There was still minimal activity on Capitol Hill this week while Congress is on recess. This is, however, a fantastic time to meet with your lawmakers while they are at home in states and districts. A school visit or a community event is a good opportunity to connect and make the case for CTE! With Congress out, most activity this week comes from the Administration. They have announced several new funding opportunities and resources for workforce development and postsecondary institutions. Keep reading for more information! 

• Department of Education Postsecondary Success Recognition Program: The Department of Education launched the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program earlier this year to recognize institutions that support students to complete programs that will prepare them for the workforce and to give back to their communities. The Department has released a list of 200 institutions that are eligible for this recognition – 100 of which are predominantly associate or certificate-granting institutions. Those institutions must now apply for recognition by November 1 at 5:00pm ET. Check to see if your institution is on the list!  

• Department of Education Publishes Digital Equity Resource: The Department of Education published a new guide, “Advancing Digital Equity for All” which is comprised of community-based recommendations for developing digital equity plans to amend digital disparities in the classroom. 

• Department of Labor Announces New Funding Opportunity: The Department of Labor announced up to $40 million in funding for the Workforce Pathways for Youth Grant Program, with the intention of expanding workforce readiness programming. This funding will expand workforce readiness programming by providing job training and career exploration and creating work-based learning opportunities.  

• Department of Labor Webinar Highlighting Strengthening Community College Training Grants (SCC): The Department of Labor is hosting a webinar on October 22 to discuss progress made by SCC grantees. This will provide attendees with actionable ideas and practical advice to bring to their own programs and schools.  

• National Science Foundation (NSF) and Department of Commerce (DOC) Announced $30 Million to Boost Microelectronics Workforce: The NSF and DOC announced $30 million in funding over the next six years to establish a National Network for Microelectronics Education (NNME). Eligible applicants include higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations. The deadline to apply is October 28 at 4:00pm ET. 

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Launches Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program: The FCC is launching a program to provide up to $200 million to selected participants to support cybersecurity services and protect school and library broadband networks and data.  

As part of its Unlocking Career Success initiative, the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) recently released an English Learner Playbook, a guide for how educators, students, families, policymakers, and other stakeholders can best bring career-connected learning opportunities to English learners (ELs). The playbook also addresses the importance of multilingualism, another key priority for the Secretary of Education.  

The English Learner Playbook contains suggestions and resources for strengthening opportunities for ELs tailored to various groups. For example, a section for local leaders discusses collaboration between educational and industry leaders, state leaders are advised to consider innovative funding models to fund these efforts, and educators are encouraged to engage with families in decision-making about their student’s educational options. The playbook also describes why it is beneficial to engage ELs in career pathways, citing studies, similar programs and other initiatives that resulted in positive outcomes for ELs. 

Educators, students, families, policymakers, and other stakeholders, particularly those who work with ELs and are concerned about career pathways, are encouraged to share and utilize the playbook to uplift the opportunities available to ELs. 

You can learn more about serving ELs in CTE through our brief, “Supporting English Learners in CTE,” produced with our partners at Advance CTE.  

Capitol Hill was quiet this week with Congress recessed until after the election. The Department of Labor has been active, announcing several new grant opportunities with a focus on apprenticeships for underserved youth and women in nontraditional occupations. They’ve also updated resources on outreach and industry. Keep reading for more updates! 

• Department of Labor Announces $20 Million in Grants Available for Out-of-School Time: The Department of Labor announced up to $20 million in grants to expand work-based learning opportunities, job training and career pathways for underserved youth after school and during summer. Applications are due December 3.  

• Department of Labor Announced $6 Million in Grants to Expand Job Opportunities for Women in Apprenticeships, Nontraditional Occupations: The Department of Labor announced the award of new grants to help recruit, train and retain women in quality pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs and nontraditional occupations. 

• Department of Labor Updated Resource on Outreach to Business on Apprenticeships: The Department of Labor updated their resource on developing outreach strategies and materials to business partners in support of apprenticeship expansion. 

• Department of Labor Industry Focus Calls: The Department of Labor shared the transcripts and summaries of their Industry Focus calls related to apprenticeship expansion conducted from 2019-2024. The calls can help employers and other stakeholders gain insights to use in growing apprenticeships.  

• Department of Labor Webinar: The Department of Labor is hosting a webinar “Be Pro, Be Proud: Building Tomorrow’s Workforce” to offer students, parents and teachers new perspectives on high-demand technical careers in construction, manufacturing, transportation, utilities and other sectors. 

• Update on FAFSA: Secretary Cardona addressed public concerns on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as the Department of Education began their testing period for the updated 2025-25 FAFSA form. Check out the blog for more information and resources on this year’s FAFSA process. 

• Department of Education Seeking Peer Reviewers: Each year, the Department of Education convenes panels of education professionals and practitioners to peer review grants. They are currently in search of peer reviewers, so apply if interested. 

