This week in Washington, Congress was in recess and there was limited activity in DC. Congressional leaders were focused on addressing national security concerns and the anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Both chambers of Congress will return on February 27. ACTE’s Public Policy team is also focusing on the 2023 CTE Month school visit in Washington, DC, our response to President Biden’s upcoming budget request for fiscal year 2024 (scheduled to be released March 9), the 2023 National Policy Seminar (NPS) and Congressional CTE Caucus activities, such as putting together membership recruitment drives and congressional staff briefings. This work is continuing, and we will keep you posted on how you can get involved. Here are the newest headlines to share:

• ACTION ALERT: Ask Your Members of Congress to Co-sponsor the JOBS Act of 2023: Earlier this month, the Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2023 (H.R. 793/S. 161), or the JOBS Act, was reintroduced in the Senate by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Braun (R-IN), and in the House by Reps. Bill Johnson (R-OH), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Michael Turner (R-OH). This legislation would expand federal Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term job training programs, which has been a top priority of the CTE community for the past few years. ACTE has endorsed this bipartisan bill. Click here to ask your Members of Congress to cosponsor this legislation.

• Department of Energy Announces Buildings Upgrade Prize: The Department of Energy has announced a multi-year, multi-million-dollar prize competition that will provide funding to 60 teams of organizations working to decarbonize existing buildings in their communities. Learn more about the opportunity here.

• Senate Releases Earmark Guidelines: The Senate Appropriations Committee has released its deadlines and additional instructions for Senate offices to submit requests for “Congressionally Directed Spending.” Education and workforce development related funding requests must be submitted to the Committee by April 13, so individual Senate offices will likely have much earlier deadlines to ensure time to compile requests.

The following reports, released by researchers who are part of the CTE Research Network (CTERN), seek to help educators and administrators better understand how the design and implementation of CTE programs affect learner outcomes. ACTE is proud to be one of the Network leads, focused on supporting and disseminating causal research into how CTE impacts students.

Equity Framework for CTE Research: CTERN’s Equity in CTE Workgroup recently released a framework to help researchers infuse an equity approach into CTE research from start to finish. The framework addresses equity at six stages of the research life cycle — project management, research design, measurement and data collection, data analysis, cost and resource equity, and reporting and dissemination — and includes real and hypothetical examples from CTE research.

Incremental Costs in CTE: A recent brief developed by CTERN’s Workgroup on CTE Cost Analysis explores and analyzes the incremental costs of CTE in classrooms across America. The brief aims to be a guide for researchers, evaluators and administrators in documenting the resources needed to provide CTE experiences for students on the secondary and postsecondary levels. It identifies specific resources used in CTE programs that are generally not used in a standard classroom. The authors emphasize the importance of cost analysis as a crucial step in creating an effective system of career exposure and preparation for students as they journey toward further education and employment and in identifying disparities in resources dedicated to different learner groups.

Relatedly, a recent paper authored by CTERN-affiliated researchers for the Annenberg Institute at Brown University looked at cost data in Connecticut and Massachusetts CTE-dedicated high schools and found clear, positive expected returns on investment in Massachusetts and smaller returns in Connecticut.

CTE Concentration Rates at the Start of COVID-19: CTERN-affiliated researchers participated recently in a multi-state analysis of trends in CTE in Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee and Washington, which sought to look at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students concentrating in CTE. The analysis looked at three cohorts of students across all the states — ninth graders in SY 2014-15, ninth graders in SY 2015-16 and ninth graders in SY 2016-17 — as well as SY 2017-18 in Michigan and Montana only. Researchers focused on how the disruptions of the pandemic affected students by gender, race and ethnicity as well as by rural vs. urban populations. The following list includes key findings from the study:

• Across all five states, students who concentrated in CTE were more likely to graduate from high school than those who did not, both before and after the start of the pandemic.
• At the start of the pandemic, no changes in concentration rates occurred across gender, race or ethnicity. Additionally, there were no major changes in concentration rates across clusters except in Montana, which saw large swings one year into the pandemic.
• One year into the pandemic, concentration rates had fallen for students with disabilities in Michigan and Montana.
• Montana and Tennessee witnessed changes in their rural-urban CTE concentration rates one year into the pandemic.

