Congress has been focusing most of its time on negotiations and political maneuvering related to the upcoming deadline for approving Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. Without final bills or a continuing resolution (CR), the government will shut down after Sept. 30. Meanwhile, the Department of Education (ED) has stayed busy with several announcements. Read more updates below!

• House Passes CR to Keep Government Funded; CR Bills Fail in Senate: Last week, the House passed a CR to extend current funding levels through Nov. 21 to avoid a government shutdown. However, that bill, as well as a different version of the CR put forward by Democrats, were both voted down in the Senate. To avoid a government shutdown, both chambers must pass the same CR before Wednesday at 12 AM. We will be monitoring the situation carefully for impacts on CTE.
• House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic Growth Hearing on School Choice: On Sept. 17, both Republicans and Democrats of the House Oversight Subcommittee discussed alternative non-degree pathways available to learners. Both sides of the aisle agreed on the importance of expanding CTE education linked to career opportunities. Watch the hearing here.
• Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on State of K-12 Education: On Sept. 18, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing with a panel of researchers, state leaders and educators to discuss declining student academic achievement. During the hearing, Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) emphasized the importance of investing in career centers and resources to help each high school graduate become career-ready.
• ED Announces 2025 U. Presidential Scholars: On Sept. 26, ED announced the 161 students who will be recognized as this year’s Presidential Scholars, including 20 scholars in CTE. You can view the full list of scholars here.
• ED Issues Updated Ed-Flex Guidance: On Sept. 17, ED released updated guidance on the Ed-Flex, allowing states to waive certain federal requirements for their local grantees. This aims to help state and local agencies customize education strategies, with flexibility covering parts of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), including Titles I, II-A, IV-A, as well as Perkins. Read more about it here.
• Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-ED) and Katie Britt (R-LA) Introduce the Immersive Technology for the American Workforce Act: Sens. Blunt-Rochester and Britt introduced a bill that would expand federal resources for community colleges and technical centers to integrate virtual and augmented reality into their training and education programs. ACTE endorsed this bill and you can read the full version here.
• ED Issues New Grant Priorities: Recently, ED has announced a number of new proposed discretionary grant supplemental priorities, including one on career pathways and workforce readiness. Other new proposed priorities include patriotic education and meaningful learning. Feedback on the proposed priorities is open for 30 days. If finalized, these priorities could be used as ED issues a variety of competitive grants.
• 2026-27 FAFSA Opens to All: On Sept. 24, ED announced that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form for students enrolling in postsecondary education during the 2026-27 school year was available, even earlier than required.

ACTE and Alabama ACTE concluded its media tour with three stops across southern Alabama.

The day started at the Enterprise Career and Technology Center. We first heard from school leaders who highlighted the center’s relationship with the largest employer in the area. Most notably, M1 Enterprises has approximately 5,000 employees, and their work directly supports the nearby military base, Fort Rucker. While on the tour, we first stopped in the aviation program where we learned about the direct career pathways the program has into M1.

Our second stop was a short trip down the road to Enterprise High School. Upon entrance, we saw a drone demonstration and learned of all the career opportunities these students will have when they earn their FAA commercial drone credential. Outside of the military, earning that credential can lead to careers in real estate, agriculture and insurance amongst several others. Other stops on the tour included watching students construct a tiny house, hearing about the success of the cybersecurity students in statewide competitions and watching hands on learning in the automotive program from cars donated by companies like General Motors.

The tour concluded at Andalusia High School. After hearing from Mayor Earl Johnson, we embarked on our tour starting at the football field. There we saw the broadcast booth where students run the operations for all of the football games. We then moved to the newly renovated news studio where the students were preparing their next broadcast. The day ended after seeing CPR demonstration.

We want to thank all of the schools that allowed us on their campuses and showed us the tremendous success of their students. We are truly grateful to have gone on this tour and are looking forward to the next one!

Today, Alabama ACTE and ACTE continued its media two with visits to Auburn High School and Elmore County Area Technical Center.

The day began at Auburn High School where we were greeted by students in the JROTC program. We then got to hear directly from school and district leadership before touring four programs:

• Animal Science
• Army JROTC
• Entertainment & Media
• Health Science

We heard directly from the students who told us that their CTE program is preparing them not just for their future career but also for life. JROTC students said that their program is teaching them important skills such as leadership and large scale planning and logistics. Notably, the many of the students are completing multiple CTE programs. As conversations with the students continued, we found that it was not uncommon for them to be enrolled in two programs.

