On July 29, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) held a hearing titled “The Impact of AI on the Workforce.” The witnesses included:

• Ken Clark – President and Chief Executive Officer, EmployIndy
• Carol Rogers – Director, Indiana Business Research Center
• Dr. Liya Palagashvili – Director of the Labor Policy Project, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
• Jonathan Liebert – CEO, Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado
• Dr. Justin Heck – Senior Director of Research and Data Production, Opportunity@Work

The hearing largely focused on how both new and experienced workers can develop the skills and adaptability needed to remain competitive in an evolving economy.

According to Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), helping workers starts with improving existing data systems. “Helping workers master the skills they need to succeed in the AI economy starts with getting better data,” said Sen. Banks.

And according to Dr. Liya Palagashvili, federal labor market statistics are not yet equipped to measure the impacts of AI. “Worker surveys do not show how AI is changing tasks within jobs, business surveys are not routinely linked to hiring and earnings outcomes, and timely measures of independent work remain limited,” said Palagashvili.

Preparing workers also requires them to learn digital literacy skills. According to Ken Clark, “Before workers can become AI literate, they must first be digitally literate. That means understanding productivity software, interpreting data, practicing good cybersecurity, and confidently using today’s workplace technologies. We often assume everyone possesses these skills. The reality is that they do not. If we race toward AI literacy without first ensuring digital literacy, we risk leaving even more workers behind.”

A recording of the hearing can be found here.

What is August Recess?   

August Recess is an annual month-long break taken by Congress where policymakers generally leave Washington, DC, to work in their home states and districts. Members of Congress use this time to host town halls and other community events, meet with local constituents, and campaign, especially in an election year.  

What Does This Mean for Advocacy?  

August Recess is an ideal time for advocacy, as the break allows Members of Congress to engage with their constituents and listen to their opinions on specific issues. It also occurs at a key time in the federal appropriations process. In June, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The bill did provide an increase for the CTE Basic State Grant under the Perkins Act, but included significant reductions elsewhere. Overall, the bill proposes broad cuts to both the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Labor (DOL). While the Senate has yet to release its version of the bill, both Chambers are already looking ahead to appropriations deadlines at the end of the fiscal year on September 30. This makes August Recess an opportune time to advocate for federal funding. August Recess also allows for face-to-face interaction with your Members of Congress, which can lay the groundwork for a strong, ongoing relationship with their staff and offices as the appropriations process unfolds later in the year. Relationship building is one of the most effective things an advocate can do. Building connections will set the stage for more personal, engaged advocacy with the office in the future.    

Ways to Engage Policymakers During August Recess  

There are multiple ways to engage policymakers during August Recess:  

1. Schedule in-district meetings with your Members of Congress. Contact your congressional office to schedule an appointment with a Member of Congress or their staff. Use ACTE’s guide for visiting policymakers for more specific meeting tips.  

2. Invite Members of Congress to a site visit, such as touring your school’s CTE programs or participating in back-to-school events or open houses. Use ACTE’s guide for hosting a site visit for more information.  

3. Attend a town hall or in-person event with your policymakers. This gives you an opportunity to ask questions and receive updates on important topics affecting your state or district. These can be found by looking at your federal legislators’ website. 

Key Messages  

The cornerstone of effective advocacy is the ability to efficiently explain your issue and share your personal story. Positioning your issue within the government’s agenda or election cycle (e.g., the appropriations process) and making your issue digestible to policymakers are two key tactics for effective messaging.  

For this August Recess, we want to highlight the importance of federal funding in sustaining high-quality programs, especially during the FY 2027 appropriations process. Make sure to share these key messages with policymakers:  

• The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act provides critical federal funding to support CTE programs across the country, but investments have not kept pace with inflation or growing needs. The House provided a $10 million increase, but we need the largest possible investment in CTE to meet learner needs.  

• In addition to Perkins funding, it is essential that Congress provide sustained investments to the entire education and workforce system to ensure all learners have the opportunity and resources needed to build skills for lifelong career success.  

Another important messaging technique is to share personal anecdotes or stories and data points. Pull stories of your students, school or community, and use ACTE’s state fact sheets to easily access data for your state.  

