Traditionally, the August congressional recess period is a time when Members of Congress return to their states and districts to hold events and visit with constituents. These events provide an opportunity to get acquainted with your federal representatives, learn what policies and proposals they support and advocate for CTE. ACTE has compiled this guide to attending events with your policymakers during the August recess. 

Upcoming events with your policymakers can be found in several locations. Websites such as Town Hall Project provide lists of congressional events, meetings and town halls as they are scheduled and publicized. Alternatively, you can contact your federal policymakers’ offices via phone and ask when the next scheduled town hall meeting – either in-person, virtual, or telephone town hall – will be held. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been easier for policymakers to hold telephone town halls and virtual events. If the response is “none,” or something similar, express your disappointment and your hope that the policymaker will soon hold events to hear from their constituents and members of the CTE community. 

If your policymaker has not scheduled any upcoming constituent events or meetings, you can create your own event, invite the policymaker to attend and keep up pressure on them to act in ways that support CTE. A site visit to your school and a tour of your programs will provide a first-hand look for policymakers at the positive impacts of CTE on their states, districts and local communities. You can also use the recess time to schedule a meeting with your policymaker while they are back home in their district or state office. 

For more CTE advocacy resources, please visit ACTE's advocacy resources page. If you have any questions about advocating for CTE with federal policymakers, please contact Jori Houck, ACTE Media Relations and Advocacy Associate, at jhouck@acteonline.org.

Analyzing Pathways Data: The Strategic Data Project at Harvard University published a CTE Diagnostic toolkit which provides guidance and examples to postsecondary leaders about analyzing student progress and success in various CTE pathways. The toolkit offers proposed questions, sample data visualizations and summaries of analyses to conduct. It is structured around four topics: student completion, student progress, “gateway” courses (courses that prevent students from completing pathways), and credit accumulation. Additionally, it is accompanied by a technical guide that provides more detailed information about how to execute the examples featured in the toolkit.

Improving Pathways Programs: According to research featured in a brief by MDRC, community college career pathways programs can significantly increase credential completion and employment in targeted industries but may not improve earnings. Taking these findings into account, the brief offers several evidence-based strategies, as well as examples, that community colleges can employ to boost student success and economic mobility in career pathways programs. Some highlighted practices include integrating private sector training approaches, targeting family-supporting careers, providing comprehensive supports, and connecting students with employers and work-based learning experiences.

Measuring Beyond Completion: Recently, Strada Education Network released a report that integrates postsecondary student completion data with earnings and personal fulfillment data to provide insight into how postsecondary completion impacts students beyond graduation. Researchers used public data and data from Strada’s own surveys of postsecondary completers to reveal the following:

• About 58% of adults with an associate degree or higher earn at least 20% more than the median for a high school graduate and reported higher personal fulfillment through their education and training.
• Occupation is a strong predictor of earnings and personal fulfillment outcomes. For instance, completers employed in STEM, business and health care experience better outcomes compared to completers in service occupations.
• Higher levels of postsecondary attainment are associated with better economic and personal fulfillment outcomes; however, these results vary by race and gender.

Pell Grant Access and Completion: The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) released an analysis that provides information about Pell Grant recipient enrollments and completion rates at community colleges. Researchers gathered data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard and Pell Grant Volume reports and shared the following findings:

• About 2 million Pell Grant recipients attend community colleges, representing one third of all Pell Grant recipients.
• In 2020-21, 25% of all community college students received a Pell Grant. This statistic has been declining since the Great Recession, especially in recent years, largely due to decreased enrollment among low-income students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In 2020-21, the three-year Pell completion rate was 25%, which is more than double the rate from the early 2000s.

Wraparound Supports: A brief by the Hunt Institute describes how wraparound supports are critical to ensuring that an increasingly diverse postsecondary population has the necessary resources to complete a postsecondary education. The brief outlines common barriers students may face when navigating, financing and prioritizing postsecondary education and accessing socioemotional health services. Additionally, the brief provides examples of innovative state- and local-level practices to address each barrier.

There was a flurry of activity as Congress prepared to adjourn for it the annual August congressional recess. On August 7, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark piece of legislation focused on health care, the environment and tax policy. After a deal was struck between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the bill was passed through a complex procedure called budget reconciliation, which only requires a simple majority of the Senate to pass. It passed along party lines, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie, 51-50. It is expected that the House will pass the bill without changes on August 12, sending it to President Biden for his signature in time for Members of Congress to depart Washington D.C. until September.  

