COVID-19 and CTE Perspectives: This March, EdChoice conducted a national survey of high school students and their parents to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted their views on post-high school plans and learning experiences. The following highlight the survey’s CTE-related findings:

• Since the pandemic started, the number of students planning on attending an in-state technical school increased from 3% to 6%.
• More than half of parents and students agreed that learning skills for future employment is the main purpose of high school education.
• Roughly 20% of parents stated that CTE is the most important subject for their child to learn before graduating high school.
• About 40% of students and 64% of parents say that apprenticeships would be useful right now.

K-12 Pandemic Learning: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report that discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted K-12 learning during the 2020-21 school year. Researchers surveyed teachers and parents to uncover the following findings about learning obstacles and strategies to prevent learning loss:

• Virtual and hybrid learning teachers were about 21 percentage points more likely than in-person teacher to state that their students had more difficulty learning than a typical school year.
• Nearly 75% of all teachers had more disengaged students than a typical school year, with high school teachers and virtual teachers experiencing higher levels of disengagement.
• Teachers that used live in-person instruction were significantly more likely to say it improved academic progress for at least half their students than teachers that used live virtual instruction or asynchronous instruction.

Relatedly, the Institute of Education Sciences released new data for the School Pulse Panel, a study that surveys K-12 public schools each month to assess the impact of the pandemic on a variety of topics. Detailed below, the latest survey findings from March and April touched on mental health, staff concerns and updates to school health policies:

• K-12 staffs’ top concerns included getting their students to meet the school year’s academic standards, a shortage of substitute teachers, and students’ social, emotional and mental health.
• About 70% of schools said that the percentage of students seeking mental health services has increased since the start of COVID-19 and 29% of schools reported the same for K-12 staff.
• In April, 30% of schools needed to quarantine one or more students due to COVID-19 exposure, symptoms or a positive test, which is a 64 percentage point decrease since January.

Postsecondary Pandemic Impacts: Recently, the Federal Reserve Bank released its annual Economic Well-being of Households report, which contains survey findings about adults’ financial challenges and opportunities related to employment, education and income. This year’s report included the following findings related to postsecondary education, the workforce and the COVID-19 pandemic:

• While K-12 schools largely returned to in-person instruction, more than 75% of postsecondary students said their classes were partly or completely virtual.
• Technical college and associate degree students prefer virtual education more than bachelor’s degree students, likely due to a greater adult population who may have other responsibilities.
• Around 31% of those with some postsecondary education said the benefits from their education exceeded the cost compared to 46% of associate degree and 67% of bachelor’s degree holders.
• Although the percentage of adults aged 25 to 54 that are not working increased, adults who said they were not working because they couldn’t find work returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Supporting Community College Students: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt students’ academic and personal lives, the Hope Center published a study that demonstrates how community colleges can raise awareness of support services. Throughout the 2020-21 academic year, researchers sent two types of text messages to Dallas College students: one offering information about resources and another offering both information and language to reduce stigma. The information-only texts increased emergency aid applications by five percentage points and outreach to college navigators by one percentage point. In contrast, the texts reducing stigma were successful at empowering students but did not increase support-seeking behaviors.

On June 14 and 15, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh testified before the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, respectively, to discuss the Department of Labor’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget request for the Department of Labor. Both hearings included discussion of registered apprenticeship programs. 

Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) discussed the bipartisan signing of Perkins V into law in 2018 and called for updates to the registered apprenticeship system. 

“As you know, apprenticeships can help states fill open jobs, but the 85-year-old registered apprenticeship system needs to be updated to provide employers more flexibility,” said Thompson.  

Sec. Walsh responded that the Department of Labor is seeking to expand the Department’s apprenticeship initiatives to include more industries and is leaning on the Department's advisory board on apprenticeship for recommendations, which includes community colleges, workforce development boards, businesses and labor organizations. 

Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) pointed to employer partnerships with community colleges as critical to training workers to meet local workforce needs. 

“What we have seen here in the Lehigh Valley is that the community colleges can quickly pivot to design programs to meet the needs of employers, manufacturers, and the like, and it happens on a regular basis,” said Wild. “But, of course, community colleges need funding so that they can develop those partnerships that you spoke of.” 

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) inquired whether the Department of Labor has partnerships with HBCUs or MSIs to recruit and host registered apprenticeship programs. 

