On November 8, voters will take to the polls to determine the new look of the next Congress by casting their votes for 34 Senate and all 435 House seats. Currently, Democrats hold a slim majority in both the House and Senate, making this election highly consequential in terms of the potential for swings of party control in each chamber. Retirements will also play a large factor in the future composition of the next Congress – 32 House members (20 Democrats and 12 Republicans) and 6 Senators (5 Republicans and 1 Democrat) are not running for reelection this year. 

These retirements will not only influence the balance of power, but they also will cause a significant shift in representation on the education and appropriations committees that directly impact CTE. For example, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), is retiring. He is likely to be replaced by either Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) or Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). The spot for top Democrat on the HELP committee is also up for grabs, as Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the current HELP Committee chair is slated to replace retiring Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) as chair or ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, depending on the party that controls the Senate. It is expected that Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) will then take Sen. Murray’s place leading the HELP Committee Democrats.  

In addition to new Democratic leadership on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Republican leadership on the committee will also experience changes due to retirements. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), the top Republican on the full committee, and Sen. Roy Blunt, the top Republican on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, are both retiring. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is next in line to replace Sen. Shelby based on seniority, while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is the most senior Republican in line to replace Sen. Blunt. That said, all committee assignments and leadership positions are subject to a variety of factors and are not always based on seniority.  

The bipartisan congressional CTE Caucuses will also suffer losses due to retirements from longtime CTE advocates Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI). ACTE is grateful for their valuable contributions to the CTE community and wishes them all the best in their future endeavors. Moving forward, each caucus will soon choose replacements to serve as co-chairs. We will keep you updated with more information as it becomes available. Overall, the House CTE Caucus will lose 11 members due to retirement, making it critical for ACTE members to recruit their newly elected Members of Congress to join. 

Starting next week, ACTE’s Election Watch 2022 will preview federal policy issues critical to the community that may be impacted by this year’s midterm elections. If you have any questions, please reach out to ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Zach Curtis (zcurtis@acteonline.org).  

COVID-19 Relief Spending: Recently, FutureEd analyzed COVID-19 relief spending plans from a nationwide sample of 5,000 K-12 school districts and charter organizations and conducted additional research with the 100 largest K-12 school districts in the United States about their plans for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) aid. The following summarize key trends from the report on COVID-19 relief spending plans among K-12 districts:

• Staff numbers: The majority of school districts in the national sample and the largest districts plan to use funds to hire new teachers and pay teachers and other staff.
• Recruitment and retention: Around 20% of school districts in the national sample and 47% of the largest districts are using ESSER funds to recruit and retain teachers.
• Financial incentives: Roughly 33% of the largest districts are using funds for additional pay and stipends to help with teacher retention, and 10% of districts in the sample are offering retention bonuses.
• More hours: One-third of the largest districts are dedicating relief funding to pay teachers a stipend for working additional hours.
• Professional development: About 43% of school districts in the national sample plan to use relief funding for professional development.

Post-Pandemic Practitioner Reflections: Last month, the Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) released the latest issue in their peer-reviewed, practitioner-focused themed journal on adult education. This issue features nine articles with reflections from and innovations used by adult education practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some topics the articles discuss include serving English learners, developing statewide collaboration, devising innovative learning strategies for incarcerated learners and using remote learning to expand access to adult education.

Online Course Enrollment & Completion: A report published by the University of Florida studied the impact of online course enrollment on community college students’ degree completion, with an emphasis on outcomes among traditionally underserved student groups. The author examined 2009-19 transcript data from a high-enrollment community college and found that students who enrolled in some, but not all, online courses were more likely to earn their associate degree and/or bachelor’s degree. In contrast, students who enrolled in all online courses were less likely to earn a degree. Both trends held true for Black, Hispanic and low-income student groups.

Online Learner Perspectives: In the spring of 2022, Wiley University Services surveyed 2,500 high school graduates nationwide that had been enrolled, were currently enrolled or planned to enroll in a fully online undergraduate or graduate degree or certificate program in the next 12 months to better understand online learners’ motivations, preferences and outcomes. The following highlight key findings from the report:

• One in three respondents hadn’t considered an online program until the COVID-19 pandemic, with most of these respondents being young adults.
• Online learners’ top motivations to apply to an online program included affordability (59%), program completion time (33%) and accreditation (32%).
• Although most online learners prefer asynchronous and fully online programs, of the 18% of online learners who must complete lab work for their program of study, the majority stated that they would prefer to complete these courses in person.
• About 36% of current online learners and recent graduates reported a salary increase, 26% began a new job, 22% switched careers, 20% were promoted, 19% started their careers and 18% have more responsibilities at work.
• About 60% of online learners are open to pursuing an alternative credential, including trade credentials, industry certifications and non-credit options such as micro-credentials and digital badges.

