The House began their five-week August recess on July 27, and the Senate has one more week in session before they begin their recess on August 8. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee was busy this week as policymakers look ahead to recess. They held a hearing on AI in the workforce and a markup to advance key education legislation, including a bill that would limit the Department of Education’s (ED) ability to enter into interagency agreements. As Congress heads toward August recess, ACTE also released an advocacy toolkit for members to engage with their representatives. Read more updates below.  

• Senate Committee Advances Legislation to Limit IAAs: On July 30, the Senate HELP Committee voted to advance a bill that would limit ED’s ability to enter into interagency agreements (IAAs) for specific offices. While the bill does not include the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE), ACTE will continue to work alongside lawmakers and advocate for OCTAE. Read more on the blog here. 

• College Transparency Act Receives Support in Committee: During the same markup, the Senate HELP Committee approved the College Transparency Act, a bill long supported by ACTE. The bill can now move to the full Senate for a vote, although the busy schedule makes timing uncertain.  

• ACTE Releases Advocacy Toolkit for August Recess: August Recess is an annual month-long break where policymakers generally leave Washington, DC, to work in their home states and districts. 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. Find the advocacy toolkit here.  

• Sens. Rochester, Marshall Introduce Bill to Modernize Data Systems: This week, Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Roger Marshall (R-KA) introduced a bipartisan bill, the RESULTS Act, that aims to improve state education and workforce data systems. Specific initiatives include modernizing the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Program and consolidating the SLDS and Workforce Data Quality Initiative at the Department of Labor (DOL). ACTE and Advance CTE have endorsed this bill.  

• ACTE and Advance CTE Hold Congressional Briefing on AI and CTE with CTE Caucus: On July 21, ACTE and Advance CTE hosted a briefing on AI and CTE in conjunction with the Congressional CTE Caucus. Find our takeaways from the briefing here.  

• Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on AI and the Workforce: On July 29, the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing titled “The Impact of AI on the Workforce.” Find a recording of the hearing here and read more details in our blog post.   

• ED Finalizes Waiver for Native American CTE Grantees: On July 24, ED issued a notice on the Federal Register finalizing a waiver for 36 Native American CTE Program (NACTEP) grantees in their fifth year of project implementation, enabling grantees to receive funding for an additional year. The NACTEP usually only lasts for up to five years.  

• Arnold Ventures Releases Requests for Proposals for CTE Research: Arnold Ventures is currently accepting applications across multiple policy areas through the Strengthening Evidence and Building Evidence Requests for Proposals (RFPs). The RFPs support quasi-experimental studies that estimate the real-world effects of existing policies, including career pathways. This research would identify programs and policies that widen access to good jobs and economic mobility, with a focus on CTE, apprenticeships and routes to opportunity beyond a traditional college degree. RFPs are due September 11, 2026.  

• OSTP Releases Report on Science Research and Policy: On July 21, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report that outlines recommendations for advancing national scientific research and priorities. Among the recommendations includes a focus on integrating hands-on, technical training and the skilled trades into STEM education, as well as scaling Workforce Pell and training opportunities.  

• ED Approves South Dakota Waiver: On July 24, ED granted South Dakota’s Returning Education to the States waiver, making it the sixth state to receive this waiver alongside Iowa, Louisiana, Indiana, Vermont and Arkansas.  
• NCES Releases New Postsecondary Data: This week, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released new data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The new data shows that, in 2025-26, there were about 2,500 Title IV institutions offering associate degree programs and 2,400 offering bachelor’s degree programs.  

On July 30, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a markup for several pieces of legislation, including a bill that would limit the Department of Education’s (ED) ability to enter into certain interagency agreements (IAAs).

S.5046, introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), would prohibit ED’s ability to transfer the following offices to different agencies:

• The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
• The Office of Postsecondary Education
• The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• The Office of Indian Education

Notably, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) was not included in the initial version of the proposed bill. However, Senators have the opportunity to offer amendments to legislation during committee markups. First, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) offered an amendment that would include every office impacted by an IAA, including OCTAE. That amendment failed narrowly in a 12-11 party-line vote.

Sen. Murray later offered an amendment that would require the Secretary of Education to give Congress reports detailing the costs and estimated administrative obligations for each IAA. That passed by voice vote with two votes against.

Lastly, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) also filed a CTE-specific amendment that would add OCTAE individually to the list of offices in the bill that would prohibit the transfer. However, that amendment, along with several others, was not formally considered during the markup.

Ultimately, the bill advanced out of the HELP Committee in a 13-9 vote with Sens. Collins and Murkowski joining all the Democrats to advance the measure. While the underlying bill is an important first step toward addressing the IAAs generally, ACTE remains deeply concerned about the transfer of Perkins administration to the Department of Labor. We will continue to share these concerns with Congress as the bill moves forward in hopes of having OCTAE added at another point in the process.

In addition to the IAA bill, the HELP Committee considered several other pieces of legislation, including advancing the nomination of Keith Sonderling to be the next Secretary of Labor. The committee voted along party-lines to advance his nomination, setting up a full confirmation vote by the Senate.

Members also considered the College Transparency Act during the markup. ACTE has long supported this bill. The College Transparency Act would create a secure, privacy-protected data system that helps students compare programs based on outcomes like completion, employment, and earnings so they can make more informed decisions. This bill advanced in a 21-1 vote.

If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch.

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the workforce, Congress is looking to career and technical education (CTE) leaders for answers. During a July 2026 House Career and Technical Education Caucus briefing hosted by ACTE and Advance CTE, policymakers heard how AI is transforming education, workforce development, and how CTE can be leveraged to give students the skills and AI literacy they need to succeed.