Earlier this month, the Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2023 (H.R. 793/S. 161), or the JOBS Act, was reintroduced in the Senate by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Braun (R-IN), and in the House by Reps. Bill Johnson (R-OH), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Michael Turner (R-OH). This legislation would expand federal Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term job training programs, which has been a top priority of the CTE community for the past few years. ACTE has endorsed this bipartisan bill. 

Currently, Pell Grants are not available to postsecondary CTE students in short-term certificate programs less than 600 clock hours or 16 semester hours over 15 weeks. As a result, many students across the country do not have access to high-quality, short-term CTE programs that that provide the education and skills necessary for in-demand careers and culminate in meaningful credentials that are proven to increase lifetime earning potential and employment opportunities.  

We need your help so that Members of Congress understand the many positive impacts of extending Pell Grants to high-quality, short-term CTE programs. 

ACTION NEEDED: Contact your Members of Congress to ask them to support the extension of Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term CTE programs by co-sponsoring the JOBS Act.  

CLICK HERE to send a letter! If you have a direct contact in a representative’s office, we encourage you to contact them directly! 

Help us hold Members of Congress accountable for supporting CTE students, educators and institutions by advocating for short-term Pell expansion.  

House bill text can be found here.  
Senate bill text can be found here.

Recently, researchers affiliated with the CTE Research Network (CTERN) released several briefs describing findings of ongoing research on the impacts of CTE. ACTE is one of the CTERN leads and supports the network in its efforts to promote causal research into how CTE affects learner outcomes. 

CTE-Focused Dual Enrollment: Participation and Outcomes: In an ongoing study conducted by a CTERN team at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in conjunction with the RAND Corporation, researchers examined North Carolina’s Career & College Promise CTE dual enrollment pathway and found that approximately 9% of the state’s students participated in CTE dual enrollment. The study aimed to examine the implementation, impact and cost of the program’s three dual enrollment pathways, as well as to expand the research available about the implementation and impact of CTE-focused dual enrollment courses to help policymakers and practitioners make better decisions around opportunity and equity. In the study, researchers compared participating students to nonparticipating students and looked at the impacts at the high school, postsecondary and workforce levels. Notable findings include:

• Disparities in participation among learner groups were less in CTE-focused dual enrollment courses than for college transfer dual enrollment courses.
• Participation in CTE dual enrollment is positively associated with students earning college credits in high school and graduating from high school.
• CTE dual enrollment participation has a positive relationship with enrollment in North Carolina public colleges, especially for underrepresented ethnic groups and economically disadvantaged students.

NYC as a Laboratory for Learning About CTE: The Research Alliance for New York City Schools recently published a report of a multi-year study of the city’s CTE-dedicated high schools in collaboration with researchers from MDRC, Boston College and the University of Connecticut. The research focuses on 37 CTE-dedicated high schools in the NYC metropolitan area, which are all structured in a way to ensure CTE participation of students in grades 9-12. Researchers found that the 37 high schools had a lot of variation in their programming, which also led to different outcomes, but in general they offer coursework around industry-aligned themes such as construction, IT and health services as well as work-based learning opportunities and access to aligned college-level coursework.

Researchers examined the experiences and outcomes of nearly 19,000 students who attended a CTE-dedicated high school between 2013 and 2016 and did a comparison with similar students who also applied to CTE programs but were assigned to another type of high school. Here are some key findings:

• A majority of CTE-dedicated high school students completed the required CTE credits with one quarter engaging in work-based internships.
• There was no evidence that CTE programs impede students’ ability to meet academic requirements — in fact, CTE-dedicated high school students were more likely to be on track for a New York State Regents diploma.
• On average, students graduated from CTE-dedicated high schools and enrolled in college at similar rates to their non-CTE counterparts.
• The newer generation of smaller, nonselective CTE schools with narrower sets of career themes that prepare students for pathways that can lead to bachelor’s degrees led to better graduation and postsecondary enrollment rates than the older, larger and more selective CTE schools with a wider range of programs preparing students for positions requiring limited postsecondary education.