ACTE’s recently updated “What is a Credential?” fact sheet defines different types of credentials, including alternative credentials, to help CTE advocates and stakeholders better understand the credential landscape.

This November, most voters will have the opportunity to vote on state ballot measures. State ballot measures are important components of the voting process in which citizens are provided the opportunity to voice their input on various legislation topics, including education. Typically, ballot measures are referendums or ballot initiatives, allowing voters to propose new state-level legislation or uphold or repeal a law that passed the state legislature. Gathered using the Statewide Ballot Measures Database by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the following outline some of the education-related state ballot measures that will be determined by voters in November:

• Arizona: Allows undocumented Arizona high school graduates to receive in-state university and community college tuition.
• California: Requires funding for K-12 art and music education.
• Colorado: Reduces caps for income tax deductions and the income threshold to which they apply to create and fund the Healthy School Meals for All Program.
• Florida: Authorizes the state legislature to provide an additional homestead property tax exemption on $50,000 of assessed value on property owned by certain public service workers, which includes teachers.
• Idaho: An advisory question that gauges citizen support for the passage of House Bill 1, which allocates $410 million of the state’s sales tax to the public school income fund and in-demand careers fund, as well as makes changes to income and corporate tax rates.
• Massachusetts: Creates a 4% tax on incomes that exceed $1 million for education and transportation purposes, which includes K-12 schools, CTE and adult education.
• New Mexico: Has a variety of ballot measures related to education including:
  • Issues over $215 million in bonds for public higher education institutions, special public schools and tribal schools.
  • Issues over $19 million to bonds for public libraries.
  • Dedicates funds devoted to early childhood programs from the Land Grant Permanent Fund.
• West Virginia: Requires the state’s board of education to submit any proposed rules to the legislature to approve, amend or reject.

The list above demonstrates the impact state ballot measures can have on education and CTE programs during the November 2022 election. ACTE will continue to monitor the 2022 elections and their implications on CTE and education as part of our coverage on the CTE Policy Watch Blog.

To check your voter registration, register to vote, or learn more about your state’s voting policies, visit Nonprofit Vote.

Recently, ACTE released an updated “STEM is CTE” fact sheet to describe how CTE is developing students’ science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills and preparing students to enter the STEM workforce.

CTE programs across the 16 Career Clusters® enable students to master STEM skills, such as computational thinking, that are increasingly required for both STEM jobs and for jobs not classified as STEM. CTE students also earn STEM industry credentials most requested in job as well as  educational credentials that allow them to pursue high-wage STEM careers in areas like data science, cybersecurity and data center operations.

We encourage ACTE members and CTE advocates to share this resource with students and families, education and workforce leaders, and policymakers to improve the public’s understanding of the connection between and the benefits of STEM and CTE.

Relatedly, this past week, the U.S. Department of Education announced their new “YOU Belong in STEM” initiative. This initiative will focus on improving student outcomes in STEM by promoting positive conditions for learning and development, such as by increasing students’ sense of belonging in the STEM classroom. In the coming weeks, the Department will provide more information related to guidance and technical assistance to elevate STEM teaching and learning.

Focus in DC continues to remain on the election as lawmakers are adjourned until after November 8. When they return, lawmakers are expected to continue work on fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations packages and a potential tax bill negotiation during the “lame-duck” congressional session. This is a great time to review our advocacy toolkit resources and equip yourself with the tools you need to effectively advocate for CTE with policymakers, your community, the media and other stakeholders. We will soon have a new crop of legislators for the 118th Congress, which presents an opportunity to inform them about CTE and encourage their support! We will be covering the election and what it means for CTE over the next few weeks. In the meantime, ACTE will keep you updated on any key developments. Here are some news and notes:

• Department of Education Student Loan Forgiveness Beta Application Opens: On October 15, the Department of Education’s student loan forgiveness application opened for a beta release. Those who are eligible for forgiveness may begin submitting the application now. If you can’t access the beta application at first, try again later – the Department notes the application may be down at times. You can find the beta application here.

• Secretary of Education Cardona, Secretary of Labor Walsh Visit Boston Technology Institute: On October 15, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh visited Ben Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology in Boston to discuss job training programs in emerging industries, such as wind technology, autonomous vehicles and solar energy. Learn more about the visit here.