What Works in Career Exploration: Project Evident recently released a series of briefs that examine the evidence base and on-the-ground realities for career exploration, which the publications define as a wide range of activities that expose students to careers, including advising, assessments, work-based learning and CTE. The literature review found strong evidence supporting career exploration in adolescence, highlighting its role in shaping young people’s career identities, self-confidence and sense of connection to others. When examining the academic and workforce outcomes of programs, researchers found the strongest evidence for intensive programs offered through CTE-focused high schools and career academies. 

A separate brief considers implementation and identifies priorities raised by practitioners and researchers during interviews. These include ensuring career exploration is integrated with academic content, providing teachers and practitioners with the training and resources needed to support their work, and developing and maintaining partnerships with employers and community groups.  

From these findings, the researchers developed a framework for high-quality career exploration. Components include supporting self-discovery, developing durable skills, building social capital and providing students with career navigation and planning assistance. The brief also outlines next steps policymakers, school districts and other stakeholders should consider when delivering and scaling high-quality career exploration.  

CTE Policy and Employment Outcomes: A report from the Center for American Progress found, through a literature review and interviews with state leaders, that while there is growing interest in scaling CTE programs nationwide, barriers around data, CTE teacher recruitment and access to programs remain. The researchers also found that current federal funding for CTE programs has not kept up with inflation and population growth.  

Drawing on their findings and case studies from states addressing these challenges, the researchers identified several recommendations for Perkins reauthorization, including: 

• Increasing federal funding and support for CTE programs 

• Improving data collection, systems and infrastructure 

• Establishing additional supports and resources for recruiting and retaining CTE teachers 

• Strengthening the connection between CTE and Registered Apprenticeship 

These recommendations align with ACTE’s priorities for Perkins reauthorization.  

A Practical Guide to Work-based Learning: A report from the Progressive Policy Institute draws on interviews with leaders from six work-based learning (WBL) programs across the nation to identify promising practices and challenges in the field. Findings from the interviews include the following: 

• There are often not enough WBL experiences for interested students, and employers identify insurance and safety regulations as a barrier due to the age of most high school students. Two programs described using school-based enterprises to provide placements for students and curtail insurance and transportation hurdles.  

• Leaders note that while many students wish to participate in WBL, they often need to meet graduation requirements first. Some programs are located in states that tie WBL to graduation and accountability requirements, and one leader from Philadelphia states that they use summer and after-school time for their programs. 

• While government sources provide some funds for these programs, leaders described being reliant on philanthropic funding to cover transportation, stipends, student wages and other costs. This is due to limited amounts of federal and state funding as well as restrictions on how those funds can be used.  

• Full-time personnel that manage partnerships is critical, but programs often struggle to fund and staff these positions. Leaders in Indiana, Texas and Colorado said that collaboration across districts and schools helped their programs significantly, as they were able to reach a large enough scale to afford full-time staff that manages their partnerships.  

From these findings, the researchers provide recommendations to policymakers, employers and other stakeholders to better support WBL. These include creating additional teaching pathways for industry experts and building a sequence of courses and experiences that prepare students for meaningful WBL programs. 

This week was very busy on the Hill as the House finished up work before their five-week August Recess that begins on Monday. The Senate has two more weeks in session before they begin their recess on August 8. Before leaving town, the House did pass a continuing resolution that would fund the government through December 4, already anticipating that appropriations bills will not be able to be passed in time. The Senate is aiming to consider their own version of this bill before their recess begins in August. The House also passed the annual defense policy package, a budget reconciliation package including defense spending and agriculture assistance and a ban on lawmakers trading stocks to wrap up the week. Read more policy updates below.   

• Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Prohibit Inter-Agency Agreements: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has scheduled a markup next week of a newly introduced bill, S.5046, which prohibits the Education Department (ED) from transferring offices that oversee special education, postsecondary education, elementary and secondary education and Native American education programs to other agencies. We continue to share with Congress ongoing concerns about the IAA that moved administration of Perkins to the Department of Labor, and thus the need to protect the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education as well.   

• House Committee on Education and Workforce Markup: On July 21, the House Committee on Education and Workforce approved of 10 bills that can now advance to the House floor. Several education bills were included, with a focus on defining AI’s role in K-12 classrooms and modernizing workforce systems. H.R. 8747, the K-12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act, allows schools to flexibly use federal funds to prepare students and educators to use AI tools safely and effectively. H.R. 8183, also known as the MATCH Act, provides a funding and legal framework for states to modernize and integrate their workforce data systems.   

