Recently, the Office for Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) at the U.S. Department of Education circulated a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) advocating for strong investments in correctional education to promote safer communities and help reintegrate incarcerated individuals into the workforce through allocations of funds designated for CTE and adult education. 

OCTAE’s DCL encourages States and localities to allocate more funding from the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) and Perkins V to correctional education programs. It also urges a more comprehensive approach toward correctional education to yield greater employment opportunities for incarcerated individuals after they are released and reduced recidivism rates. A specific goal outlined in the letter is to enable more people to benefit from the newly expanded, Pell-eligible Prison Education Programs (PEPs).  

Correctional education includes but is not limited to programming such as adult basic education, high school equivalencies and diplomas, postsecondary education, including CTE, and English language learning. About 1 in 3 incarcerated adults have less than a high school equivalence and only about 15 percent of incarcerated adults earn postsecondary degrees prior to or during their incarceration. However, research has shown that people who obtain their high school equivalencies while incarcerated increase their earnings by 24-29% the year after their release. Those who participate in postsecondary correctional education programs have a 48% lower risk of recidivating than those who don’t. 

The DCL also addresses the workforce gap that can be filled with the hundreds of thousands of people being released from incarceration each year. It outlines how workforce opportunities created by the Biden Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda can benefit recently released individuals while fulfilling a need in our nation’s labor force, but only if these individuals are properly equipped with the educational background to take on the available roles.  

This week, Congress was back in full swing. The House began their process of bringing all 12 Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills to the floor before the August recess. The first bill on the docket was the Military Construction-VA spending bill, which passed in a 209-197 vote. Next week, their attention will turn to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Administration continued to share important resources and opportunities, and the Department of Education published their "Report on the Condition of Education.” Keep reading for more! 

• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Announces Hearing on Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): The Senate HELP Committee announced a hearing “The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: Supporting Efforts to Meet the Needs of Youth, Workers, and Employers” for June 12. Keep an eye on ACTE’s social media for updates (@ACTEpolicy on X)! 
• Report on the Condition of Education: The Department of Education published their annual Report on the Condition of Education. This report featured new data and insights on CTE enrollment and outcomes as well as CTE teacher research. We will have more analysis soon!
• Department of Education Hosts “Unlocking Career Success” Summit: The Department of Education held an “Unlocking Employer Pathways Summit” on June 3 as part of their Raise the Bar Initiative. This event featured speakers who highlighted different ways to engage business leaders in preparing the workforce, and prioritized collaboration between education and industry leaders.  
• Department of Education Published FAFSA Update: The Department of Education published an announcement sharing that over 1.8 million FAFSA corrections have been successfully processed. This is following Secretary Cardona’s commitment to continue to thoroughly improve FAFSA for the next school year. 
• Department of Education Releases Grants for Postsecondary Students' Basic Needs: Applications are due August 5 from postsecondary institutions seeking funding to create programs that address the basic needs of students and to report on practices that improve outcomes for students. The grant announcement contains further details. 
• Department of Labor Shares Resources on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): The Department of Labor published resources intended to facilitate collaboration and co-enrollment across WIOA Title 1 – Youth, Adult and Dislocated Worker programs and Title IV – Vocational Rehabilitation. 
• Department of Labor Announces Webinar on Rural Workforce Outreach: The Department of Labor is hosting a webinar on June 18 to discuss outreach and opportunities to connect workers and employers in rural communities to workforce systems. 
• Department of Labor Highlights Organizations Advancing Workforce Development for LGBTQ+ Community: The Department of Labor shared a list of organizations that work on initiatives that support the LGBTQ+ community with workforce development opportunities, including skills training, leadership development and employment opportunities. 

Last week, Capitol Hill was quiet as both the House and Senate took recess. When they return, the House plans to start bringing Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 spending bills to the floor. The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee markup is still scheduled in late June, with the full Committee markup set to take place on July 10. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor has announced several new grants to help boost workforce opportunities, and the Department of Education has a FAFSA update.  Keep reading for more! 