While this bill was greatly scaled down from the earlier proposals of the Build Back Better Act, it represents the largest investment combating climate change in U. S. history and the most significant changes to health care since the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Unfortunately, the workforce and education provisions of Build Back Better were stripped from the Inflation Reduction Act in order to receive the support of all 50 Democrats in the Senate. Instead, the bill will use taxes on corporations and the wealthy to target spending to improving domestic energy security, provide rebates for the purchase of electric vehicles, extend ACA subsidies, allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and more. The bill will also use this new revenue to reduce the federal deficit by an estimated $306 billion.  

On August 9, President Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at providing substantial investments for domestic microchip production and innovation, cybersecurity and other science-related provisions. The bill attempts to boost competitiveness with China in key emerging technology sectors while improving national security. Many of the education and workforce provisions contained in this bill’s predecessors, the America COMPETES Act and United States Innovation and Competition Act, were not included in the final bill. However, the bill did authorize funding for some programs that could be relevant to CTE through the National Science Foundation. ACTE will provide further updates as new information is revealed about these funding opportunities.  

Lastly, House Republicans introduced a proposal to reform federal student loan programs, called the Responsible Education Assistance through Loan (REAL) Reforms Act. Importantly, the bill proposes an alternative short-term Pell expansion to the JOBS Act. Among several differences, this version would require programs to prove that graduates attain a growth in earnings exceeding the total cost of the program within two years. It is not expected move this calendar year; however, this may be a critical starting point for negotiations should Republicans control the House next year.  

Looking forward to the remainder of the year, Congress will be fairly preoccupied with midterm elections until early November, when the fate of the control of the 118th Congress is determined. In September, it is expected that they will pass a continuing resolution, or an extension of the current federal budget, to give them more time to negotiate fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations bills without risking a government shutdown. While the House and Senate respectively proposed $45million and $60 million increases to the Perkins Basic State Grant, it is unlikely that they will release any updated or negotiated bills until at least mid-November.  

While this will likely be the last congressional update until elected officials return to Washington D.C. after Labor Day, ACTE will be monitoring other developments from the White House and federal agencies to keep you abreast of anything impacting the CTE community. Should you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org).  

Congress has left Washington for the annual August congressional recess, following Senate completion of a rare weekend session to negotiate and advance a budget reconciliation package with climate change and health care proposals. Lawmakers also focused on passing veterans’ health care legislation and final passage of the CHIPS Act during the past two weeks. The House may return from recess as soon as August 12 to vote on the Senate’s budget reconciliation package, but both chambers will then be in recess until after Labor Day. For now, Members of Congress are focused on holding events in their states and districts, which provides an excellent opportunity for you to engage with your representatives about supporting CTE! As we await the return of lawmakers to Washington, here are some news and notes:

• Bobby Scott Tours Virginia Workforce Development Program: On August 3, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) toured the Peninsula Workforce Development Center on the campus of Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC) to meet with employers and job seekers and announce the award of $11 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Good Jobs Challenge. Read more about the visit here.
• President Biden Signs CHIPS Act into Law: On August 2, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS Act) into law, allocating $280 billion in funding and tax incentives to boost domestic production and innovation in the semiconductor industry and broader science and technology-related industries. Read more about the bill here.

• Senate Releases FY23 Appropriations Bills: The Senate Committee on Appropriations has released its first drafts of its fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations proposals, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill. Although the bill gives a more modest increase to education funding overall than the House bill and the President’s request, it proposes a $60M increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant.

• House Education and Labor Committee Holds Child Nutrition Bill Markup: On July 27, the House Committee on Education and Labor advanced the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act on a 27-20 vote. The bill would reauthorize and update federal child nutrition programs by investing in school meal programs, modernizing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), addressing food insecurity during the summer, improving school meal capacity and sustainability and strengthening the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

• Department of Commerce Announces Good Jobs Challenge Winners: On August 3, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced grant awards to 32 workforce training partnerships across the country as part of the $500 million Good Jobs Challenge funded by the American Rescue Plan. The Good Jobs Challenge seeks to increase the supply of trained workers and help workers secure jobs in 15 key industries that are essential to U.S. supply chains, global competitiveness and regional development. You can read the complete list of award winners here.

• Nasser Paydar Confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education: On August 4, Dr. Nasser Paydar was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the Department of Education. Dr. Paydar is the former chancellor emeritus of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Read more from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona here.

