Lawmakers return from the Thanksgiving recess with a packed agenda to complete before adjourning for the year. There are less than two weeks until government funding expires on December 16, but discussions on fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills are proceeding slowly.  

In addition to appropriations, the House plans to vote on a version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) during the coming week, among other priorities such as immigration and green card reform. The House will also hold a vote to codify the federal government’s recognition of same-sex marriage.

The 118th Congress will begin right after the new year, on January 3. To prepare for the start of the new Congress, ACTE will be sharing more information on the impact of the election on CTE, including information on committee leadership, new Members of Congress and other resources relevant to CTE stakeholders. In the meantime, here are some updates from Washington:

• Student Loan Repayment Pause Extended: Following announcement of the Supreme Court’s plans to consider the Biden Administration’s federal student loan debt relief program, the Biden Administration extended the payment pause on all federal student loans until 60 days after the Department of Education is permitted to implement the program or the litigation is resolved. If the program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023, payments will resume 60 days after that. Read more about the extension here.

• Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations Update: Government funding talks for fiscal year 2023 appear to be locked in a standstill, with appropriations leaders in both parties at odds over the total amount of non-defense spending to be included in the omnibus spending package, which will have a significant impact on the funding available for education and workforce development programs. ACTE continues to monitor the appropriations process and will urge Congress to support the maximum investment possible in the Perkins Basic State Grant. ACTE’s coalition partner, the Committee for Education Funding, also sent a letter to Capitol Hill urging swift resolution of the funding impasse and the largest possible investment in education programs.

• Department of Labor Announces Grant Opportunity to Support Pre-Apprenticeship: The Department of Labor has announced $90 million in YouthBuild Program grants to support pre-apprenticeships in high-demand industries including construction, health care, information technology and hospitality. Applications for funding will close on February 7, 2023. For more details and a complete list of eligible applicants, visit the link here.

• Republicans Claim Narrow House Control: In late November, Republicans were declared winners in enough midterm races to reach 218 seats in the House of Representatives, the minimum number needed to flip the chamber to their control in the 118th Congress. Read more about this development here.

During the past year, the JOBS Act – a bipartisan bill to expand the Pell grant to cover high-quality, shorter-term workforce training programs – expanded its coalition of congressional supporters, inching closer toward potentially becoming law. The bill now has a striking 52 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate, and in February, language similar to the JOBS Act passed the House via an amendment in the America COMPETES Act. While this progress is encouraging, the bill faces new challenges in the 118th Congress.  

The current JOBS Act has a lead Democrat and Republican co-sponsor in both the House and Senate; however, three of these four Members of Congress will not be returning next year. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) have both announced their retirements, while Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) lost re-election after redistricting put him into a tough primary battle with Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). Heading into the 118th Congress, the remaining co-sponsor, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), must seek out new champions to take their places while maintaining the bipartisan coalition that has been built over the past several years.  

The JOBS Act has also attracted a competing bill to expand Pell grants to short-term programs. The REAL Reforms Act, a Higher Education Act reform proposal introduced this year by Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY), would also expand the Pell grant to short-term programs, including for-profit institutions. While ACTE does not oppose this bill, it is a partisan bill that does not currently contain the broad coalition that the JOBS Act has built over nearly a decade of negotiations.  

As we approach the 118th Congress, it is critical that your voices be heard in support of short-term Pell expansion – your advocacy is especially critical if you have newly elected representatives, or Members of Congress who are not currently co-sponsors of the JOBS Act (you can find Senate co-sponsors here and House co-sponsors here). The JOBS Act remains the most viable, bipartisan legislation related to short-term Pell grants that has the support to potentially become law in the next Congress. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org).  

Basic Needs Challenges: In October, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement released a publication that describes the prevalence of housing and food insecurity faced by community and technical college students. Researchers surveyed over 82,000 students in 2021 to reveal the following key findings from the report:

• About 29% of respondents are food insecure and 14% are housing insecure.
• Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students and students with dependent children were more likely to face food or housing insecurity compared to their peers.
• Students who were food or housing insecure reported higher levels of academic engagement, which indicates that these students may be working harder despite having less resources.
• Less than half of students receive food assistance from their college, and one-fifth of students receive utilities or housing assistance from their college.