• Florida Board of Education Approves Henry Mack to be Florida Education Commissioner: On July 22, Dr. Henry Mack was unanimously approved as Florida’s next commissioner of education by the State Board of Education. Dr. Mack, who is currently serving as assistant secretary of the Employment and Training Administration at DOL (the agency administering Perkins funding under the interagency agreement), worked at the Florida Department of Education from 2019 to 2023. We will share information on a replacement at DOL as soon as it is announced. 

• House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Field Hearing on AI: On July 24, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing in Augusta, GA,  titled, “Building an AI-Ready America: How AI Is Creating Opportunities Across America’s Workforce.” A recording of the hearing can be found here.  

• ED Repeals Methods of Administration Program: On July 22, the Office of Civil Rights issued a final rule that would eliminate the Methods of Administration (MOA) program, which required state agencies to create plans and conduct reviews to ensure CTE programs comply with federal civil rights laws.  

• ED Removes Disparate-Impact from Title VI Regulations: On July 23, ED’s Office for Civil Rights announced they would be rescinding several disparate-impact provisions from their regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These provisions protect students against institutional policies that disparately impact minority groups. Inside Higher Ed covered this announcement here.   

• Judge Rules that Federal Officials Cannot Terminate Grants Due to Differing Government Priorities: On July 17, a federal judge ruled that federal agencies cannot terminate previously awarded grants based on their misalignment with agency priorities. The court order only applies to the 23 states that sued.  

• Rep. Scott Hosts Event on Adult Education Transfer to DOL: On July 16, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, hosted an event on the transfer of Adult Education and Family Literacy programs from ED to the Department of Labor (DOL). A recording of the event can be found here. 

Both the House and Senate were back in session this week, with a flurry of activity after last week’s recess. The House Committee on Education and Workforce held a markup of a legislative package that would codify the interagency agreements and dismantle the Department of Education. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee also held a hearing on the nomination of Keith Sonderling to be Secretary of Labor. ACTE participated in the Committee for Education Funding’s (CEF) Hill Day to highlight the importance of education funding to policymakers. Read more policy updates below.

• ACTE and Advance CTE Submit Comments on Changes to Uniform Grant Guidance: On July 13, ACTE and Advance CTE submitted joint comments in response to a proposal from the Office of Management and Budget to make significant changes to the rules that govern all federal grants. Almost 500,000 comments were received and will need to be processed before a final rule can be issued. We will be following this issue closely as it moves forward.
• ACTE and Advance CTE to Host Congressional Briefing on AI and CTE with CTE Caucus: On July 21, ACTE and Advance CTE will host a briefing on AI and CTE in conjunction with the Congressional CTE Caucus. This event will include remarks from Rep. Bonamici (D-OR), House CTE Caucus Co-Chair; a brief presentation from Cameron Sublett of the California Community College Foundation on his report, “Applied Co-Intelligence: Preparing Career and Technical Education Learners for an AI-Driven Workforce,” and a practitioner panel discussion on policy priorities with Cameron Sublett and Michael Tinsley of the Tennessee Board of Regents.
• House Committee Advances Bills to Codify the Interagency Agreements: On July 15, the House Education and Workforce Committee advanced a package of bills that, if passed, would codify the Department of Education’s (ED) interagency agreements that transfer education programs to other federal agencies, including Perkins and adult education funding. ACTE continues to have significant concerns about the IAAs and these bills, and will be continuing advocacy on these issues. Read more on the blog here.
• Secretary of Labor Confirmation Hearing: On July 16, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing to examine the nomination of Keith Sonderling to be Secretary of Labor. Read more on the blog here.
• Senate Committee Advances Labor Nominations: On July 15, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee advanced several labor nominations to the Senate floor for a vote. The nominations include Brett Matsumoto to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics and James Macy to join the National Labor Relations Board.
• DOL Announces Skills Training Grant Program: On July 7, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of $40 million in grants for skills training programs. The funds would support partnerships between state workforce agencies and employers to develop training programs that align to high-demand industries such as shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing. Applications are due on August 17.
• New Details Emerge on Special Education IAA: In a private call with disability advocates, ED indicated that IDEA and special education services would continue to be overseen by ED under the current interagency agreement. However, many ED staff members who oversee special education programs will be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.
• CTE Curriculum Fuels Native American Graduation Gains at Federally Funded Schools: Between 2019 and 2025, four-year graduation rates rose from 53% to 87% at Bureau of Indian Education Schools. Administrators attribute this in large part to the implementation of CTE curriculum, as well as more accurate reporting.
• ED to Release 2023-24 OCR Data Soon: Office for Civil Rights (OCR) data for the 2023-24 school year was originally going to be available to the public in December 2025, but Assistant Secretary Kimberly Richey said in an interview in late June that the release of the national civil rights data will come “later this summer.”
• IES Awards $6 Million in Longitudinal Data Grants: The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently awarded over $6 million in grants to support states using longitudinal data for education policymaking. States will be focusing on various issues, including literacy and postsecondary workforce outcomes.
• ED Scaled Back Special Education Monitoring, Report Finds: A report from the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates found that federal teams visited fewer than half of states originally scheduled for special education monitoring in 2025 and 2026.

