Last week, lawmakers wrapped up Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 by passing a package of six appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill.  

This bill provides the Department of Education $79.1 billion in discretionary spending, which is slightly below FY 23 levels. These lower funding levels are largely the result of the bipartisan agreement on spending caps for FY 24 and 25 that was part of the deal to raise the debt limit last year. However, in a big victory, the Perkins Basic State Grant will be funded at $1.44 billion, which is an increase of $10 million above FY23 levels. The bill does decrease the amount of funding available for competitive grants under the Perkins Innovation and Modernization Grants (Section 114(e) of Perkins V).  

With FY 24 bills finally complete, attention can turn to FY 25 bills, which are supposed to be complete by September 30. Earlier in March, President Joe Biden released his proposed budget for FY 25, requesting $82 billion for the Education Department. The request included a $40 million budget increase for Perkins over the FY 23 levels ($30 million above the ultimate FY 24 funding level). Further, the budget proposes $64 million for the continuation and expansion of the department’s Career-Connected High Schools competitive grant program.  

The process will now shift to Congress as lawmakers begin crafting legislation funding the government for FY 25. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees will soon begin holding hearings examining the President’s budget and congressional budget priorities, and Secretary Miguel Cardona is expected to testify in the coming months.    

However, the full House Appropriations Committee will work through FY 25 with a new chair, which could impact the process. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) announced last week that she is stepping down as chair of the committee. House Republicans will determine its next chair in the coming weeks. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) immediately announced his candidacy for the chairmanship, and he seems to be the favorite.    

As the FY 25 process gets underway, there will be numerous opportunities for advocacy. Soon, Reps. G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) will be circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter for their colleagues to sign in the House, and a similar letter will be circulated in the Senate. These letters will be calling on appropriators to provide robust funding for the Perkins Basic State Grant. ACTE will send an action alert when the letters are shared so members can call on their members of Congress to provide meaningful funding for CTE. 

ACTE will continue to provide updates on FY 25 appropriations as the year unfolds. If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org).  

Today ACTE is releasing CTE: Developing the Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security Workforce, the latest in 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.

These revised Sector Sheets include job opportunities in each sector and descriptions of how CTE prepares learners for the workforce in each sector, all in a new format featuring more streamlined text and additional graphics to make these advocacy tools even more effective.

This Sector Sheet describes how CTE supports the law, public safety, corrections and security workforce, which employs about 5 million people nationwide. It also shares information on occupations, earnings and credentials that enable individuals to succeed in the emergency medical and fire, legal services and law enforcement sub-sectors. Finally, 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.

As we move forward with the revamped Sector Sheets, both the newer and older Sector Sheets will remain 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.

Last week, all focus was on the completion of the final package of appropriations bills for FY 24. While Congress didn’t quite meet the deadline of passage by midnight Friday, the bill was passed shortly after and sent to the President over the weekend to avert a government shutdown. This marks the end of a very contentious, and delayed, FY 24 appropriations process, and will allow Congress to pivot to work on FY 25 appropriations bills when they return from their upcoming two-week recess. For more information and a detailed breakdown of events from this week, keep reading! 

• Lawmakers Release FY 24 Education Funding Bill: Lawmakers introduced the final six-bill appropriations package for FY2024, providing the Department of Education $79.1 billion in discretionary spending, slightly below FY 23 levels. The bill was ultimately passed and signed into law as noted above.  
• ACTE’s “CTE Leaders in Action” Reception: On March 19, as part of our annual National Policy Seminar (NPS), ACTE  held a reception on Capitol Hill titled “CTE Leaders in Action.” The event provided NPS attendees and guests the opportunity to engage with and learn about eight Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) and hear from Members of Congress on their involvement with the CTE Caucus, as well as the legislation they are working on to help strengthen and support CTE.   
• Comments Submitted on Proposed Apprenticeship Regulations: The comment deadline on proposed apprenticeship regulations was Monday, March 18, and hundreds of comments were submitted. ACTE joined with Advance CTE to express concern about many of the elements of the proposed regulations.  
• U.S. Department of Labor Grants Overview Webinar: The Department of Labor is hosting a webinar to discuss their programs and funding opportunities available, as well as how to prepare and apply for grants and stay informed as funding opportunities become available. 
• Senate Confirms ETA Assistant Secretary: On March 21, Jose Javier Rodriguez was confirmed by the Senate to lead DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA). His nomination had been significantly delayed, and this marks the first time ETA, which oversees WIOA, will have a confirmed leader during the Biden Administration.  

