This week, Congress was fairly quiet as the House and Senate are both in recess. They will return next week. The Senate will be back in session on Monday (2/26) and the House will reconvene on Wednesday (2/28). Both chambers will have a brief period to pass government funding for the appropriations bills set to expire on Friday (3/01) and the remaining appropriations bills set to expire the following week on March 8. Unfortunately there is yet to be any public release of those bills, and few specific updates. Administration activity continues though, and you can read more below:  

• Department of Labor (DOL) Announces $200M Available in Grants to Expand Registered Apprenticeships: The DOL announced almost $200 million in apprenticeship grants available under the Apprenticeship Building America funding opportunities and the State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula grants funding. More information can be found on the CTE Policy Watch Blog.
   
• DOL Announces $20M to Deliver Information Technology Skills, Training, Job Services to Youth: The DOL announced $20 million in available funds to provide information technology training and related employment services to students in the WIOA-authorized Job Corps Information Technology Academy. The deadline to apply for these funds is April 9, 2024.
   
• Biden-Harris Administration Releases State-by-State Breakdown of $1.2 Billion in SAVE Plan Forgiveness This week, the Biden-Harris Administration published a state-by-state breakdown of borrowers receiving $1.2 billion in forgiveness under the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, which started processing on Friday.
   
• Rep. Foxx Weighs in on Draft Apprenticeship Regulations: House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to the DOL Acting Secretary requesting that the comment period on new draft apprenticeship rules be extended, particularly so employers have more time to comment. .
   
• Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Releases New Resources on Students with Disabilities: The OCR released four new resources for students, parents and families and schools to share information about students with disabilities’ legal rights regarding discrimination.
   
• DOL to Hose Online Seminar for Agriculture Industry Employers, Workers and Other Stakeholders: The DOL plans to host a webinar on March 28 regarding federal requirements governing agricultural employment for growers, farmers, shippers, contractors, farm labor contractors, buyers and agricultural workers nationwide. Wages, housing, transportation, field sanitation, farm labor contractor certification and other topics will be discussed. Registration is open now. 

On February 22, the U.S. Department of Labor announced almost $200 million in grants to support the public-private relationships crucial to Registered Apprenticeships. The new funding available includes $95 million in grants for the second round of the Apprenticeship Building America Grant Program, and another $100 million in the second round of State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Grants.  

The funding opportunities available in the Apprenticeship Building America grant program are intended to strengthen the Registered Apprenticeship system by supporting partnerships that will uplift many industries and individuals, and promote Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) to translate strong training into good jobs, strengthening the workforce. 

Eligible applicants for the Apprenticeship Building America, Round 2 grants include county governments, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status or higher or city or township governments. Grants will range from $1 million to $8 million. 

There is funding for three categories of grants: 

1. Ensuring Equitable RAP Pathways and Partnerships Through Pre-apprenticeship Leading to RAP Enrollment  

1. Creation of Education System-aligned Pre-apprenticeship and RAPs 

1. Registered Apprenticeship Hubs 

Applications close on April 15. To apply and learn more, access the Grants page here: https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/352219  

The funding opportunities available in the State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula, Round 2 (SAEF2) grant program is designed to continue modernizing and strengthening the National Apprenticeship System while accommodating states looking to expand new opportunities. 

Base funding is awarded to all States that apply, with a separate opportunity to apply for additional funding for States looking to expand on innovation. Eligible applicants include state governments, and grants will be awarded up to $6 million.  

Applications will close on April 4. To apply and learn more, access the Grants page here: 

https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/351688  

This week, the Senate started a two-week recess after finally passing their foreign aid supplemental spending bill. The House remained in session for a few days, where it voted to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, before starting its own recess. Both chambers will return the week of February 26. The most pressing matter related to CTE is the completion of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations process. Unfortunately, there has been no public update on the specifics of those negotiations, and the March 1 and 8 deadlines that would trigger a government shutdown are on the horizon. While that work continues behind the scenes, CTE Month activities on the Hill have continued, along with a number of other developments:

• State Policies Impacting CTE: 2023 Year in Review: ACTE and Advance CTE published an annual report analyzing state policy trends that will impact millions of students, teachers and families across the nation.
• Career and Technical Education: A Path to Success for Many: CTE Caucus Co-chairs Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) penned an opinion piece on student success within CTE programs to celebrate CTE Month. They also appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this week to discuss CTE, and introduced the Counseling for Career Choice Act to support more access for students to career information, which ACTE endorsed.
• ACTE Endorses Bill to Support Early Childhood Education Pathways: On Feb. 14, R Annie Kuster (D-NH), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Bonamici introduced the Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act, which would support CTE programs of study to prepare students for early childhood education careers.
• Department of Education Releases Updates to Equity Action Plan: This week, the Department released its 2023 Update to its Equity Action Plan, which focuses on ensuring every student has equitable access to an academically rigorous, well-rounded education in a safe and inclusive school. One of the priorities in this plan is “Advancing equity in and through CTE.”
• Biden-Harris Administration Holds First-Ever Interagency Youth Policy Summit – Cultivating Possibilities: The Biden-Harris Administration hosted nearly 90 young Americans at the Department of Education for an interagency summit. The goal was to provide a space for young people to share directly with federal agencies their ideas for policy improvement and programs to ensure they succeed.
• Department of Labor to Host 2024 Construction Ready Career Expo: Experts from the Department of Labor plan to welcome thousands of students to Atlanta to learn about careers in construction and related fields, focusing on workplace safety.
• Key Funding Sources for Educator Registered Apprenticeships (ERA): Over thirty states now have launched ERA programs. There are many ways these programs can access funding grants. New America compiled a list of several funding sources for these programs.