• Cardona Remarks on FAFSA, ‘Going to Get Better’: On Thursday, Secretary Cardona was interviewed at the Education Writers Association’s national conference, where he announced a major overhaul of the agency that oversaw the ‘Better FAFSA’ launch. This was followed by a letter sent by Cardona to Department staff outlining steps to improve FAFSA. 
• New Funding Opportunity: Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grants: The Department of Labor announced $35 million in additional funding for the second round of the Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs grants, part of the Biden-Harris administration's "Investing in America" agenda. This initiative aims to expand training access for high-quality infrastructure jobs.  
• Expanding Opportunities for Underserved Youth: The Department of Labor announced up to $40 million in grants funded through WIOA designed to support out-of-school organizations in expanding work-based learning opportunities and career pathways for underserved youth. 
• New EPA Job Training Grant Opportunity: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization announced a new funding opportunity aimed to recruit, train and retain a local skilled workforce, prioritizing unemployed and under-employed residents for careers in hazardous and solid waste management and other environmental fields. 
• New Resources for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in Registered Apprenticeship: The Department of Education published new resources on DEIA specific to Registered Apprenticeship programs.  
• Sens. Cantwell and Moran Introduce Bipartisan NSF AI Education Act of 2024: A bipartisan bill has been introduced to expand professional development opportunities for K-12 educators looking to expand their knowledge with artificial intelligence and to open new ‘AI Excellency’ centers in community colleges through the National Science Foundation. 
• Department of Commerce Launches CHIPS Women in Construction Framework: The Department of Commerce announced the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework, a set of five best practices, as well as the first voluntary commitments to the Framework from Intel Corporation and Micron Technology. The Framework is part of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s ongoing  Million Women in Construction initiative that aims to expand the American construction workforce by doubling the number of women in construction over the next decade. 
• Senator Manchin Registers as Independent: Senator Joe Manchin, a member of the Senate CTE Caucus, changed his registration to an Independent after nearly fourteen years of serving as a Democrat. In his statement, Senator Manchin highlighted his commitment to bipartisanship and prioritizing his commitment to his country over his part. He still plans to Caucus as a Democrat, so this is not expected to have any immediate impact on committee assignments or leadership.  

Today ACTE published CTE: Developing the Financial Services Workforce as part of our revamped series of Sector Sheets describing CTE’s role in growing the workforce for vital industry sectors. The Sector Sheet series is published with support from ACTE's long-time partner Pearson.  

This Sector Sheet describes how CTE supports the financial services workforce, which employs more than 7.2 million people nationwide. It also shares information on occupations, earnings and credentials that enable individuals to succeed in accounting and business finance, securities and investments, and insurance.

In addition, the Sector Sheet demonstrates the importance of CTE in developing this workforce by describing how CTE prepares learners through courses, industry credentials, work-based learning, career and technical student organizations and more. 

Both the newer and older Sector Sheets are available on the ACTE Sector Sheet webpage for download and use. We encourage you to share these tools with students, families, counselors, policymakers and others to spread the message about CTE and its benefits for learners and the workforce.  

This week, the House was largely focused on the start of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations process and advanced several other pieces of legislation to wrap up the May work period, and the Senate focused on border security and judicial nominations. Meanwhile, the Administration continues their efforts to push student loan forgiveness and FAFSA implementation assistance, while promoting the “Investing in America” agenda. Keep reading for more details!

• House Begins Advancing Appropriations Bills: The House Appropriations Committee considered its first FY 2025 appropriations bills this week, approving the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill as well as the overall allocations for each subcommittee. As reported earlier, the proposed allocation for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill (which funds Perkins) is expected to result in a cut of more than 10% to that bill, potentially more.
• Chairwoman Foxx Remarks on Workforce Development Legislation: Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) delivered remarks in support of H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, and H.R. 6585, the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, on the House floor. She noted how these bills would provide enhanced skills development and help students and workers get better jobs faster.
• House Marks Up Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024: The House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 on May 24. The legislation received both strong support and criticism, with future prospects uncertain as the bill now moves to the House floor and also must be considered in the Senate. The bill does include a focus on career pathways programs and industry/sector partnerships to build out workforce pipelines for specific industry sectors in rural America.
• Committee for Education Funding Releases FY 2025 Budget Book: The Committee for Education Funding published their Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget Book this week in response to the President’s FY 2025 Budget Request. They also hosted a webinar featuring a panel discussion with several practitioners, including Neeta Rancourt, Director of Atlantic Technical College in Broward County, Florida.
• Department of Labor Women’s Bureau to Host Equity 101 Webinar: The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau is hosting a webinar to discuss valuable strategies to promote inclusivity and diversity within the skilled trades. This follows the release of their Toolkit for an Equitable Infrastructure Workforce, which is relevant to efforts to recruit nontraditional learners into CTE programs as required under Perkins.
• Acting Secretary Su Joins Panel to Discuss Biden Administration’s “Investing in America” Agenda: Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su participated in a panel at the Chicago Women in Trades to discuss what the Biden Administration is doing to ensure good jobs and careers.

Embracing Neurodiversity at Work, Unleashing America’s Largest Untapped Talent Pool: In the face of the growing workforce challenges facing the U.S. economy, the American Enterprise Institute has published a report that advances the understanding of the opportunities and challenges of building environments that empower neurodivergent workers’ strengths and needs. Researchers estimate there could be as many as 67 million neurodivergent Americans across the U.S. and that the unemployment rate for neurodivergent adults is 30% to 40%, roughly eight times the rate for individuals without disabilities. 