What We Know About the Impact of CTE: A recently published report by the CTE Research Network explored the causal effects of CTE on student outcomes through a systematic review of literature spanning the past 20 years. The report concluded that CTE has a positive impact on student outcomes such as academic achievement, high school completion, employability skills and college readiness in comparison to those who did not take any CTE courses.

More findings and insights below:

• Students who participate in CTE in high school are more likely to be enrolled in a two-year college or be employed after graduation than their non-CTE counterparts, with no statistically significant impact on four-year college enrollment.
• The literature review found no statistically significant negative impacts of CTE participation.
• Researchers highlighted CTE’s impacts on student achievement in postsecondary education as well as CTE’s effect on discipline, attendance, degree attainment and earnings as current research topics for which evidence is lacking.
• Researchers determined that not enough evidence exists about different CTE delivery models to distinguish impact or effectiveness.

ACTE is a lead in the CTE Research Network.

Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: The American Enterprise Institute has published a report that analyzes how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect jobs, skills and the evolution of work through the automation of a variety of tasks. Experts found that AI could add approximately $2.6-$4.4 trillion annually across the globe through industries such as banking, software, technology and the life sciences, highlighting the importance of adapting educational curricula across the nation to accommodate this technology.

According to the analysis, most studies have found to date that AI’s effect on employment has been minimal. While predictions for the future vary greatly, the expectation of skills that are likely to be impacted by AI has shifted over the years from manual tasks to tasks such as writing.

The following list shares recommendations on how state and federal policies can support workers as they navigate this new technological era:

• Invest in sector-based training programs as a worker-centered approach.
• Support displaced workers through job counseling and relocation and financial support during the retraining, transition and job search processes.
• Authorize worker-owned personal employment training accounts through federal legislation.
• Invest in career guidance and counseling, particularly in areas with high concentrations of low-income students.

Sector-based Training Programs: MDRC recently published a report on sector-based training programs that provides insight into the factors that enable sector-based programs to be successful. Researchers discovered that training providers are struggling to provide proper services to workers, with lack of funding and capacity for data collection and analysis seriously hindering their options for program advancement and improvement.

The following list describes insights and recommendations on sector-based training struggles:

• Providers report frequently suffering from data overload with little to no capacity to digest and interpret data.
• Funding opportunities from third parties often lead to rushed expansion that overextends staff and hinders original program models, structures and ideologies.
• Limited staff capacity hinders development and sustainability of industry partnerships, often leading to insufficient pathways for workers and incorrection perceptions of training programs.
• Interviewees identified personal and professional alumni networks as crucial supports.

Early this morning, lawmakers introduced the final six-bill appropriations package for fiscal year (FY) 2024, totaling more than $1.2 trillion. The release comes one day before the continuing resolution (CR) keeping government open is set to expire. 

The bill provides the Department of Education $79.1 billion in discretionary spending, which is approximately a $500 million below FY 23 levels. These lower funding levels are largely the result of the bipartisan agreement on spending caps for FY 24 and 25 that was part of the deal to raise the debt limit last year. However, in a big victory, the Perkins Basic State Grant will be funded at $1.44 billion, which is an increase of $10 million above FY23 levels. 

The bill does decrease the amount of funding available for competitive grants under the Perkins s Innovation and Modernization Grants (Section 114(e) of Perkins V) .

In addition, key funding levels in the bill include:  

Department of Education 

• $18.4 billion for ESSA Title I grants to local education agencies, an increase of $20 million 
• $14.2 billion for IDEA state grants, an increase of $20 million over FY 23 
• $1.38 billion for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (ESEA Title IV), equal to FY 23 
• $729 million for Adult Education, equal to FY 23 
• $7,395 for the maximum Pell Grant, equal to FY23 
• $703 million for the Institute of Education Sciences, a decrease of $14 million  

Department of Labor 

• $2.9 billion for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity State Grants, equal to FY 23 
• $285 million for Registered Apprenticeships, equal to FY 23 
• $65 million for Strengthening Community College Training Grants, equal to FY 23 
• $1.8 billion for Job Corps, equal to FY 23 

The House plans to vote on the package tomorrow, March 22, at 11:00 AM EST. The bill will then move to the Senate where lawmakers may face procedural hurdles that prevent voting on the package before the midnight deadline. It seems possible that there will be a short shutdown this weekend of part of the government. However, senators should be able to finish their work and send the bill to President Biden’s desk over the weekend, averting a significant disruption in services 

ACTE will keep you abreast of the bill’s final passage or any other developments.  