The report also includes examples of how community and technical colleges from various states provide housing and food assistance. Some practices include creating a housing unit exclusively for students with dependent children, establishing partnerships with local food banks and providing one-stop education centers that offer wraparound support services.

The Landscape of Part-time Students: A brief published by Complete College America reviews new data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Outcomes Survey to summarize the state of part-time postsecondary students. Researchers examined outcomes for both part-time and full-time students from the survey’s 2011-12 cohort and shared the following:

• About 60% of students who enroll in two-year institutions are part time, compared to 11% at public four-year institutions.
• At two-year institutions, Pell students were 27 percentage points less likely to be enrolled part-time than non-Pell students. Additionally, part-time students who receive Pell grants have a slightly higher completion rate than non-Pell part-time students.
• Only 21% of students who start part time at community colleges complete their education in eight years, 14 percentage points lower than full-time students.

The Community College Experience for Black Students: Recently, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released a report that discusses the characteristics and educational and economic outcomes of Black community college students. This report aims to highlight the barriers faced by Black students in community colleges. The authors pulled data from a variety of sources to summarize the following key findings:

• From 2010 to 2020, Black students’ community college enrollment declined by 44%. During the COVID-19 pandemic, from fall 2019 to fall 2020, enrollment fell by 18% for all Black students.
• Black students experience the lowest three-year graduation rate (28%) compared to their peers of other races.
• On average, Black community college graduates earn $20,000 less per year than their peers and borrow money to pay for college at a higher rate than white, Hispanic and Asian students.

The report offers recommendations to policymakers and education leaders to make community college outcomes more equitable for Black students, including improving access to basic needs supports and child care, strengthening transfer pathways, disaggregating outcomes by race and ethnicity, and providing tuition-free options.

Adult Learner Mobility: This summer, LightCast released a report that examines the postsecondary outcomes of adult learners, specifically their upward mobility, which is defined by the authors as having a salary after returning to postsecondary education that is both higher than their baseline salary and above $35,000 per year. Researchers studied 270,000 adult learners who had not previously completed a bachelor’s degree to find the following:

• Adults who return to postsecondary education are 22% more likely to achieve upward mobility and have a 140% larger increase in average annual salary than those who do not return.
• Adult learners who enrolled in public institutions experience greater upward mobility than those in private or for-profit institutions.
• Many of the majors that provided the most upward mobility were CTE and STEM related, including engineering, architecture, mathematics, and computer and information sciences.
• Associate degrees in certain CTE fields, such as health care, granted more upward mobility than bachelor’s degrees in fields like business or psychology.

Postsecondary Education in Prisons: Recently, the Vera Institute of Justice released a guidebook that details considerations for peer reviewers and accreditors of postsecondary education programs in prisons. The FAFSA Simplification Act recently enabled postsecondary institutions to expand their programming further to incarcerated individuals. The guidebook discusses the impact of this change; how postsecondary institutions can ensure they meet standards of academic quality when serving incarcerated students; and how institutions should comply with federal regulations necessary to maintain Pell eligibility.

Last week, Republicans were declared winners in enough midterm races to reach 218 seats in the House of Representatives, the minimum number needed to flip the chamber to their control in the 118th Congress. As of November 21, there are just five races left to call, with four of the five leaning Republican. No matter the outcome of the remaining races, House Republicans will have an extremely narrow margin to pass legislation without bi-partisan support.  

While Republicans gained many fewer House seats than originally predicted, the results of these midterm elections will give them control of committee leadership for the next two years, including the House Committee on Education & Labor. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the current ranking member of the committee, is seeking a waiver from leadership that is required to be the chairwoman for a second term. Rep. Foxx chaired the committee from 2017 to 2019. If she does not earn this waiver, it is rumored that the new Committee leader may instead be Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) or Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI). For the Democrats, it is expected that current committee chairman Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) will serve as ranking member. 