More findings below:

• One in 36 American adults (2.8%) have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one in 22 American adults (4.6%) have ADHD, and between 3% and 7% of Americans have dyslexia.
• Some estimate that the unemployment rate for workers with ASD is 85% and underemployment is also a significant problem. However, 60% of adults with ASD who receive vocational rehabilitation services gain employment.
• The number of neurodivergent job candidates is growing, with approximately 700,000 to 1 million ASD youth turning 18 by the end of this decade, nearly double the rate that experts previously expected.
• Employers are reporting shifts to skills-based hiring practices because of difficulties in filling open positions, an approach that may elevate performance on job-relevant skills above performance in job interviews and related social situations.

The authors recommend, among other actions, supporting education-to-career pathways for neurodivergent individuals and investing in and improving workforce development and job training and coaching programs.  

Who Deserves State Financial Aid? Eligibility Criteria for Students Entering College: The Education Trust recently published a report that explores the state financial aid funding profiles of 10 states across the nation to shed light on the status quo for equitable access to postsecondary education. Researchers found that since 2008, state funding for public two- and four-year colleges and universities experienced a deficit of $6.6 billion when adjusting for inflation, leading to rising prices for students and families.

Among the recommendations from the report is to make state financial aid available to students attending postsecondary institutions less than full time.

While the publication does not address program length, another option for increasing access for learners is to expand Pell grants to cover the costs of high-quality, short-term education programs to help more Americans earn credentials, enter the workforce or begin new careers. These programs are offered by postsecondary institutions, can be for-credit and non-credit, are in demand and can lead to high-skill, high-wage careers. Click here to learn more.

Guided Pathways Practices and Early Academic Success in Three States: A recently published Community College Research Center study examined the guided pathway practices of 62 community and technical colleges across Tennessee, Ohio and Washington to explore whether the implementation of guided pathways is associated with improvements in student outcomes. The study found that in the four years after statewide adoption, Tennessee students earned between 1.6 and 4.6 more college-level credits.

More findings from each state below:

• CTE program maps are associated with an increase in fall-to-fall persistence rates (OH), college-level math credits earned in the first year (OH), and college-level STEM credits earned in the first year (WA).
• Program-specific math sequences, mandatory advising and progress monitoring are positively associated with college-level math credits earned in the first year (OH).
• Practices related to helping students get on a program path are positively associated with fall-to-fall persistence (WA).
• Practices that organize paths to student goals and keep students on a path to completion are associated with improved credit attainment (TN).

This week, activity in Congress related to CTE was light, but there was news in the House on the FY 2025  appropriations process. The Administration has released several grants to help fund new job training opportunities, as well as hosted events and released new tools.  Keep reading for more details! 

• Update on FY 2025 Appropriations: House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) laid out his timeline for FY 2025 appropriations bills, noting that the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill is tentatively scheduled to come before the subcommittee on June 28 and before the full committee on July 10. The allocation for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill will be $184,564,000, which represents a cut of approximately 11 percent compared to FY 2024, which will make it very difficult for any education or workforce development programs to gain needed increases, and even maintaining funding will be challenging. Read more on the CTE Policy Watch Blog. 
• Commerce Department Announces Workforce Policy Agenda: On May 14, the Department of Commerce announced a Department Administrative Order (DAO) to establish a workforce policy agenda focused on preparing the workforce with the skills necessary to accelerate the development and deployment of emerging technologies. Read more on the CTE Policy Watch Blog.
• Biden Administration Announces AI Principles for Worker Well-Being: The Department of Labor announced a new set of principles that provide employers and developers that create and deploy artificial intelligence with guidance for designing and implementing these emerging technologies in ways that enhance job quality and protect workers’ rights. 
• Department of Labor Announces $35M in Funding for Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs: The Department of Labor announced approximately $35 million in funding through the second round of Building Pathways to Infrastructure Job grants, which are intended to prepare workers for jobs created by the Biden Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda.  
• Department of Labor Announces $40M Available in Grants to Improve Access to Good Jobs for Underserved Youth: The Department of Labor announced up to $40 million in grants available for national out-of-school time organizations to expand local work-based learning opportunities, job training and career pathways for underserved youth during non-school hours.  
• Department of Labor Announces Additional Funding to Improve Job Quality, Expand Access to Good Jobs in Critical Industries: The U.S. Department of Labor announced $12 million in funds to improve job quality and increase the availability of good jobs in critical industries, including an emphasis on training provided for jobs in the care economy such as home, elder and childcare. This is the second round of Critical Sectors Job Quality grants.  
• American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI): Challenges and Opportunities for Expanding Registered Apprenticeship with WIOA: The Department of Labor released a brief, exploring the use of WIOA funding to support registered apprenticeships through American Job Centers.  
• White House Hosts “Every Day Counts” Summit on Absenteeism: This week, the White House and Department of Education hosted a summit to address chronic absenteeism and student engagement. The event featured education leaders and local lawmakers as they discussed ways to counter absenteeism. 
• The Office of Educational Technology Released their National Educational Technology Plan: The Department of Education released the 2024 National Educational Technology Plan, designed to address three key divides limiting the potential of educational technology to support teaching and learning.