• Department of Education Launches “YOU Belong in STEM” Initiative: On October 12, the Department of Education launched “YOU Belong in STEM,” an initiative to galvanize the broad STEM education ecosystem to implement and scale equitable and high-quality STEM education for all young people from Pre-K to higher education. The Department plans to provide guidance and other technical assistance to elevate STEM teaching and learning. You can learn more about the initiative here.

• Illinois ACTE Media Tour Makes Final Stops at Alton, Collinsville Schools: On October 6, the 2022 Illinois ACTE Media Tour visited Collinsville Area Career Center and Alton High School to get a look at the programs offered by the two schools. Read more about the visit to Alton and Collinsville here.

• Illinois ACTE Media Tour Makes Stops in Mount Vernon and Salem, Illinois: On October 5, the Illinois ACTE media tour continued to Mount Vernon Township High School and Salem High School. Read more about the Mount Vernon and Salem stops here.

On October 6, the 2022 Illinois ACTE Media Tour visited Collinsville Area Career Center and Alton High School to get a look at the programs offered by the two schools.

Programs on display at Collinsville included automotive technology, autobody repair, construction, culinary arts, criminal justice, cybersecurity, early childhood, education, engineering, industrial electronics, health science, CNA, machining and welding.

Several key opportunities for the students were highlighted. From start to finish, Collinsville construction students are building a house that will be placed on the market. It is a single-level home that will include modern amenities. In the automotive technology program, local businesses Ranken, Ford and Auffenberg provide guidance and industry-standard equipment that prepares students to work in their local automotive shops and dealerships. Illinois State Representative Katie Stuart and State Senator Kris Tharp were in attendance to view the programs. Both representatives shared that they learned a lot about CTE and career pathways after their visit.

Alton CTE programs showcased during the tour included agriculture, food, and natural resources, architecture and engineering, arts, audio/video technology and graphic design, automotive technology, business management and administration, computer networking and programming, construction, culinary, textiles, early childhood education and welding.

The top-notch welding facilities are one of the largest areas in the school, allowing the students to practice skills in a similar space to a professional welding shop. Large drafting tables and construction equipment are housed in the lab next door. The school’s outdoor greenhouse produces plants that students care for daily. A unique feature of Alton High School is their student-operated radio station, which broadcasts daily and can be heard across Southern Illinois. In addition, Alton boasts a strong environment for CTSOs – Alton's FCCLA chapter is the largest in the state of Illinois.

At Alton High School, Assistant Principal and CTE Director Mike Brey led the tour alongside Illinois State Representative Amy Elik and Illinois Board of Education officials. Kaleb Smith, CTE Director for Madison County, urged more industry partners to become involved with the county’s CTE programs through donations or helping to educate students about career opportunities available to them.

Photos from the tour are available here.

On October 4, the Illinois ACTE media tour continued to Mount Vernon Township High School and Salem High School.

Mount Vernon Township students benefit from a variety of cutting-edge programs. For example, Mount Vernon Township Fire Department equipment is used to ensure the students are fully trained with the tools they need to become skilled and safe firefighters. This includes everything from flame-resistant gear to the use of a full-size ladder truck to learn about aerial rescues. Robotics students build fully operational robots with digital screens and sponsor logos that they will use to compete in national and regional robotics competitions. The early childhood program prepares students for classroom teaching experiences, allowing them to step into the childcare workforce as soon as they graduate from high school. In each program, the importance of industry partnerships was discussed.

Salem High School programs on display included agriculture, automotive mechanics, business, construction, family and consumer sciences, health, industrial technology and manufacturing. The programs are very popular with students. For example, Salem’s Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program has seen its most extensive growth in recent years despite the challenges of the pandemic. During the tour, officials from Kaskaskia College also discussed their partnerships with Salem’s programs and their support of dual credit programs. Faculty at Salem shared their desire to give back to their communities through teaching at the high school.

Day three of the tour included Mount Vernon CTE Director Kara Andrews, Salem Mayor Nic Farley, Salem Principal John Boles, Madison County CTE Director Dwain Baldridge and Illinois Board of Education representatives. Salem High School school board officials, Illinois Board of Education officials and city council members from Salem also attended.

All the attendees at the tour stops expressed the strong community and local industry support for CTE and their commitment to supporting CTE for all learners while boosting community and student awareness of CTE.

Pictures from the tour can be found here.