The House Appropriations Committee is less likely to see any major changes, with it widely expected that the current ranking member, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), and current chairwoman, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will merely switch roles. The subcommittee responsible for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies bill may see a change, though. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will likely stay on as ranking member; however, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) would have to give up the chairmanship if he does not receive a waiver from leadership or if he chooses a different committee assignment.  

Following Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) announcement that she will be stepping down from leadership, the Democratic party will have a new look heading into the next Congress. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the current number two and three House Democrats, will also step down from their posts. It is expected that Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will become the minority leader in her place, with Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) running for the number two and three spots. The Republican leadership will likely see less change, yet that has not been without some contention. Current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) won nomination from his party to be House speaker; however, 31 members voted against him. He will need most of them to vote for him to receive a majority of the House of Representatives in January and be elected speaker. 

When the 118th Congress is sworn in this January, the new leadership will have to navigate a divided legislature, partisan division, and distinct intra-party policy differences. This may make passing legislation difficult, so your advocacy for CTE policy is as important as ever. ACTE will keep you abreast of advocacy opportunities through the CTE Policy Watch blog and the ACTE Action Center. For any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org).  

Congress returned to Washington last week for the first time since the mid-term elections. Lawmakers in both parties held several leadership elections, but formal announcements for party leadership are still forthcoming. Appropriations leaders also reportedly aim to have a fiscal year 2023 appropriations framework completed by Thanksgiving, but there has been no budget framework publicly released and we expect negotiations on the appropriations bills to continue into December. ACTE continues to urge Congress to support a $200 million increase to the Perkins Basic State Grant for fiscal year 2023. In addition to appropriations work, the Senate also advanced legislation to codify the right to same-sex marriage during the week, provide retirement benefits to first responders and support access to communication services for domestic violence survivors.

The 118th Congress will begin right after the new year, on January 3. To prepare for the start of the new Congress, check your inbox or the link here. Stay tuned during the coming weeks, as ACTE will share more information on the impact of the election on CTE, including information on committee leadership, new Members of Congress and other resources relevant to CTE stakeholders. In the meantime, here are some updates from Washington:

• Department of Education Launches Work-Based Learning Grant: As part of a broader effort, known as the “Raise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success Initiative announced by the Department of Education, in partnership with the Departments of Commerce and Labor, a new work-based learning (WBL) program will be launched next year. $5.6 million from Perkins national activities funding will be allocated for a new program to expand WBL opportunities for students. The Department will launch a competitive grant opportunity, the “Career Z Challenge: Expanding Work-Based Learning Opportunities,” in Spring 2023. Read more about the program here.

• Department of Education Releases New Guidance on ARP-ESSER Funding: Also as part of the Raising the Bar Initiative, the Department of Education has released new guidance on how federal COVID-relief funds can be used to develop and expand CTE programs, including registered apprenticeships. You can view the guidance here.

• Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Update: On November 14, the U.S. 8^th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction against the Biden Administration’s federal student loan forgiveness program. The Administration plans to appeal to the Supreme Court for further review. Read more about the next steps here.

• Department of Labor Announces Effort to Prepare Students at Job Corps Centers for Registered Apprenticeship Programs: The Department of Labor will encourage Job Corps centers throughout the country to emphasize pre-apprenticeship programs in green energy, health care, information technology and other high-growth industry sectors. Job Corps students will spend approximately one year in a pre-apprenticeship program. Read more about the initiative here.

• Senate CTE Caucus Holds Briefing on Women in Apprenticeship: On November 15, the Senate CTE Caucus, alongside the Swiss and Austrian Embassies, held a Capitol Hill briefing on Women in Apprenticeship to highlight both National Apprenticeship Week and the Austrian and Swiss apprenticeship models. Read more about the briefing here.
• Potential Committee Leadership in the Senate: While we are awaiting the formal announcement of their appointments, we have a clearer picture of those who will be chairing and serving as Ranking Members for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is expected to become Chairman of the HELP Committee, with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) as the likely Ranking Member. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) will take the gavel of the Appropriations Committee with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) as the likely Ranking Member.
• National Apprenticeship Week Celebrated: November 14 kicked off National Apprenticeship Week nationwide as workforce development stakeholders, advocates and more joined together to celebrate the benefits of registered apprenticeship programs. Read more about National Apprenticeship Week here.

