With the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), appropriators in the House and Senate are now working on their respective appropriations bills that will make up the federal budget for FY24. This year’s appropriations process was expected to feature spending caps that were imposed by the FRA, which after adjustments hold non-defense spending roughly flat in FY 2024 and increase it by 1% in 2025.  

However, the House has chosen to use much lower caps for discretionary spending. In the House, legislators have proposed a topline number for the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education appropriations bill of $147.1 billion, or a 29 percent cut. The Senate is sticking much closer to the FRA deal and approved its individual bill allocations this week. In the Senate, $195.23 billion will be available for the Labor, HHS, and Education bill, which is only a 5.9 percent cut from FY23.  

Markups of some appropriations bills have begun in both the House and Senate, with the Senate Appropriations Committee most recently approving bills for both the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies bills. The House Appropriations Committee has approved these bills, as well as Homeland Security and the Legislative Branch, and House Subcommittees have also considered the Energy-Water Bill and Financial Services. You can view the status of all 12 appropriations bills here. A date to mark up the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill has not been announced, so we do not yet know how these lower funding levels could affect Perkins funding or CTE programs.  

As legislators consider these bills, ACTE is closely monitoring developments in the appropriations process. We will keep you updated so that you can continue to advocate for the highest possible levels of CTE spending. Don’t forget to contact your House members in particular about protecting Perkins funding! Please let us know if you have any questions! 

On Wednesday, the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) and the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) co-hosted a webinar highlighting the importance of further investments in STEM. The panel spoke amid the House Appropriations Committee’s recent approval of FY 24 funding levels that could lead to a significant cut of almost 30% to the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. With critical STEM education funding in jeopardy, the panel outlined the existing impact and further need for STEM investments.  

Dr. Amy Burke of the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics presented her organization’s data regarding the development of STEM talent. When analyzing the composition of talent in STEM fields, she emphasized the prevalence of workers in the science- and engineering-related occupational group that did not hold a bachelor's degree. As conversations about STEM talent often focus on bachelor's degree holders, she provided a more inclusive view of the STEM field that highlighted the role of all workers. Additionally, Dr. Burke presented data that emphasized the significant underrepresentation of Black, Latino and Native American science and engineering degree recipients at the bachelor’s level and above relative to their population shares. Another gap identified was that students eligible for free or reduced lunch programs tested proficient in the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) science assessment significantly less than their peers. These data sets highlight areas that demand new or further investment in STEM education.  

With the backdrop of this data, Dr. Andre Green, professor and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Southern Alabama, shared his personal STEM educational journey. He recounted underinvestment in STEM programs at his school in rural Georgia, but mentioned that his teachers' support and investments from the National Science Foundation propelled him to continue on a STEM path. He explained how he embodied the investment in STEM and is an example of why the government must allocate more funding to STEM education.   

To facilitate such STEM education, Billy Mawhiney, Executive Director of the South Dakota Afterschool Network, emphasized the importance of after-school programs in providing students with exposure to STEM. To expand such exposure, his organization is developing “Think, Make, Create” Mobile Labs that will bring STEM activities to kids across South Dakota this summer. As part of these efforts, the organization particularly seeks to provide STEM experiences to Native American students who are underrepresented in STEM programs. This initiative and others with similar goals require further investments to create equitable access to STEM.  

Presenting data, personal experiences and current initiatives, the panel highlighted the importance of STEM education and the need for greater investments. While not a focus of the panel specifically, supporting and expanding CTE programs is another important way to address the need to develop students with the knowledge and skills necessary for STEM-related jobs.  

This week in Washington, Congress was focused on moving several pending nominations and moving forward with the FY 24 appropriations process. The House Appropriations Committee held markups of several appropriations bills and approved overall committee allocations, while Senate appropriations leaders have begun preparing a few bills for full committee markup next week. However, no information has been provided on the timing of either the subcommittee or full committee markup of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bills in either chamber. In the meantime, here are the most important things to note:

• Ask Your Representative: Support Perkins in FY 2024 Appropriations: The official topline funding level for the House’s FY 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill is $147.1B, which could result in an almost 30% cut to the bill. The impact on Perkins funding and CTE programs could be significant. As the House starts to consider their appropriations bills, we need to generate support for CTE to ensure the highest possible level of funding for Perkins within these tight caps. ACTION NEEDED: CLICK HERE to ask your representative to support robust funding for Perkins CTE in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill!

