTE programs: 

• A guide on recruiting and supporting students with disabilities in CTE programs, including strategies and case studies.  
• A resource outlining how two pilot programs in Colorado and Louisiana worked to better engage with CTE students to inform their recruitment and communication practices.  
• A guide on conducting focus groups as well as customizable CTE program recruitment templates. 

America’s School-to-work Crisis: A survey conducted by the Schultz Family Foundation and HarrisX examines the education and workforce attitudes of young adults, parents, navigators (e.g. teachers, counselors, workforce specialists) and employers. The researchers surveyed over 5,600 respondents and found the following: 

• Across each group, most respondents indicate that while four-year degrees can lead to a job, other skills and experiences are more important. 
  • Fifty-eight percent of employers say skills are more important than degrees. 
  • While navigators express support for noncollege pathways, 70% still advise young people to pursue a four-year degree. Parents also primarily recommend a four-year degree despite reservations about its value.  
• Sixty-four percent of young adults want hands-on experiences to explore career options before choosing a pathway, and 45% say that current career resources available to them offer little guidance.  
  • Young adults are also engaging with AI: 20% use AI tools to explore education and career possibilities. However, 54% are concerned about whether AI will replace the jobs they seek. 
• Tools that navigators recommend for young adults include goal setting (54%), career assessments (41%), college fairs (37%) and job fairs (36%).  
• Thirty-eight percent of employers offer internships, and 14% offer job shadowing opportunities.  

Updating and Expanding the Workforce Almanac: A recent update to the Workforce Almanac from the Project on Workforce at Harvard University provides new figures on short-term workforce training providers nationwide. As of August 2025, more than 20,000 providers are captured in the Almanac’s data, including federal Registered Apprenticeship providers, higher education institutions and WIOA-eligible providers. The researchers analyzed this data and found the following: 

• Nonprofit providers account for 37% of total providers, followed by WIOA-eligible providers (29%), higher education institutions (18%) and Registered Apprenticeships (16%). 
• The Midwest has the highest number of providers per 100,000 workers and per 100,000 unemployed individuals. 
• Washington, D.C., Wyoming and Alaska have the highest number of providers per 100,000 workers; Nebraska, Texas and South Carolina have the lowest. 
• Puerto Rico, West Virginia and Arkansas have the highest ratio of postsecondary institutions that offer short-term workforce training programs to workers. 
• The most common Registered Apprenticeship program sponsors are union/labor organizations, employers, business associations and community colleges/universities. 

In July, Department of Education (ED) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to establish a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee to determine the eligibility requirements for Workforce Pell, created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. ACTE, in partnership with Advance CTE, submitted comments on August 28 to provide recommendations on the best path forward for the implementation of short-term Pell.

Our recommendations highlight the importance of formally including subbaccalaureate institutions, such as community and technical colleges and area technical centers, within the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee. These institutions will play a central role in program implementation.

Additionally, we recommended that Workforce Pell build on existing state-defined terms and systems developed in Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). For example, states define high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand sectors, and many maintain lists of credentials of value. While definitions vary by state, this existing work provides a strong foundation for aligning programs with local labor market needs within local contexts. Flexibility will be important however, as many definitions were designed for longer-term pathways rather than short-term training programs.

Implementation of Workforce Pell should also recognize the need for reliable data on program outcomes. Many states face significant challenges in linking education and workforce data, and only a small number currently use actual wage outcomes to assess credentials of value. Future guidance should acknowledge these challenges, avoid unrealistic reporting requirements and support capacity-building efforts, including through federal data initiatives.

As the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee begins, ACTE will continue to provide updates to help our members best understand the implementation process. If you have any questions, please reach out to ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org).

On August 5, the Department of Education (ED) launched the “Your AI Horizons Challenge,” the third challenge in the ED’s #CTEMomentum challenge series. The new challenge urges students to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into traditional workplace roles to keep pace with emerging technologies. The annual challenge aims to expand CTE education while also providing career readiness opportunities for students.  

The challenge is a team-based project. Interested high school students should submit a project overview, a 60-second video pitch and a plan explaining their AI workplace proposal. Teams must have a teacher, administrator or coordinator as the official lead.  

Submissions are due on November 19, 2025, at 6 p.m. EST. Ten winners will be announced and will receive a portion of $50,000. 

You can learn more about the challenge here.  

Congress remained mainly focused on summer recess activities this week. Both the House and Senate will return to Washington on September 2 to resume appropriations work as the end of the fiscal year approaches next month. Floor activity was limited to pro forma sessions, but members still introduced legislation in areas including workforce development, small business incentives and education access. In the Administration, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Commerce and Education (ED) published a new workforce strategy earlier this week with plans to advance skills development. See below for more updates from the past week:  

• Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) Introduce Counseling for Career Choice Act: Rep. Thompson and Rep. Bonamici introduced a bill to amend Every Student Succeeds Act, which would allow Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants to expand funding eligibility to career counseling and exploration to expand resource support for CTE programs. ACTE endorsed this legislation.  