On March 19, as part of our annual National Policy Seminar (NPS), ACTE  held a reception on Capitol Hill titled “CTE Leaders in Action.” The event provided NPS attendees and guests the opportunity to engage with and learn about eight Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) and hear from Members of Congress on their involvement with the CTE Caucus, as well as the legislation they are working on to help strengthen and support CTE.  

This event followed a day of advocacy for attendees, which began with a panel featuring congressional staff from the House and Senate who work with CTE issues regularly. After the panel, attendees met with their Members of Congress and staff to discuss CTE policy issues impacting them. Advocates shared their stories on what CTE means to them, and the challenges they face working in the field at both the secondary and postsecondary levels.  

The reception featured eight CTSOs, including Business Professionals of America (BPA), DECA, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), National FFA Organization, HOSA-Future Health Professionals, SkillsUSA and Technology Student Association (TSA). Students from each CTSO showcased a bit of their work and were able to network and mingle with ACTE staff, NPS attendees, staff from the Department of Education, congressional staff and Members of Congress.  

Student representatives from each CTSO introduced themselves and their organizations to the group, and welcomed special guests including Assistant Secretary of the Office of Career and Technical Adult Education (OCTAE) Amy Lloyd, Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Glenn “GT” Thompson, who serve as co-chairs of the House CTE Caucus, and Senators Tim Kaine, co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus, and Amy Klobuchar, member of the Senate CTE Caucus. The speakers shared some of their incredible work on CTE policy, including but not limited to the House Resolution introduced by Representatives Thompson and Bonamici to recognize February as CTE Month. They also shared their personal stories with CTE, highlighting the positive impact such programming has had on their families and their careers.  

American Student Assistance® in collaboration with Education Strategy Group recently published a report that explores the resources and mechanisms that state leaders, school administrators and CTE educators are leveraging to implement and expand middle grades career exploration.

Researchers noted a worrying trend of 45% of young Americans in Generation Z who say a high school diploma is all they need to get financial security, while 72% of U.S. jobs are expected to require some form of postsecondary education by 2031.

Experts suggest that the solution to better prepare learners to make decisions about their careers is intervention at an earlier age in the form of middle grades career exploration. Most states having identified middle grades career exploration as an important component of a student’s education (73%), have dedicated funding to support such activities (92%), and have policies that require some type of middle grades career exploration (92%). Twenty-seven states require students to develop an individual career and academic plan in middle school. Additionally, all but one state reported offering material supports for schools and districts to guide their middle grades career exploration work, often in the form of templates, tools, lesson plans and platforms.

Despite this recent progress, only 11 states (22%) have explicitly codified the term middle school career exploration in state statute. In addition, only 20% of states collect data on middle grades exploration while only 14% include this topic in their state or federal accountability systems.

When it comes to funding, the majority of states (96%) have allocated some funds to support middle grades career exploration although amounts vary greatly. Forty-one percent of states fund middle grades exploration only through federal sources such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

School administrators are most frequently using this money to invest in customized online platforms that facilitate students’ career planning. Three states report using their funds to increase districts’ capacity through career advisors and coaches, while only a few states are dedicating funds to specifically support career and technical student organizations with middle grade chapters.

The following recommendations describe how Perkins V and CTE can be leveraged to support middle grades career exploration:

• Use state Perkins V and ESSA plans to set middle grades career exploration expectations and to monitor quality and data collection.
• Revise state policies that limit students’ abilities to access diverse career exploration opportunities, including restricting CTE course enrollment by grade point average or grade level.
• Ensure explicit commitment to middle grades career exploration in local Perkins V subgrantee applications.
• Use Perkins V to set aside funds to support professional development and to encourage localities to prioritize middle grades career exploration in grant applications.