Youth Apprenticeship Outcomes: A recent report by the Project on Workforce at Harvard University examines retention, completion and outcomes for youth apprentices in the Colorado CareerWise program, a three-year youth apprenticeship program in which students split their time between the classroom and the workplace with the goal of continuing onto postsecondary education and/or employment. Researchers analyzed the outcomes of over 200 apprentices from 2017 and 2018 cohorts as well as application data from 2019 to reveal the following:

• About 39% of participants completed their apprenticeship or accepted a full-time employment offer with their apprenticeship host site prior to the three-year mark. Of program completers, 57% received an offer from their employer, 59% entered the same industry as their apprenticeship occupation and 57% pursued postsecondary education.
• Interest in one’s apprenticeship field and registered apprenticeship status were drivers of program retention. Apprentices from high-poverty schools and Black apprentices faced more barriers to completion, which lowered their retention rates.
• In the 2019 applicant pool, females were underrepresented while applicants’ race/ethnicity closely matched the population of Colorado’s public school system. Additionally, students from schools with high shares of low-income students were less likely to apply and to be accepted.

The Apprenticeship Landscape: This month, Work Shift released a guide providing an overview of the evolving landscape of apprenticeship programs in the United States. The report covers how employers, non-profit intermediaries and postsecondary institutions are modernizing apprenticeship programs and features a case study on how North Carolina’s community colleges have grown their apprenticeship programs through retention and inclusion efforts. Additionally, the report discusses the impact of apprenticeship scholarship programs, the role of labor unions and the heightened focus on technology apprenticeship programs.

Internships & Experiential Learning Experiences: In August, Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse surveyed more than 2,100 students enrolled in two- and four-year institutions about their experiences with internships and experiential learning, such as community service, undergraduate research or student teaching. The following are some key findings from the survey:

• Overall, 39% of students have not participated in an internship or experiential learning activity, with students at two-year institutions more likely to report not participating in these experiences than those at four-year institutions.
• Around 57% of students who participated in internships were paid, 14% earned credit and 11% received both.
• When asked how their institution could help them find and secure internships, most students said they would like to see their institution partner with companies to offer internships and create pathways to hire interns and work with organizations that help students find internships.
• Students said that financial assistance, guidance on networking and workshops on internship success are internship-related supports they would most like to see from their postsecondary institution.

Work-based Learning Data Collection Study: Recently, the CTE Research Network announced that it is conducting a new study over the next year that will compile and synthesize best practices that school districts are using to collect work-based learning (WBL) data. As a part of the study, the CTE Research Network is inviting nominations for districts or CTE programs with innovative or exemplary WBL data collection. The goal of the study is to help district administrators and data coordinators apply best practices to improve their WBL collection. If you would like to nominate a district or CTE program, contact project director Kelly Reese at kreese@air.org.

On November 15, the Senate CTE Caucus, alongside the Swiss and Austrian Embassies, held a Capitol Hill briefing on Women in Apprenticeship to highlight both National Apprenticeship Week and the Austrian and Swiss apprenticeship models.

Welcoming remarks were made by Ambassador of Switzerland Jacques Pitteloud and the Austrian Chargé d'Affairs Günther Salzmann. Both expressed a desire to broaden the influence of the Swiss and Austrian apprenticeship models in the United States.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) offered additional remarks, highlighting the connection between CTE and apprenticeships. He discussed how recent federal investments will ensure that CTE is at the forefront of preparing apprentices and all learners for good-paying, in-demand jobs. Sen. Hickenlooper also declared that he had officially joined the CTE Caucus!

A panel discussion followed and was moderated by Thomas Mayr of Austria’s Vocational Education and Training department. Apprentices and representatives from four Swiss and Austrian companies, Zurich Insurance of Illinois, Swiss Krono of South Carolina, Egger Wood Products of North Carolina and Engel Machinery of Pennsylvania, each spoke about the recruitment challenges, opportunities, supports needed and benefits of their apprenticeship programs. Each apprentice expressed that if given the chance to pursue an apprenticeship again, they would make the same decision.