Further report releases will include information on students’ employment, earnings and longer-term college enrollment as well as persistence and completion outcomes.

This week in Washington, only the Senate was in session, and lawmakers focused primarily on hosting hearings and responding to national security concerns. Both chambers of Congress will be on recess next week before returning on February 27. CTE Month is continuing to draw awareness to our efforts to ensure high-quality CTE is an option for all learners, and ACTE’s Public Policy team is also focusing on upcoming responses to President Biden’s budget request for fiscal year 2024, preparing for the 2023 National Policy Seminar (NPS) and Congressional CTE Caucus activities, such as putting together membership recruitment drives and congressional staff briefings. We will keep you updated on how you can get involved as these efforts progress. Check out our newest headlines to share:

• CTE Expansion A Bipartisan Issue for Governors: As of early February 2023, the Education Commission of the States has reported that at least 19 governors have mentioned CTE in their State of the State addresses. Additionally, 14 governors have addressed the importance of aligning postsecondary education with workforce development. Read more from our analysis of state CTE priorities here.

• CTE Teacher Pay Highlighted in Senate Teacher Pay Town Hall: On Monday evening, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), new Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) hosted an event in coordination with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) to discuss the state of teacher pay in America. They called for boosting teacher pay at a critical time as schools contend with teacher shortages. Read the blog recapping the event and find the link to the full town hall here.

• Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Health Care Workforce Shortages: On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on strategies to address health care workforce challenges, including workforce development solutions and experiences in workforce pipeline efforts among medical professionals. You can watch a recording of the full hearing here.

• Secretary of Labor Walsh Leaving Position: On Thursday, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh announced to staff that he would be leaving his position as Secretary within the next month. At this time, a replacement has not been named. ACTE will keep you updated on the next nominee to serve as Secretary of Labor.

• Department of Education Announces First Hawkins Centers of Excellence Grant to Support Teachers of Color Pipeline: The Department of Education has announced its first-ever awards, totaling over $18 million, for the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Program grants to increase high-quality teacher preparation programs for teachers of color, strengthen the diversity of the teacher pipeline and address teacher shortages. Read more about the grants here.

• Department of Labor Awards Grants to Improve Equitable Access to Training: The Department of Labor has announced the award of $50 million in grants to help 15 community colleges in 14 states expand access to education and training for good-paying jobs and equitably meet employers’ and workers’ skill development needs. Read more about the grants here.

• First Lady Jill Biden Gives Remarks at Mesa Community College: On February 13, First Lady Jill Biden visited Mesa (AZ) Community College to observe their Mesa College Promise program and promote the Department of Education’s Career-Connected Learning initiative. The First Lady was joined by Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. You can read the full speech here.

• Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Rosters Announced: We finally have full subcommittee lists for the Senate Appropriations Committee, including the roster for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. You can access the new roster here.

• Department of Labor Plans Webinar on Grant Opportunities: On February 28^th at 10:00 am, the Department of Labor will host a webinar on grant programs and funding opportunities available from the Department throughout the year. Register here.

As of early February 2023, the Education Commission of the States has reported that at least 19 governors have mentioned CTE in their State of the State addresses. Additionally, 14 governors have addressed the importance of aligning postsecondary education with workforce development.