Sec. Walsh added, “The budget request that we're asking for here is $303 million for registered apprenticeships. And quite honestly, it's to expand, modernize, and diversify registered apprenticeships by investing in high quality youth and pre-apprenticeship programs, historically Black colleges, community colleges, organizations and community workforce development boards.” 

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) discussed the Job Corps Scholars Program, which allows Job Corps-eligible youth to enroll in CTE at community colleges to learn in-demand job skills. 

During the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sec. Walsh was asked by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) about ensuring additional agencies can get involved in registered apprenticeships. Walsh mentioned the German pre-apprenticeship model as an effective solution to involve automobile manufacturers in the apprenticeship pipeline and mentioned the Department’s Good Jobs Initiative. 

You can watch the full House committee hearing here and the full Senate committee hearing here.

Last week in Washington, both chambers of Congress were in session and largely focused on negotiating gun safety legislation, security for Supreme Court justices and employees and hearings on the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. However, several CTE-related items did see movement as well, including the confirmation of Dr. Amy Loyd as OCTAE Assistant Secretary and the passage of a bill to support CTE graduates in starting and being hired by small businesses. Both chambers will remain in session this week. Negotiations on the America COMPETES Act/USICA are also continuing. ACTE is closely monitoring them and will provide important updates as they come. In the meantime, here are some news and notes:

• Amy Loyd Confirmed as OCTAE Assistant Secretary: On June 8, the U.S. Senate voted 57-42 to confirm Dr. Amy Loyd as Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education in the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Loyd was nominated to this position in August of 2021 by President Biden, after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). With the confirmation vote, Dr. Loyd can now officially assume leadership of OCTAE, which oversees the Perkins Act and other federal CTE-related initiatives. Read more about Dr. Loyd’s confirmation here.

• Ask Members of Congress to Support CTE Provisions in the America COMPETES Act/USICA Conference Negotiations: If you reside in Arizona, New York, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Washington or California, your Members of Congress are in a key position to impact the conference negotiations, making it crucial that CTE advocates in these states weigh in now with these Members of Congress as the negotiations move to the final stages. Read more about the advocacy effort here.

• Secretary Cardona Discusses Funding & Career-Connected Learning Strategy: On June 7, Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona gave testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education regarding the fiscal year (FY) 2023 education budget request. In the hearing, Sen. Braun (R-IN) and Sen. Baldwin (D-WI) both inquired about the Department’s plans for CTE, including the need for more emphasis on high school CTE and the historic federal underinvestment in CTE programs. Read more here.

• Secretary Cardona Speech to Support the Teaching Profession: On June 9, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona gave a speech to elevate the teaching profession, in which the secretary mentioned CTE teachers as an area of need. You can watch the full speech here.

• Bill to Support CTE Graduates and Small Businesses Passes House: On June 9, the Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical Education Act, introduced by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), passed the House by a vote of 399 to 18. This bill directs Small Business Development Centers and Women's Business Centers to assist small businesses with hiring graduates from CTE programs. ACTE has endorsed this legislation.

• FY23 Appropriations Update: The House Appropriations Committee’s Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee announced plans to begin the Labor-HHS-Education Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations bill markup on June 23, followed by the full committee markup on June 30. These dates are subject to change according to the committee’s schedule. ACTE will be closely monitoring the markups and will provide important updates and advocacy alerts as needed.

The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association published a free, downloadable book that provides research findings on teacher and student safety training, school district safety policies, facility safety and accidents in CTE and STEM programs with the purpose of helping educators advocate for better safety practices. The authors studied educator responses from the 2020 Technology and Engineering Education – Facilities and Safety Survey to learn the following:

• About one-third of respondents did not receive any form of safety training in their undergraduate teacher education coursework.
• Only 32% of educators received safety training from their school district upon being hired.
• Over half of respondents were unsure about or stated their school district did not have an annual safety audit.
• While 57% of educators indicated their largest class had 25 or more students enrolled, only 26% said they had a facility large enough to hold this number of students.
• More than half of the teachers in this study reported that lab stations or workbenches were not wheelchair accessible.
• Around 80% of educators experienced one or more minor safety-related accidents in the 2019-2020 academic year, and 12% experienced one or more major accidents.
• Respondents reported student behavioral issues as one of the top causes of accidents.
• 24% of teachers reported not requiring student safety testing before conducting a hazardous activity or using a hazardous item.

The above is just a sampling of the wealth of findings included in this book, which also touches on findings about safe use of specific equipment such as table saws, soldering and welding tools, and 3D printers as well as data on specific injuries and the activities most associated with injuries. 