• College Transparency Act Reintroduced by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA): On June 14, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, reintroduced 1972, the College Transparency Act (CTA), legislation that would reform postsecondary data reporting ensure students have better information on student success and outcomes as they compare higher education options. ACTE has been a long-time supporter of the CTA. You can view a fact sheet on the CTA here.

• Department of Education and Civic Nation Launch Campaign for Access to Affordable High-Speed Internet: The Department of Education and Civic Nation have launched Online for All, a digital equity campaign working to close the digital divide by focusing on internet access, affordability and equity for students and families. Learn more about the campaign and how you can obtain affordable internet access here.

• House Education and Workforce Committee Holds Hearing on Postsecondary Education: On June 14, the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee of the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing entitled “Postsecondary Innovation: Preparing Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s Opportunities.” The hearing primarily focused on higher education issues. You can watch the full hearing here.

• Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Holds Hearing on Infrastructure Implementation: On June 15, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing with testimony from Administrator Shailen Bhatt of the Federal Highway Administration. The hearing addressed the I-95 bridge collapse, road safety, project grant applications and electric vehicles.

• OCTAE to Host Webinar on Integrated Education and Training in Corrections: The Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) and ADVANCE Integrated Education and Training (IET) will host a live webinar on Connecting Jail-Based IET Programs to Career Pathways on July 11, 2023, from 3:30 – 4:30 pm ET. Register at this link.

Credit for Prior Learning Messaging Toolkit: Advance CTE recently published a messaging toolkit focused on communicating about credit for prior learning (CPL) to increase the participation of adult learners pursuing career pathways and CTE programs of study for in-demand fields. This publication serves as a resource for postsecondary institutions and systems to develop messages and dissemination strategies to support CPL policy and increase use of CPL. Research shows that 49% of adult learners who earn CPL go on to complete their credential or degree, while only 27% with no CPL do so. Earning CPL also boosts completion rates for underrepresented learners with African American and Latino students and Pell Grant recipients with CPL earning credentials at more than twice the rate of their peers without CPL. Sample messages recommended by the toolkit for communicating with leaders, learners and postsecondary faculty and staff explain CPL and its benefits, demystify the application process and correct myths about CPL. This toolkit is a companion to Advance CTE’s Embedding Credit for Prior Learning in Career Pathways Policy Benchmark Tool.

Integrating Microcredentials into Undergraduate Experiences: Workcred and the University of Texas System recently released a report on re-imagining the undergraduate experience by integrating microcredentials. This report describes microcredentials, factors to consider when building or selecting a microcredential, and the relationship between microcredentials and badges, among other things. Researchers note that when developing a microcredential program, the following points are crucial to provide maximum utility for students seeking to better their career outcomes through these types of programs:

• Microcredentials should be developed to provide career-focused skills that prepare and connect students to professional opportunities like internships or directed study programs.
• Understanding the differences between credit and non-credit-bearing microcredentials is crucial as they lead to different outcomes for different populations.
• Undergraduates, graduates, incumbent workers and continuing education students can all benefit from microcredentials, but a program should be designed with only one population in mind.

Paving The Path to Debt-Free College: The Institute for College Access & Success recently published a report on expenses, funding and barriers to access to the postsecondary education system in the United States, as well as what current and persistent problems within the system mean for the future of students. Researchers highlighted community colleges and CTE-focused education as important parts of the vision of postsecondary education as a public good that is accessible to all. The publication also delves into funding for educational institutions defined as Regional Comprehensive Universities (RCUs), Rural Serving Institutions (RSIs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) as compared to flagship and research institutions. Researchers find that most undergraduate students (86%) are enrolled in either an RSI, RCU or MSI while only 14% are enrolled at selective flagships and research institutions. Despite this statistic, flagship and research institutions receive an endowment per FTE student of over $260,000 in comparison to just under $19,000 for RSIs, RCUs and MSIs. RSIs, RCUs and MSIs also have higher average institutional expenses per FTE student than research institutions and flagships, compounding this inequity.