The following list contains information about CTE proposals across different states, including states helmed by Republicans and those led by Democrats:

• Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Lee let the people of the state know of his intention to complete the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) Master Plan, which would construct six new colleges, renovate 16 existing ones and replace seven facilities. He also proposed a $1 billion investment in technical colleges, promoted the expansion of CTE opportunities in K-12 schools, and highlighted a 90% job attainment rate by TCAT graduates.
• Missouri celebrated the creation of 20,000 new apprenticeships three years ahead of schedule, as announced by Gov. Mike Parson, who also highlighted Missouri’s ranking as third in the country for apprenticeship opportunities and described a $3 million investment to continue growing the program in fields such as IT, public health and safety, education and others. The governor also proposed investing an additional $500,000 in Jobs for America’s Graduates to help high school students further their education or step into the workforce and $4 million for Certified Nursing Assistant training.
• Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana highlighted the 2021 creation of the Montana Trades Education Credit, which has helped build a highly skilled workforce in the state; celebrated the addition of 1,000 apprenticeships in 2022 through the Registered Apprenticeship Program; and expressed continuing support of work-based learning opportunities for high school students. Additionally, Gianforte proposed growing the state’s health care workforce through legislation that aims to join the APRN Compact promoting multistate licensing for advanced practice registered nurses and to improve professional and occupational licensing.
• Gov. Joe Lombardo of Nevada touted career and technical academies and CTE programs as venues for increasing the pipeline of qualified teachers.
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked for continued funding for apprenticeships and proposed lowering the age of the Michigan Reconnect community college scholarship program from 25 to 21, while noting that 113,000 residents of the state had already been accepted into the Reconnect program. She also reiterated the state’s goal of 60 by 30, which means 60% of residents earning a degree or certificate by 2030.
• Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado noted the state’s intention to increase career-connected learning access for high school students. He also celebrated the creation of Care Forward Colorado to provide free education at community and technical colleges for students interested in health care careers and proposed expanding Care Forward Colorado to include preparation for other in-demand fields like construction, firefighting, law enforcement and early childhood education.
• South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster proposed investing a further $78 million in lottery funds for the expansion of Workforce Scholarships for the Future through the state’s technical college system and touted its success in helping 10,000 students obtain industry credentials.
• Kentucky’s Gov. Andy Beshear highlighted a $245 million investment throughout the past two budgets that went to renovating and rebuilding CTE centers in high schools across the state.

In summary, the outlook for CTE looks bright across the country, with this issue being one of the biggest bipartisan areas of agreement. According to a study conducted by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Andy Smarick and reported on in The 74, in the 36 gubernatorial races of 2022, there were six education issues of consensus between Democrats and Republicans. Out of these six issues, expanding CTE was tied as number one with 30 candidates or 42% declaring their support.

For more information on the state-by-state outlook of CTE across the country, check out the recently published 2022 State Policies Impacting CTE: Year In Review report.

On Monday evening, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), new Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) hosted an event in coordination with American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) to discuss the state of teacher pay in America, and call for boosting teacher pay at a critical time as schools contend with teacher shortages.

The event opened with a video message from several educators across the country, including a spotlight on the particular shortage of CTE educators. ACTE was well-represented at the event – Administration Division VP Eric Ripley submitted a video to the committee discussing these challenges.

A panel discussion was also held with teachers and paraprofessionals from across the country. Allison Sylvester, a middle school teacher from Vermont, shared her reasons for remaining in the classroom, which included the opportunity to observe her students learning and growing in both their academic coursework and in their personal goals.

Tracy Tucker of New York added that the example her teachers set when she was growing up inspired her to join the teaching profession. Jacob Fertig, an art teacher from West Virginia, described the statewide challenges that he has seen and experienced as a teacher, including the role that educators serve as a sort of “first responder” for children in crisis.

Arthur Anderson, a paraprofessional from Virginia, described the $31,000 salary ceiling that he has encountered in his position despite decades of tenure. He frequently picks up extra duties at his school, such as custodial work and driving the bus. Currently, he is in school to receive his teaching degree, fulfilling a lifelong dream of his.

Each of the teachers in attendance called attention to the chronically low pay that educators nationwide must manage in order to remain in the profession. Sen. Sanders noted that he soon plans to introduce legislation to increase teacher pay.

You can video that played at the beginning of the even that featured ACTE Administration Division VP Eric Ripley here. A recording of the entire event can be found here.