• National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Releases Data on Student Recovery: The Department of Education’s NCES has released new data about school responses to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2021-22 school year and supports available to students. Read more about the data here.

• Department of Education Hosts Career Pathways Summit: On August 4, the Department of Education held a webinar to discuss current dual enrollment state policy and practice, the future of dual enrollment and the role of federal policy.

• Secretary of Commerce Raimondo, Secretary of Labor Walsh Launch Job Quality Toolkit: The Department of Commerce has launched the Job Quality Toolkit, which provides strategies and actions to help small-and-medium-sized organizations recruit and retain a high-performing workforce. The Toolkit’s strategies are organized around eight drivers, or essential elements, of a good job: Recruitment & Hiring; Benefits; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessibility (DEIA); Empowerment & Representation; Job Security & Working Conditions; Organizational Culture; Pay; and Skills & Career Advancement. Read more about the toolkit here.

• Department of Education Releases Draft Higher Ed Rules: On July 28, the Department of Education published draft regulations to implement several changes to federal financial aid programs, including the “90/10” rule and rules for prison education programs. The draft regulations can be viewed in the federal register and public comments are due on August 26, 2022.

On August 3, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) toured the Peninsula Workforce Development Center on the campus of Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC) to meet with employers and job seekers and announce the award of $11 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Good Jobs Challenge. 

The funding will allow the Hampton Roads Workforce Council to expand training offerings and recruit more students from underserved communities, including at least 750 Virginians to new maritime employment opportunities. 

“For years, the Hampton Roads Workforce Council has been a leader in helping workers gain the basic skills they need for new jobs. Now, through this $11 million investment, the Hampton Roads Workforce Council will be able to move beyond the currently available entry-level programs and provide students with the advanced skills they need to gain higher-paying, long-term careers,” said Rep. Scott. 

You can view Tweets from Rep. Scott’s visit here, and see the full list of winners from the Good Jobs Challenge here.

On August 9, President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act (CHIPS Act) into law, allocating $280 billion in funding and tax incentives to boost domestic production and innovation in the semiconductor industry and broader science and technology-related industries. This bipartisan bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 64-33, aims to make the United States more competitive with China in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) while addressing national security related to these emerging technologies. Passage of the bill was a result of months of negotiation after the House passed the America COMPETES Act (COMPETES) in February and the Senate passed the United States Innovation and Competitiveness Act (USICA) last summer.  

Despite the original COMPETES bill containing language similar to the JOBS Act to expand the Pell grant to short-term certificate programs, lawmakers stripped the CHIPS Act of any provisions directly related to the Department of Education. It does, however, provide $81 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to address STEM education, workforce development and research. Additionally, it authorizes $2.23 for Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers to provide workforce development and other services for small to medium sized advanced manufacturers, and $200 million for a CHIPS for America Workforce and Education Fund to promote growth of the semiconductor workforce. 

ACTE is continuing to analyze the provisions in the bill and will update you with any details that may directly impact CTE programs and learners. If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org). 

On July 28, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released its first drafts of its fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations proposals, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill. Although the bill gives a more modest increase to education funding overall than the House bill and the President’s request, it proposes a $60M increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant. While ACTE continues to advocate for a more robust $200M increase that will better meet the needs of programs and learners, this proposal would provide critically needed funding after a year of severe inflation and continued pandemic recovery.  

Overall, the Senate bill would give the Department of Education an 11% increase in FY23. Similar to the House bill, it proposes:  

• 15% increase to ESSA Title I formula grants to local education agencies, 
• $500 increase to the maximum Pell grant award 
• 5% increase to ESSA Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment state grants 
• 27% increase for Apprenticeship Expansion Grants 
• 5% increase for Adult Education 

There are some key differences between this bill and its counterpart in the House. For example, the Senate bill does not provide any funding increases for the Strengthening Community College Training Grants. It also proposes smaller increases for Teacher Quality Partnership grants and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state grants, 27% and 2%, respectively.  

There is unlikely to be any more action taken in the appropriations process before August recess, however, Congress will likely need to pass a continuing resolution to extend the FY22 budget until after the midterm elections this November. The elections will provide clarity as to which party will control each chamber – an outcome that will greatly impact whether a deal will be struck on final bills before the end of the calendar year. ACTE will continue to monitor these negotiations and provide any updates the occur. If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Manager of Government Relations, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org).