• DOL, Commerce, and ED Issue Report on Workforce Development: On August 12, the three agencies jointly released “America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age,” a federal strategy aimed at enhancing the country’s approach to career readiness training. It includes five different focus areas to meet modern day workforce demands. You can read more about it in this blog post.  

• Federal Judge Rules Against ED’s Anti-DEI Requirements: On August 14, a federal judge ruled against ED’s February 14 guidance memo, requiring educational institutions to certify compliance with ED’s interpretation of the anti-discrimination law to receive federal funding, ruling that the ED cannot enforce the restrictions without proper legislation or rulemaking.  

• ACTE and Partners Request Clarity on Serving Undocumented Learners: ACTE, along with Advance CTE, AACC and ACCT, sent a letter to ED seeking answers to critical questions regarding their recent notice of interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) provisions related to benefits for undocumented learners. 

• ED Announces Career Z Challenge Recipients: ED wrapped up the final phase of the Career Z Challenge, recognizing student-centered work-based learning (WBL) in high school programs. Each recipient received a portion of $1.5 million to expand WBL initiatives. Each of the winners showcased strong partnerships, student impact, and sustainability within WBL. The Department of Education recognized the following institutions: Atlanta College and Career Academy (GA), Kirkwood Community College (IA), YouthForce NOLA (LA), Grand Forks Public Schools (ND), Future Focused Education (NM), South Bronx Community Charter High School (NY), Educational Service Center of Central Ohio (OH), Lorain County Joint Vocational School (OH) and Roanoke City Public Schools (VA).  

• Secretary of Education Conducts School Tour: In conjunction with the beginning of the school year, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is kicking off a 50-state tour titled “Returning Education to the States.” The tour has already included stops at several community colleges.  

• Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) Introduce Apprenticeships for Small Businesses Act of 2025: Rep. Harder and Rep. Kiggans introduced a bill to create a refundable tax credit for small businesses that hire CTE students and trainees. Each participating business would be eligible for up to $10,000 in tax credits. 

ACTE, along with a coalition of other organizations, sent a letter to the Department of Education (ED) seeking answers to critical questions regarding the their recent notice of interpretation impacting postsecondary CTE and adult education programs.

Earlier this summer, the Trump Administration issued new interpretive guidance on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The Notice of Interpretation removes prior exemptions from PRWORA’s definition of a “public benefit,” further limiting access for undocumented immigrants. Under this change, postsecondary CTE programs funded through Perkins V and adult basic education programs supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) are now included, despite previously being exempt. The interpretation also appears to extend to K-12 dual and concurrent enrollment programs.

While court action has put the implementation of this new interpretation on hold in some states, we hope to get additional clarity soon. ACTE is joined by Advance CTE, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) in seeking clarification regarding how and in what ways states and local grantees are expected to operationalize these new requirements.

ACTE is looking forward to a response from ED on these important questions. If you have any questions, please reach out to ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org).

This week, I joined ACTE as the new media and advocacy coordinator. In this role, I will work closely with other members of the public policy team to support ACTE’s mission by ensuring members have the most up-to-date information on policy developments and the resources they need to take action, including by managing our social media, website, and the CTE Policy Watch blog. I will also be working to amplify ACTE’s policy priorities through media outreach and special events, as well as providing advocacy training. I am very excited to be a part of the team and advance the conversation around the important role of CTE in education policy! I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself in my first blog post.  

I recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a dual bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Policy. While earning my degree, I began my professional journey and interned at the White House in the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), where I supported communications on drug policies and initiatives. In this role, I drafted press releases, prepared media plans, and social media content to expand ONDCP’s priorities. This experience afforded me a profound insight into federal policymaking, particularly in areas affecting public health and safety.  

Most recently, I served as a temporary Communications Assistant for the Office of Congressman Jim Costa of California’s 21st District. In this role, I worked among Congressman Costa’s communications team to compile daily press clips, create digital content, photograph constituent meetings, and draft written materials. This role fine-tuned my ability to analyze and distill complex legislative policy, ensuring it resonates with and informs California’s 21st district.  

I am originally from the Midwest, where I had the honor of growing up in a community deeply invested in its public education system. My father served on the school board of our hometown district for 14 years. His dedication to shaping educational policies and advocating for the students in our community sparked my interest in education policy. I developed an early understanding of how crucial equal access to a quality education is for students everywhere, not just in my hometown.  

I look forward to contributing to ACTE’s goals, priorities, and membership support as I take on this role! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at ajablonski@acteonline.org if I can be of any assistance.