The event brought together Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), House CTE Caucus Co-Chair, Dr. Cameron Sublett of the Foundation for California Community Colleges, and Michael Tinsley, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success & Strategic Partnerships at the Tennessee Board of Regents for a discussion led by ACTE’s Abigail Owen and Advance CTE’s Rob Young. 

Dr. Sublett and Tinsley are also part of CTE Futures, an ECMC Foundation-funded initiative that helps CTE programs prepare learners to thrive amid accelerating technological change, and serves as home to the Perkins READI AI Faculty Fellowship.

The conversation ranged from the history of AI and CTE to practical realities facing instructors and students today. Here are three takeaways from the panelists’ comments for policymakers, educators, and industry partners.

1. Today’s AI is the least capable it will ever be, and that’s a reason to lean in

Technology rarely stays in its original form. The internet started as a way to send email and load simple pages; today it runs commerce, entertainment, and most of daily life. Dr. Sublett, in his presentation on the Applied Co-Intelligence report, put it simply, “the AI we know today, will look nothing like the AI of tomorrow.” 

It’s crucial that AI be developed thoughtfully. Dr. Sublett made the case for “ergonomic AI”, or AI built expressly for the human user. He expanded on that idea using the power drill as an example. The drill doesn’t replace a carpenter, it makes the carpenter more efficient. Over time, the drill itself has been refined so it fits naturally in a human hand, adding precision and power rather than working against the person holding it. AI tools can follow the same path. They don’t have to replace the people doing the work, but can be refined over time to fit naturally into how people actually do their jobs, making them faster, more precise, more capable. 

That doesn’t mean technical skills fade into the background. As Dr. Sublett said during the briefing, “You can’t entirely AI your way through electrical work on a house… yet.” 

Right now, jobs that typically require a four-year degree show the highest levels of AI exposure, while many hands-on CTE fields haven’t seen the same level of disruption yet. But as AI continues to be embedded in fields like healthcare and manufacturing, it is increasingly important for technical skills and employability skills, like critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and empathy, to be developed alongside AI mastery. 

That means building AI directly into existing coursework and hands-on training, not tacking on a one-off AI elective, so students learn the tools in the context of the work itself. The CTE programs that build this in now are the ones whose graduates will be ready for what’s next.

2. Look past the “big four” — the real AI universe is industry-specific

Most conversations about AI start and end with a handful of household names like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot. But panelists agreed that’s a narrow slice of what’s actually reshaping the workforce. 

Most CTE fields have their own industry-specific AI tools that workers engage with every day, and using them well is far more complicated than knowing how to prompt ChatGPT. It requires the technical understanding of one’s field, along with the critical thinking and AI mastery to push back when a tool’s output is inaccurate or biased.

Tinsley emphasized that AI has become increasingly embedded across the workforce, often without people realizing it. In healthcare, for example, AI is integrated into diagnostics, clinical documentation, patient monitoring, scheduling, and numerous other functions. Similar transformations are occurring across agriculture, construction, manufacturing, logistics, and countless other industries, where AI-powered tools are becoming standard components of everyday work rather than standalone technologies.

He also noted that the defining workforce question is no longer whether an occupation is affected by AI, but whether workers possess the knowledge and skills to effectively evaluate and utilize AI within their profession. 

As a result, CTE programs must prepare learners with three complementary competencies: industry-specific technical expertise; durable human skills such as critical thinking, communication, ethics, and adaptability that AI cannot replace; and AI mastery with the enabled tools and technologies that are transforming their chosen career fields.

3. Policy needs to be human-centered and flexible enough to keep up 

Dr. Sublett drew a useful historical parallel to the early days of online learning. Back then, fear that online courses would be the end of education as we knew it crowded out the harder work of figuring out what quality actually looked like. Some early programs were excellent, others were not, and students would have been better served if that difference had been named early, with resources put behind what worked rather than treating the whole category as either a miracle or a threat.

Dr. Sublett’s advice for AI in education follows the same logic. His advice is three-pronged: demystify the technology without downplaying risks, define what high-quality AI-integrated learning looks like, and focus on developing AI tools responsibly, in a way that’s aligned with human interest.

Rep. Bonamici’s remarks picked up that same thread from the policy side. She talked about a forthcoming framework meant to keep AI policy human-centered and focused on students, access, and real workforce needs. She also emphasized the need to provide more support for teachers, including shared curricula, hands-on learning, and AI literacy training.

Tinsley highlighted the importance of maintaining flexibility at both the federal and state levels to support continued innovation of AI in CTE. He pointed to the Office of Management and Budget’s proposed revisions to the Uniform Grant Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) as a watch item for the field, noting that while the goal of reducing burden on states is a good one, some of the proposed changes could make it harder, not easier, for CTE programs to move quickly.  

Drawing on his experience as a state higher education leader, Tinsley noted that the flexibility afforded by current federal and state policies has enabled colleges, faculty, and local leaders to develop innovative programs and strong partnerships with business and industry. Preserving that flexibility will allow institutions to continue responding to emerging technologies, strengthening local economies, and preparing students for the rapidly evolving workforce.

On this point, ACTE and Advance CTE have submitted joint comments on the proposal, one of nearly 500,000 received that OMB will need to review before finalizing the rule. Implementation is currently proposed for October 1, 2026.

The briefing concluded with an optimistic message: AI presents an extraordinary opportunity for career and technical education. Success will be driven by readiness rather than hesitation. 

As AI technologies continue to evolve and new tools emerge, institutions and policymakers that invest in innovation, collaboration, and learner-centered strategies today will be best positioned to prepare students, faculty, and employers for the opportunities of tomorrow.

The full research behind the briefing is available in the Applied Co-Intelligence: Preparing Career & Technical Education Learners for an AI-Driven Workforce report, released in February 2026.

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.