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. 

On September 1, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) released and subsequently approved on September 2 its fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bill. The bill proposes deep cuts to the Department of Education (ED) and other job training programs at the Department of Labor.

Overall, the bill proposes a $23.9 billion or 11% cut to the overall spending levels across all the agencies and cuts ED by approximately $12.1 billion or 15% and $4 billion or 30% to the Department of Labor.

In some positive news for CTE, the bill proposes an increase of $25 million for the Perkins State Grant, which brings the overall funding level to $1.465 billion. The bill would fund the National Activities account at $10 million.

Other programs in the bill would experience significant reductions. Title I grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) would be cut by $5.2 billion, a 27% decrease. Federal Work-Study funding would be reduced by 37%, and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) job training grants would see a 63% cut, with the youth funding stream eliminated. Funding for Adult Education programs would be completely eliminated as well.

Meanwhile, funding for the maximum Pell Grant, TRIO, and GEAR Up would remain level with FY 25, as would funding for apprenticeships. \

The full House Appropriations Committee is expected to hold a vote on the bill next week, where amendments may be considered.

The cuts in the House bill stand in contrast to the Senate Labor-HHS-ED appropriations bill that the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved in July. It provided close to level funding to programs across the Board and agencies overall. The Perkins State Grant was also level funded in that bill. Lawmakers in both chambers will need to reach a compromise before government funding expires on September 30. Similar to previous years, it is likely that a continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to avoid a shutdown.

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

Both the House and Senate have released their Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 funding bills for the Department of Education (ED). In some good news for CTE, neither bill cuts funding for the Perkins State Grant, and the House bill provides a $25 million increase for CTE. However, there are significant concerns with the House bill overall, and neither bill provides the sustained investment needed for both CTE and the wider education continuum.

On July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY 26 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) appropriations bill, which included level funding for Perkins State Grants.

On September 1, the House Appropriations Committee released its Labor-HHS-ED bill. It provides a $25 million increase for the Perkins State Grant, bringing the total to $1.465 billion. However, the bill proposes many funding cuts and program eliminations that would significantly impact the broader education and workforce systems in which CTE programs operate, including programs like adult education, WIOA and more.

As lawmakers returns from the August recess and the appropriations process moves forward, it is essential that Congress provides both increased support for CTE and sustained investments to education and workforce programs across the continuum to ensure all learners have the opportunity and resources needed to build skills for lifelong career success.

ACTION NEEDED: CLICK HERE to urge your Members of Congress to support Education and Workforce Development funding in FY 2026! 

Send a message directly using the ACTE Action Center. You can also call or email directly any personal contacts that you have in your Members’ offices, such as from a meeting at NPS, or call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and an operator will connect you to your Member of Congress.

Congress is nearing the end of summer recess with the end of August approaching! The House and Senate will return to in-session activities on September 2, focusing on appropriations work in advance of the end of the fiscal year. In the Administration, the Department of Education (ED) issued new regulations for loan forgiveness eligibility under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), took steps to maintain existing CTE reporting requirements, and certified the 2026 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) launch. Secretary McMahan also spoke on CTE. Keep reading below for more updates from the past two weeks, and stay tuned for more as Congress returns! 

• ED Issues New Rules for Student Loan Forgiveness Under PSLF: ED released a memo with updated regulations on eligibility for loan forgiveness under PSLF. The proposed revision will allow denial of loan forgiveness if the borrower works for an employer “deemed to have a substantial illegal purpose.”  Individuals in CTE-related public service should continue to monitor employer eligibility for PSLF updates. A final rule is expected by November 1. 

• ED Issues Plans to Maintain Existing Perkins Data-reporting Requirements: ED issued the second notice of revised rules that propose to eliminate the expanded reporting requirements authorized in December 2024 by the Biden Administration that would have required states to track additional CTE performance metrics. The new documents would largely revert back to existing requirements, a move ACTE has long supported.  

• Cabinet Meeting Highlights CTE: During President Trump’s August cabinet meeting, Secretary McMahon highlighted multiple states for expanding CTE in middle school career pathways and enhancing high school dual-credit opportunities. Watch the remarks here.  