Last year, the Department of Education released an updated version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This rollout was marred by technical difficulties and other delays, leading to frustration from students and their families and college access professionals. As students begin to work on college applications and financial aid this year, the Department of Education continues to work on correcting previous errors in the form and ensuring a smoother process for everyone involved.  

Last week, Secretary Cardona sent a letter and white paper to all leaders of higher education institutions to discuss the recent changes, progress and updates made to the FAFSA ahead of its complete rollout later this year. With bipartisan pressure to provide a better experience this year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report and list of recommendations to the Department on how they can improve this year’s FAFSA rollout. 

The Department of Education’s white paper outlines updates on steps they are currently taking to ensure a smoother and more effective FAFSA process, which are in line with recommendations laid out by the GAO. These steps include: 

• Providing early and predictable timelines and launching core functions at the same time 

• Ensuring the form is functioning as intended 

• Increasing transparency 

• Improving resources for students and families to navigate the form 

• Providing resources to counselors, institutions, states and other critical partners 

• Ensuring the Federal Student Aid Information Center has sufficient capacity to handle outreach 

• Improving the user experience 

• Addressing ongoing issues experienced by mixed-status families 

• Alleviating the additional burden on institutions 

On October 1, the first Beta testing period for the form was opened to community-based organizations (CBOs) and institutions of higher education that submitted interest forms and were selected to participate. These participants will provide feedback and collaborate with the Department through four rounds of testing, with increasing participation in each round. The Department aims to launch the full form to all applications by December 1.  

In the meantime, the Department has several new resources regarding FAFSA, including a revised Federal Student Aid Estimator, a 2025-26 FAFSA prototype, new resources for applicants to create a StudentAid.Gov account and a “Federal Financial Aid Bootcamp,” to occur on October 23. This free, one-day webinar series was created for students, parents and college access professionals. ACTE will continue to share updates on this year’s FAFSA rollout and additional resources as they become available, so keep an eye on the blog and our social media (@ACTEpolicy on X). 

Classifying Community College Programs by Post-completion Success in Transfer and Workforce: The Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, alongside the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, released a guidebook and several other resources on how community college leaders can understand and classify programs based on student success transitioning to the workforce or transferring to further education. This includes a guide instructing leaders on the taxonomy
surrounding the classification of programs, an Excel-based tool that allows community colleges to produce visualizations on their programs’ post-completion success, and another guide for reviewing data from the Excel-based tool. The goal of these resources is to allow community college leaders to identify strategies to ensure that more students are able to either continue their education or attain a high-paying job after program completion. 

Education and Workforce Data Legislation Review: What Happened in 2024: The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) released a report detailing the strides states have made within the past year regarding data governance, access and usage across the educational and workforce landscapes. With hundreds of bills introduced in the past year across states that would affect these data processes, DQC analyzed the trends and described future legislative work needed in maintaining such data systems. For instance, Colorado legislators established the Colorado Statewide Longitudinal Data System – connecting education and workforce-related datasets – and Vermont created a new Office of Workplace Expansion and Development, tasked with collecting data from various agencies and formulating recommendations on workforce education and training programs. ACTE and Advance CTE produce a similar resource annually – our state CTE policy reviews – that analyzes and summarizes trends from state-level bills targeted toward CTE and workforce development, including bills that address CTE and workforce data. The 2023 report can be found here along with the state CTE policy tracker. 

Keys to Scale: How to Grow the Impact of Education-to-career Pathway Intermediaries: Education Strategy Group (ESG) released a report on the roles pathway intermediary organizations take when promoting educational and workforce opportunities to students. As these organizations grow across the nation – often with commitments to bringing about equitable economic opportunities to the most marginalized student groups – barriers remain in place that prevent these organizations from reaching scale. The report released by ESG discusses what these organizations are, what their impact is, why they are impactful, and what could be done to increase their influence. ESG also released separate reports on five specific organizations doing this type of work across the nation.  

Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Expanding Access to High-quality Career Pathways: Advance CTE and ESG released the Year 4 Annual Review of JPMorgan Chase’s New Skills ready network, a five-year program across six U.S. cities with the purpose of developing equitable career pathways and policy solutions that provide underserved students with opportunities to access postsecondary education and high-wage jobs. The annual review describes how the six sites of the network – Boston, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis and Nashville – are working to expand, implement and sustain pathways, advising and related supports. For example, the Denver site has established an annual Learner Voice Symposium, where educators, policymakers and other stakeholders hear directly from learners about their experiences and what they seek in career pathways. 

This week was the final week Congress was in session until after the election, so the schedule was packed! There were several education- and workforce-related hearings and legislation was passed to extend government funding until December 20. Meanwhile, the Administration kept busy with several new grants to support workforce development and education, new resources on relevant workforce development programs and updated information and assistance with FAFSA. Keep reading for more details! 