The tour continued with the Elmore County Area Technical Center where we got to stop into all 15 programs with a special focus on:

• Automotive Services
• Culinary Arts
• Public Safety and Law
• Drafting and Technical Design

At the start of the tour, we heard directly from the students who shared with us some of their plans for after high school. During the tour, we saw CTE in action! In the law and safety program, students were learning how to transport their fellow firefighters in the event of an injury while on a call. In the Automotive Services class, students were working on two cars, including their instructors.

The tour concludes tomorrow when we visits programs in Enterprise and Andalusia.  

On September 22, ACTE and Alabama ACTE conducted a site visit to three northern Alabama secondary institutions that have demonstrated exemplary commitments to supporting CTE in their schools.

The first stop of the day was the Kevin Dukes Career Innovation Academy in Hollywood, AL. There we heard from Superintendent Jason

Davidson and CTE Director Drew McNutt. Following the discussion, we had the opportunity to start seeing CTE in action. We saw students demonstrate precision machining in the institution’s advanced manufacturing and engineering laboratory.  Following that, we met with instructors and students in the electrical technology, health science and culinary programs.

The next stop was the Cullman Area Technology Academy. During the tour, we had the opportunity to students in these programs:

• Health Science
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
• Precision Machining
• Utility Line Technicians

While talking with the students, we learned of the institution’s partnership with NASA as part of their precision machining program. As a result of their partnership, products made by the students have ended up going into space.

We ended day one with a visit to Cullman High School. The tour started with a video of the students highlighting their programs and their passion for them. On the tour, we saw students in action in health science, culinary, engineering, animal science and cosmetology programs. The tour was capped with a preview of what is to come. Cullman High School is in the process of building a new CTE dedicated building that is set to be completed in time for the next school year.  We are looking forward to coming back and celebrating their growth!

The tour will continue tomorrow as we see programs across central Alabama. Stay turned for a recap of those visits!

How Well Positioned is the State Noncredit Data Infrastructure?: An article by the State Noncredit Data Project in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice examines how well states and community colleges are prepared to leverage Workforce Pell Grants for noncredit short-term programs.

After analyzing several states’ noncredit data systems, the authors found that most lack the provisions and data infrastructure necessary to identify noncredit programs eligible for Workforce Pell. Most states collect data on program length, but few track other components necessary to determine program eligibility, such as completion rates, job placement rates, wages and more. The authors note that while community colleges may record this data themselves, it is important that they formulate strong data partnerships and linkages with state agencies as well. 

The analysis also revealed that many programs fall well below the 150-hour minimum threshold for Workforce Pell. For instance, the median number of contact hours for noncredit programs is 40 for Louisiana, 26 for Iowa and 15 for New Jersey. The authors suggest that, in the coming months, community colleges may begin grouping courses together to create longer programs that meet threshold requirements. 

In August, ACTE and Advance CTE submitted comments to the Department of Education encouraging the Department to consider states’ and institutions’ current data systems and capabilities when developing guidance for Workforce Pell.  

Dual Enrollment by the Numbers: A report from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships analyzes 2022-23 national dual enrollment data from the Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Several key findings highlighted in the report include the following: 

• Nearly 2.5 million college enrollments are from high school students. 
• Sixty-one percent of postsecondary institutions report enrolling at least one high school student. 
  • Dual enrollment students make up approximately 21% of total community college enrollment nationwide. 
  • Seventy-two percent of dual enrollment students are enrolled through public two-year institutions compared to 18% through public four-year institutions. 
• The percentage of public high school students participating in dual enrollment varies greatly by state, ranging from six percent in Connecticut to 45% in Idaho. 
• Black and Hispanic students are underrepresented in dual enrollment courses.  

How Do Community College Students Choose Programs of Study?: A report from the Community College Research Center investigates how community college students think about programs of study and potential careers. The researchers surveyed over 12,000 first-time community college students in California, Ohio, Maryland and Texas and found the following: 

• Forty-three percent of students said they are aiming for a bachelor’s degree as their highest credential, 13% for an associate degree and three percent for a certificate. 
• Sixty-five percent of students are considering among three career options. Fourteen percent are considering two, and nine percent are considering four or more. 
• Thirty-four percent of students’ first-choice careers are in health care, followed by business (13%) and computer and mathematical occupations (10%). 
  • Sixty-two percent of students considering more than one career are considering careers in at least two different clusters. 
• The most influential factor students consider when choosing a program is the labor market and earnings, followed by the student’s own abilities and skills, program fit/enjoyment and family and friends’ opinions. 