Today ACTE and Advance CTE released the 11th annual State Policies Impacting CTE: Year in Review report, marking the start of a second decade of insights into CTE policy trends at the state and national levels.

In 2023, 47 states enacted 115 policies affecting CTE and career readiness, including legislation, executive orders and budget provisions. This marks the second-highest number of states in a single year to act on CTE policy, surpassed only by the landmark year of 2017 when all 50 states implemented CTE-related policies.

Each year, the Year in Review report analyzes policy trends across the nation, offers state examples for the top five policy categories, and highlights one rapidly growing policy area.

Policymakers connected to CTE can use this resource to see trend areas from across the country over time and explore past and present CTE policies that might be replicable in their state. This resource strives to empower leaders to build on current innovations, advocate for effective policies, and drive positive change in CTE.

In addition to the report, the following resources provide additional insights into this publication:

• Advance CTE and ACTE’s Year in Review webinar on February 21 from 3-4 p.m. ET will provide an overview into the impactful policy trends and innovative legislation from 2023 that will impact millions of CTE learners across 47 states as well as present a deep dive on CTE policy in Utah with Utah State CTE Director Thalea Longhurst and Utah ACTE representative Becky Cox.
• An expanded State Policy Tracker includes final legislative, budget and executive actions connected to CTE since 2013!

ACTE and Advance CTE have released the second set in a new series of joint publications that address how to support each of the nine Perkins V special populations and other underserved learner groups.

The Maximizing Access & Success for Special Populations in CTE series features strategies, reflection questions and case studies for supporting each special population as well as other learner groups that have been a focus of state and local support.

Part II, released last week, features briefs on supporting the following populations:

• Learners with disabilities
• English learners
• Economically disadvantaged learners
• Learners experiencing homelessness
• Military-connected learners
• Single parents

These publications join the first briefs in this series, including an introduction as well as briefs on nontraditional learners, foster youth and out-of-workforce individuals.

A final set of briefs describing how to support additional populations will be released in March.

This week, negotiations on the spending levels for the FY 2024 appropriations bills continued with no updates as the March 1 and 8 deadlines loom. CTE Month is well underway though, with several Representatives and Senators sharing messages of support. The Senate has also passed its 2024 CTE Month Resolution! Remember to ask your representatives to cosponsor the House version of the resolution, introduced last week!  

• Senate Passes Resolution Recognizing Career & Technical Education Month: This week, the Senate passed its resolution to recognize February as National CTE Month. A counterpart House resolution was introduced last week.  
   
• Sens. Kaine & Young Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Boost Student Success and Career Readiness: This week, co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus reintroduced the Assisting Community Colleges in Educating Skilled Students (ACCESS) to Careers Act. This bipartisan legislation seeks to increase dual enrollment, work-based learning opportunities and student support services. 
   
• Foxx Celebrates National CTE Month: Chairwoman Foxx of the House Education and the Workforce Committee spoke on the House Floor, recognizing and celebrating February as National CTE Month. 
   
• Department Of Education Announces Resources to Assist with FAFSA: The Dept. of Education released a FAFSA College Support Strategy to help schools and students complete the new FAFSA quicker and easier, despite the technical and system difficulties encountered earlier in its launch.  

From Setback to Success: Meeting Comebackers Where They Are: The California Competes organization recently published a report as a guide for helping institutions support and recruit more comebacker students: individuals who left college with no credential and later returned to and completed postsecondary education. In California alone, over 6 million adults have participated in postsecondary education but have yet to earn a credential. Researchers spoke with over 52 adult learners who dropped out, reenrolled and went on to earn a degree.

The following list details some key strategies that institutions can employ to help these students:

• Remove reenrollment barriers by providing priority registration status upon return, offering credit for prior learning and forgiving institutional debt.
• Provide ongoing support initiatives like adult-focused advising, accessible online resources and communities of support with other comebackers.
• Adapt to shifting student needs by offering increased access to shortened-term programs and fully online courses.
• Conduct outreach to students who stopped out of college about the reenrollment process, use inclusive marketing materials and provide more academic probation flexibility.

How States and Systems Can Support Practitioner Efforts to Strengthen Dual Enrollment: The Community College Research Center recently published a report in conjunction with the College in High School Alliance that provides evidence-based recommendations for states and systems on how to strengthen dual enrollment (DE). Experts provide insights into three areas of DE improvement: increasing access, strengthening on-ramps to postsecondary education and building strong partnerships.

Some top insights and recommendations are below:

• Set statewide DE goals and provide easy-to-use public data platforms for practitioners to track recent progress.
• Reform eligibility requirements for DE to reduce barriers to participation, including shifting away from placement testing to high school grades to increase access.
• Reduce tuition and non-tuition costs for low-income families through public funding and emphasize the potential cost savings of DE toward postsecondary tuition.
• Prioritize open access to navigational supports to increase postsecondary-going motivation, especially for underrepresented students.

Strategies to Advise Students on Multiple Postsecondary Pathways: A recently published report by the Education Strategy Group in collaboration with the Walton Family Foundation provided insights to practitioners on how to support multiple postsecondary pathways and information for students and families to help them understand the full suite of career pathways that can lead to success after graduation.

Researchers identified key challenges of data, capacity and partnerships. They also provided the following recommendations:

• Employ technology for disseminating messages at scale and for increasing capacity to individualized supports to communicate with students and families where they are.
• Directly engage students to ensure that messaging resonates with real-world learners.
• Re-conceptualize who can serve as an advisor to students and provide training.
• Incorporate and analyze data on local labor market opportunities, needs and student outcomes to ensure high-quality advising.