• Congress Passes Continuing Resolution (CR): The House and Senate both passed a CR and it was signed into law by President Biden. This legislation funds the government at current funding levels through December 20. With this extra time, Congress must work on passing fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill.  

• House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Hearings on Teacher Prep, FAFSA: The House Education and Workforce Committee held multiple hearings this week. The Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing on the challenges with and changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Meanwhile, the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education held a hearing on how to best prepare K-12 teachers for the classroom.  

• House Small Business Committee Holds Hearing on Workforce Training Programs: The House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development held a hearing on workforce development programs, noting the importance of apprenticeships and how they, and similar programs, can be helpful in expanding the small business workforce.  

• Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Holds Hearing on AI: The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing this week on how to best prepare workers for AI. Senators Kaine and Budd, co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, raised questions on CTE and workforce development as it relates to AI.  

• Department of Education to Hold Federal Financial Aid Bootcamp: The Department of Education is holding an online, free, one-day webinar series geared toward students, parents and college access professionals on the new FAFSA form on Oct 23. This is following Secretary Cardona’s letter and white paper to leadership at higher education institutions. 

• Department of Education Seeking Feedback on Perkins Regulations: The Department of Education is accepting public comments on the new proposed regulations to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act State Plan Guide. Advance CTE and ACTE have formally requested a 30-day extension to the comment period in order for the CTE community to have adequate time to provide meaningful feedback. For updates on this, see the CTE Policy Watch Blog. 

• Department of Education Announces $46 Million in Grants to Support State and Local Education Agencies: The Department of Education announced $46 million in grants to advance resource equity in schools, accelerate academic recovery, strengthen educator workforce, promote early school success and support English and multilingual learners.  

• Department of Labor Awards $18.4 Million in Grants to Measure Sector-Based Training for Low-Income Older Adult Workers: The Department of Labor announced $18.4 million to measure the effectiveness of industry or sector-based training as a bridge to unsubsidized employment for low-income, older workers.  

• Department of Labor Announced $71 Million in Grants to Improve Job Quality: The Department of Labor announced grants to improve job quality, expand access to good jobs in critical sectors and prepare workers for the jobs created by the administration's Investing in America agenda.  

• Department of Labor Shared General Apprenticeship Resources: The Department of Labor published updated resources focused on apprenticeship expansion. This includes resources on career pathways and postsecondary education. 

• Department of Labor Shares Updated Webcast Series on WIOA Youth and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Programs: The Department of Labor updated their resource on WIOA VR programs to support state and local workforce leaders, youth program practitioners and youth stakeholders and partners. The resource includes information on eligibility and services. 

The Institute of Education Sciences has awarded grants to six new research teams seeking to further our knowledge about CTE as part of the recent launch of the CTE Research Network (CTERN) 2.0, in which ACTE is a Network Lead alongside the American Institutes for Research, Boston College, and the CTE Policy Exchange at Georgia Policy Labs. The purpose of CTERN 2.0 is to collaborate and develop research to better understand the effects of CTE on student outcomes, building on the work of its predecessor, CTERN 1.0. 

Similarly to CTERN 1.0, CTERN 2.0 consists of six research teams, each conducting its own exploratory and impact study of CTE in school districts around the country. The studies are being conducted by different partners in the research network, including universities, think tanks and nonprofit research organizations, and are set to conclude by 2028.  

• Career Development Opportunities in Delaware: Implementation, Impact, and Cost (Principal investigator: Benjamin Dalton, RTI International)  

• Career Development in Chicago Public Schools: Advancing Equity in Opportunities and Outcomes (Principal investigator: Amy Arneson, University of Chicago) 

• Career Development Opportunities in Los Angeles Unified School District (Principal investigator: Miya Warner, SRI Education) 

• Career Development Opportunities for High School Students in Baltimore City Public Schools (Principal investigator: Jay S. Plasman, The Ohio State University) 

• Career Development Opportunities in Florida’s Leon County Schools (Principal investigator: Walter Ecton, University of Michigan and formerly of Florida State University) 

• Exploring the Impact of Secondary Career Development in Washington D.C. Public Schools (Principal investigator: Dara Zeehandelaar Shaw, DC Education Research Collaborative/Urban Institute) 

CTERN 1.0 produced several important and relevant resources documenting CTE’s impact on learner outcomes, including the recent systematic review that summarizes CTE research spanning the past 20 years – findings are also available via a two-page abstract and infographic. The literature review shows that CTE has statistically significant positive impacts on several high school outcomes and is associated with postsecondary enrollment and post-high school employment.  

CTERN 2.0 has coordinated a team to conduct another systematic review, this time with a focus on work-based learning.