The researchers call for achieving a more affordable college experience for all by such considerations as directly delivering funds to campuses and using allocation metrics that align with the unique institutional characteristics of RSIs, RCUs and MSIs.

Earlier this week, House leaders announced that instead of allocating the amount of funding agreed to in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 for FY 2024 appropriations bills, which would have essentially provided level funding to domestic programs, they would write appropriations bills to the lower FY 2022 level requested by the most conservative House members.

While we are still awaiting the official topline funding level for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill, early reports estimate that the bill could be cut by almost 30%. The impact on Perkins funding and CTE programs could be significant. As the House starts to consider their appropriations bills, we need to generate as much support for CTE as possible to ensure the highest possible level of funding for Perkins within these tight caps.

ACTION NEEDED: CLICK HERE to ask your representative to support robust funding for Perkins CTE in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill!

You can send a message directly using the ACTE Action Center. Additionally, if you have a direct contact in your representative’s office, such as from a meeting with a staff member during NPS earlier this month or at another time, we urge you to call or email directly. You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and an operator will connect you to your requested House office. Please contact your representative today!

Today ACTE has released CTE: Developing the Construction and Architecture Workforce, the second 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.

The Construction and Architecture Sector Sheet describes occupations, earnings and credentials that can help individuals enter and progress in careers in residential and commercial construction, infrastructure construction, and architecture and engineering. It also shares how CTE prepares learners for construction and architecture careers through courses, education and industry credentials, work-based learning, career and technical student organizations, and more. The data demonstrates the importance of CTE to developing this workforce, which currently employs around 7.9 million people and needs more than 700,000 new workers annually to fulfill the country’s building needs.

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, counselors, policymakers and others to spread the message about CTE and its benefits for students and the workforce.

Following last week’s deal to lift the federal debt limit, Congress is beginning to shift focus back to FY 2024 appropriations bills. The House Appropriations Committee is expected to begin markups next week of several appropriations bills that were marked up by subcommittees prior to completion of the debt limit deal, and Senate leaders have announced they hope to start markups later this month. In the meantime, here are a few news and notes:

• Acting Secretary of Labor Testifies to House Education and Workforce Committee: On June 7, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Department of Labor FY 2024 policies and priorities. During the hearing, there was substantial discussion of the opportunities available to support workforce development through registered apprenticeships, secondary and postsecondary CTE programs and more. Read more about the hearing here.

• Appropriations Update: We are still awaiting the topline funding level for the FY 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill following the signing of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 into law last week. The schedules for the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill release and markup in the House have not been announced. There are ongoing discussions between some Republicans and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) about whether to draft appropriations bills at a level that accounts for the spending caps in the debt limit bill or a lower amount.

• Department of Education Raise the Bar/Full-Service Community Schools Grants: The Department of Education has released a Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the FY 2023 Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grant program that supports academic acceleration and provides academic and whole child supports to build and strengthen connections between schools, parents, families and their surrounding communities. Learn more about the grant opportunity here.

• Department of Education School Infrastructure Grants: The Department of Education has announced applications for two new competitive grant programs focused on ensuring school facilities provide safe, healthy, sustainable and equitable learning environments: the Supporting America’s Schools Infrastructure (SASI) grant and the National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI) grant. The former will award approximately $40 million to State Education Agencies (SEAs) and state entities to increase the capacity of the state to support high-need districts and schools in leveraging available federal, state, and local resources to improve school facilities and environments.  The latter will award roughly $2 million to a research agency, institution, or organization to establish a national center that will serve as a clearinghouse of resources and offer technical assistance to SASI grantees and other high-need districts seeking to leverage existing resources to improve facilities. Applications are due August 7. Learn more about the grants here.

• Department of Education Grant Opportunities to Address Educator Recruitment, Retention and Career Advancement: The Department of Education has announced more than $368 million in new grant opportunities through the Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program and the Teacher and School Leader (TSL) Incentive program that advance investments in teacher recruitment and retention. These investments particularly prioritize promoting educator diversity and career advancement and leadership opportunities for effective educators tied to increased compensation. Learn more about the grant opportunity here.