• ED Confirms 2026-2027 FAFSA Launch: Secretary McMahon certified to Congress that the FAFSA form will be available by October 1, meeting the statutory deadline requirements. ED conducted beta testing this summer with educational institutions and students to ensure successful operations before the form launches. Read more about it here. 

• Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) Introduce Fusion Workforce Act: Rep. Lofgren and Rep. Obernolte introduced a bill to create a national Fusion Workforce Hub at the National Science Foundation (NSF), which aims to promote CTE in fusion science and technology through curriculum development, career readiness resources, and expanding research opportunities.  

The Front End of the CTE Teacher Pipeline: A working paper from the Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) examines the earnings of CTE teachers who enter the profession with prior industry experience.

After analyzing employment data from Washington state, the researchers found that, on average, CTE teachers with prior industry experience make $13,000 more in their first year of teaching than in their prior industry jobs. Apart from Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technology, CTE teachers in most Career Clusters experience first-year salary increases. 

When comparing the salaries of traditionally and alternatively certified CTE teachers with prior industry experience, the researchers found that although alternatively certified teachers have higher industry salaries, both groups experience salary increases when they transition to teaching. While traditionally certified CTE teachers across all Clusters experience a first-year salary increase, alternatively certified teachers in the Advanced Manufacturing and Digital Technology Clusters earn more in industry than teaching. 

Career Education Recruitment and Communication Toolbox: A new toolkit from Advance CTE provides practitioners with resources to effectively recruit and support students in CTE programs: 

• A guide on recruiting and supporting students with disabilities in CTE programs, including strategies and case studies.  
• A resource outlining how two pilot programs in Colorado and Louisiana worked to better engage with CTE students to inform their recruitment and communication practices.  
• A guide on conducting focus groups as well as customizable CTE program recruitment templates. 

America’s School-to-work Crisis: A survey conducted by the Schultz Family Foundation and HarrisX examines the education and workforce attitudes of young adults, parents, navigators (e.g. teachers, counselors, workforce specialists) and employers. The researchers surveyed over 5,600 respondents and found the following: 

• Across each group, most respondents indicate that while four-year degrees can lead to a job, other skills and experiences are more important. 
  • Fifty-eight percent of employers say skills are more important than degrees. 
  • While navigators express support for noncollege pathways, 70% still advise young people to pursue a four-year degree. Parents also primarily recommend a four-year degree despite reservations about its value.  
• Sixty-four percent of young adults want hands-on experiences to explore career options before choosing a pathway, and 45% say that current career resources available to them offer little guidance.  
  • Young adults are also engaging with AI: 20% use AI tools to explore education and career possibilities. However, 54% are concerned about whether AI will replace the jobs they seek. 
• Tools that navigators recommend for young adults include goal setting (54%), career assessments (41%), college fairs (37%) and job fairs (36%).  
• Thirty-eight percent of employers offer internships, and 14% offer job shadowing opportunities.  

Updating and Expanding the Workforce Almanac: A recent update to the Workforce Almanac from the Project on Workforce at Harvard University provides new figures on short-term workforce training providers nationwide. As of August 2025, more than 20,000 providers are captured in the Almanac’s data, including federal Registered Apprenticeship providers, higher education institutions and WIOA-eligible providers. The researchers analyzed this data and found the following: 

• Nonprofit providers account for 37% of total providers, followed by WIOA-eligible providers (29%), higher education institutions (18%) and Registered Apprenticeships (16%). 
• The Midwest has the highest number of providers per 100,000 workers and per 100,000 unemployed individuals. 
• Washington, D.C., Wyoming and Alaska have the highest number of providers per 100,000 workers; Nebraska, Texas and South Carolina have the lowest. 
• Puerto Rico, West Virginia and Arkansas have the highest ratio of postsecondary institutions that offer short-term workforce training programs to workers. 
• The most common Registered Apprenticeship program sponsors are union/labor organizations, employers, business associations and community colleges/universities.