On July 16, Keith Sonderling testified in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. President Trump recently nominated Sonderling to become the next Secretary of Labor to replace former Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer. 

The hearing covered a wide range of topics including apprenticeships, AI’s impact on jobs and the inter-agency agreements (IAAs) between the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Education (ED). 

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle focused their questions on apprenticeships. Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) advocated for simplifying the registration process for employers because the current system is too burdensome and noted that inconsistent state laws often confuse workers and businesses. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) asked if there were plans to revisit the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program, a program from the first Trump Administration. Sonderling responded that the Administration’s focus is on promoting registered apprenticeships. 

Democrats on the committee were largely critical of the IAAs, stating that DOL does not have the experience to handle the new education programs in its portfolio. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said, “There’s a right way to do reform.” He went on to say that it requires the Administration approaching lawmakers with ideas for improvement. 

A recording of the hearing can be found here. 

On July 15, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a full committee markup on a package of bills that, if passed, would codify the Department of Education’s (ED) interagency agreements that transfer education programs to other federal agencies. The package includes H.R. 9607, the Less Bureaucracy, Better Workforce Development Act, which would officially transfer authority over the Perkins Act to the Department of Labor (DOL). 

In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) argued that ED has failed to improve outcomes and prepare students for the workforce, stating that the transfers would place programs under agencies better fit to implement them. Ranking Member Robert Scott (D-VA) disagreed, stating that other federal agencies lack the expertise to implement education programs and that the current interagency agreements are illegal and burdensome. Rep. Scott specifically noted that several states struggled with drawing Perkins funds from the DOL’s grant management system after administration of CTE funding was transferred to the DOL last year.  

Lawmakers first discussed the bill that would codify the transfer of Perkins and the Adult Education program to the DOL. Rep. Walberg promoted the transfer as a way to better align education and training programs with labor market needs, expanding opportunity and equipping students with the skills needed to pursue work.  

Democratic lawmakers voiced opposition to the bill. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)—co-chair of the House CTE Caucus—asserted that the interagency agreements are illegal and have led to funding delays. She remarked that several state CTE offices failed to receive funding in a timely manner and that the DOL is not equipped with the expertise to manage these programs. She also noted Advance CTE and ACTE’s concern about the transfer. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) described the role of adult learners and declared her opposition to the bill, pointing to a previous bipartisan reauthorization of WIOA that failed to pass. Rep. Scott also stated that ED has paid over $1 million to the DOL to administer CTE and adult education funding. 

Several amendments to the bill were introduced by lawmakers. Rep. Joseph Courtney (D-CT) introduced an amendment that would require ED to demonstrate that states are able to draw CTE and adult education funds without delay before transferring them to the DOL. Rep. Scott introduced several amendments, including requiring reports on the costs and basis of the transfer, ensuring that ED staff detailed to the DOL have access to a safe working environment, and ordering the DOL to issue a report on the investigation of former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.  

Lawmakers went on to discuss the remaining bills, with Republicans supporting the transfers and Democrats opposing. The committee ultimately voted to advance the entire legislative package but struck down the amendments. The package now moves to the House floor for full consideration by the House of Representatives. The timing of that vote is not yet clear. Bills would also have to be considered by the Senate, and at this point are unlikely to pass there, although that could change. ACTE will continue to provide updates as they become available. 

Readers may view the hearing here and contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager Jimmy Koch with any questions.