The report concludes with recommendations to provide a safer teaching and learning experience when facilitating CTE and STEM activities including developing a school district lab safety policy, providing mandatory teacher and student safety trainings, conducting annual safety inspections, sanitizing personal protective equipment, creating accessible workspaces for students with disabilities and ensuring proper air ventilation.

On June 8, the U.S. Senate voted 57-42 to confirm Dr. Amy Loyd as Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education in the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Loyd was nominated to this position in August of 2021 by President Biden, after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary within the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE). With the confirmation vote, Dr. Loyd can now officially assume leadership of OCTAE, which oversees the Perkins Act and other federal CTE-related initiatives.

Secretary of Education Cardona applauded the nomination, “I am thrilled by the Senate’s confirmation of Amy Loyd, whose expertise in the intersection between education and workforce development will make her an excellent assistant secretary for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education."

ACTE and Advance CTE jointly issued a statement of support as well:

“As key legislation and funding negotiations with implications for Career Technical Education (CTE) and workforce development persist in Congress, it is crucial for leaders at the intersection of education and work to have a seat at the table. Dr. Loyd’s confirmation as OCTAE Assistant Secretary provides the field with an exceptional advocate for equitable access to high-quality CTE and an experienced leader with a deep understanding of not only the needs of local, regional and state CTE leaders, but also historically marginalized communities through her work at JFF and the Cook Inlet Tribal Council in Alaska. Her leadership at OCTAE will be instrumental in preparing our nation’s workforce to obtain and advance in high-skill, high-wage and in-demand careers. We congratulate Assistant Secretary Loyd on her confirmation, and look forward to working with her to ensure federal policy fully leverages CTE programs and career pathways as high-quality, equitable avenues for each learner to achieve success in the jobs of the future.”

On June 7, Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona gave testimony to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education regarding the fiscal year (FY) 2023 education budget request. In the hearing, Sen. Braun (R-IN) and Sen. Baldwin (D-WI) both inquired about the Department’s plans for CTE, including the need for more emphasis on high school CTE and the historic federal underinvestment in CTE programs. Specifically, Sen. Baldwin highlighted that the Department of Education’s $200 million Career-Connected High Schools grant program proposal would only be awarded to 32 programs, leaving many states out entirely while existing programs, such as Perkins state grants, would be left level-funded.  

Secretary Cardona, who is a graduate of a technical high school, responded by agreeing that additional funding and support are needed to supplement this competitive grant initiative. He also spoke of his vision for career-connected learning: “[high school students] can go to a good, high-paying, high-skilled job because there's a good connection with our workforce partners. They can go to a two-year school to level-up on their skills, or they could go to a four-year school, but then those skills that they get should be transferable into high-paying jobs in the community that they live.”  

Additionally, the Department of Education hosted a virtual event on June 1 to discuss a new initiative, called “Pathways to Success”. Featured in the event were speeches from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo regarding the need to more deeply embed career-connected learning in the fabric of the country’s educational system. Other than the already-proposed Career-Connected High Schools grant program, however, they did not give any specifics of how this strategy will be implemented from a federal policy perspective.  

ACTE’s Public Policy Department will continue providing updates as they come and will be working with Congress and agency staff to ensure that ACTE’s members’ needs are heard throughout the process. For more questions, you may reach out to ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org). 

After House passage of the America COMPETES Act in February, House and Senate leadership began the formal process of resolving differences between America COMPETES and the Senate’s version of the legislation, known as the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). The America COMPETES Act contains several provisions with implications for CTE, most notably the expansion of Pell Grants to short-term programs through language similar to the JOBS Act.  

• However, the JOBS Act language is not currently included in the Senate version of the bill, making it a critical issue for the conference negotiations. There are several other CTE-related issues that we hope the conference committee considers as well. 

If you reside in Arizona, New York, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Washington or California, your Members of Congress are in a key position to impact the conference negotiations, making it crucial that CTE advocates in these states weigh in now with these Members of Congress as the negotiations move to the final stages. 

ACTION NEEDED: Contact your policymakers in the House and Senate to ask them to support the extension of Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality, short-term CTE programs and additional workforce development priorities during the conference negotiations for the America COMPETES Act/USICA. 

If you have a direct contact in your representative's or senator’s office, such as from a meeting with a staff member during NPS 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 congressional office. Please contact your senators and representatives today!