Manufacturing in Rural America: An article from the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility argues that recent investments in the nation’s advanced manufacturing sector have the potential to significantly transform rural communities through industry and K-12 partnerships that can create a pipeline of skilled workers for high-wage careers. The publication highlights CTE as well as dual enrollment programs, youth apprenticeships, career academies and P-TECH programs. 

The authors also conducted a national survey of rural high school students and found that while eight in 10 students have a strong desire for career-connected learning and high school-based apprenticeships, only five in 10 have access to career-connected learning and only three in 10 to apprenticeships. 

ACTE’s Community of Practice for Rural CTE provides rural educators with access to an online community where they can share resources and network with other educators. Additionally, ACTE is offering a professional learning track for rural CTE professionals at this year’s CareerTech VISION, with presentations on a wide variety of topics, including work-based learning and funding. For more information on these and other rural resources for members, please reach out to Michelle Conner (mconner@acteonline.org).  

Congress has returned from summer recess! With the clock ticking toward the end of the fiscal year on September 30, appropriations discussions have been front and center. While leaders negotiate a plan for a continuing resolution and/or finalizing initial bills, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) Appropriations Act. Read below for more updates.  

• House Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2026 Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations Bill: The committee passed the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Act, allocating $184 billion in discretionary funding, a seven percent decrease from FY 2025. Under the bill, funding for Perkins State Grants would increase by $25 million compared to FY 2025, however there were steep cuts proposed for other education and workforce development programs. Read our statement with Advance CTE on the bill here.  

• White House Holds AI Education Event: On Sept. 4, the White House held an event to discuss the role of AI in education with the Task Force on AI Education. The Administration highlighted new public-private commitments to expand AI learning in K-12 schools, postsecondary education and CTE. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic pledged billions in resources to help support educational systems with free AI tools. 

• ED Announced the Next Steps in Moving Perkins and Adult Education Funding to DOL: On Sept. 8, ED announced that the funding and administration of Perkins and Adult Education will move to DOL as called for in the Interagency Agreement (IAA) signed in the spring. DOL will now be responsible for portions of CTE and adult education funding, oversight and operations. The timeline for states to access funding under DOL is uncertain, and congressional appropriators have weighed in opposing the move.  

• ED Eliminates Grants for Specific Higher Education Institutions: On Sept. 10, ED announced it was ending discretionary funding for several postsecondary Minority-Serving Institutions grant programs, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions and more. A number of these institutions offer CTE programs.  

• Courts Issue New Injunction Delaying PRWORA Interpretation Change: Recently, the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction that further pauses implementation of ED’s new legal interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) provisions on serving undocumented learners in postsecondary CTE and adult education.  

• ED Delays Funding for Federal TRIO Grants – ED has paused approximately $660 million worth of aid to 2,000 TRIO programs, which are designed to help low-income students access higher education. Many of these funds are allocated to community colleges.  

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released 2024-34 employment projections for over 800 occupations across different industries. The projections show that CTE-related occupations rank among the fastest-growing jobs as well as those with the highest number of projected openings nationwide. 

Fastest-growing Occupations, 2024-34 (% change in employment): 

• Wind turbine service technicians (50%) 
• Solar photovoltaic installers (42%) 
• Physical therapy assistants (22%) 
• Ophthalmic medical technicians (20%) 
• Occupational therapy assistants (19%) 
• … among others 

Occupations with the Highest Number of Projected Openings, 2024-34:  

• Software developers (287,900) 
• Construction laborers (106,500) 
• Medical assistants (101,200) 
• Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers (89,300) 
• Electricians (77,400) 
• … and others 

Among industry sectors, health care and social assistance (8.7%) is projected to grow the fastest. Other sectors that exceed the average growth rate of 3.1% include utilities (4.9%) and construction (4.4%). 

Alongside employment projections, the BLS also provides information on what skills are the most important for each occupation. CTE-related occupations that highly value specific skills include the following: 

• Adaptability: Secondary and postsecondary CTE teachers, radiologists, audio and video technicians 
• Fine motor: Machinists, HVAC technicians, carpenters 
• Problem solving and decision making: Production managers; transportation, storage and distribution managers; public safety telecommunicators 
• Creativity and innovation: Graphic designers, film and video editors, sound engineering technicians 

Practitioners interested in exploring projections for other occupations are encouraged to explore the BLS’s Occupational Outlook Handbook. Additional information, including skills and educational attainment data, can be found here.