After months of negotiations and revisions, President Trump signed the final reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, over the July 4th weekend. The final bill included several significant provisions for education. This series will take a closer look at several of these provisions, starting with the expansion of Pell Grant eligibility for short-term training programs, a long-standing priority for ACTE.

Under the new law, students will be able to use Pell Grants for programs between eight and 15 weeks, covering 150 to 599 clock hours of instruction. This is a major shift aimed at making workforce training more affordable and accessible for students who need to quickly upskill or reskill. The total amount of funding available to students through these “Workforce Pell” grants will be prorated based on the number of clock hours, credits or weeks of instruction.

To be eligible for short-term Pell, a program must align with high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations and must lead to a recognized postsecondary credential, in most cases that is stackable and portable across more than one employer. The program must also provide credit toward a related certificate or degree program, and have been offered for at least one year prior to becoming Pell eligible.

Several quantitative requirements are also included for eligibility, including that the program must have a completion rate of at least 70% within 150% of the normal time to completion,  have a job placement rate of at east 70% measured 180 days after completion, and have costs that do not exceed the median value-added earnings of graduates (determined by comparing median wages after three years and 150% of the federal poverty line). Both the Governor of a state and the Department of Education will play a role in approving programs for short-term Pell.

The final version of Short-Term Pell is narrower than earlier drafts. The original proposal would have extended eligibility to unaccredited programs, but the Senate parliamentarian ruled that this provision violated reconciliation rules. Lawmakers ultimately removed that language to ensure the bill’s compliance.  Non-credit programs are not specifically excluded from the bill, but  the Department of Education will have to decide whether they can demonstrate the necessary equivalency to qualify for funding.

Implementation of Workforce Pell is slated for July 1, 2026, aligning with the 2026–2027 academic year. ACTE will provide more guidance in the coming months to ensure a smooth rollout for our members as the implementation begins.

ACTE will continue to post about the various provisions included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this more in-depth, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org).

Bridging the Middle-skills Gap: A report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) examines the gaps between high-paying jobs that require postsecondary credentials such as certificates and associate degrees, categorized in the literature as high-paying middle-skills jobs, and the projected size of the middle-skills workforce. CEW further defines high-paying middle-skills jobs as ones where early-career workers have annual earnings above $55,000 and mid-career workers have median annual earnings of $83,300.

The researchers analyzed national education and workforce data and made several findings: 

• Annually, the nation faces a shortage of nearly 712,000 certificates and associate degrees aligned with high-paying middle-skills jobs in four occupational groups: skilled trades, management, STEM and protective services. These shortages are expected to persist until at least 2032. 
• Health care is the only occupational group not projected to face shortages of certificates and associate degrees aligned with high-paying middle-skills jobs. 
• Men, Asian and white individuals are more likely to earn high-paying middle-skills credentials compared to women, Black and Hispanic individuals. In addition, white men hold more high-paying middle-skills jobs in the skilled trades, management, STEM and protective services occupational groups, while white women hold more of these jobs in the health care group. 

Examining the NAF Academy: An article by Edward C. Fletcher Jr., In Heok Lee, Tong Xing Tan and Gen Li in Innovative Higher Education studied the college matriculation rates of students who attended a National Academy Foundation (NAF) career academy.  

The researchers analyzed data from the 2019 graduates of over 400 NAF academies nationwide and found that NAF academy students who engaged in some combination of NAF course completion, internships and/or dual enrollment were significantly more likely to matriculate into college compared to NAF academy students who did not participate in those activities. Male, white and Asian NAF students were more likely to matriculate into college than other racial/ethnic groups, and students enrolled in engineering or finance-focused academies were more likely to matriculate into college than students in hospitality-focused academies.  

The researchers also examined the levels of stress in communities surrounding the academies (stress related to economic, education, health, housing and crime-related issues) and found that students who matriculated into college attended academies in communities with lower stress levels than students who did not matriculate into college. 

Making Career Readiness Count: A report from Advance CTE and the College in High School Alliance examines how states have developed and implemented career-focused indicators in their state and federal accountability systems.  

The analysis found that, as of 2024, 43 states include at least one career-focused indicator in their state or federal accountability system. This represents a slight increase from 2019 and a substantial increase from 2014. Indicators that states utilize the most are dual enrollment success (32), industry-recognized credential attainment (26), achievement on an academic career readiness assessment (21), CTE completion (21) and experiential/work-based learning (16). Of the 43 states that use a career-focused indicator, 35 publicly report college and career readiness data but only 13 disaggregate that data for each indicator in their accountability systems.  

Postsecondary Persistence and Retention: The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released new data on the rates of persistence (i.e., remaining enrolled at any institution) and retention (i.e., remaining enrolled at their starting institution) for beginning postsecondary students, tracking persistence and retention in the students’ first spring and second fall in college. Major takeaways from the data include: 

• Among students who entered postsecondary education in fall 2023, the national persistence rate for fall 2024 was 77.6% and the national retention rate was 69.5%. These represent slight increases compared to the fall 2022 cohort. 
• While public and private four-year institutions saw increased persistence and retention rates for both first spring and second fall, community colleges held steady for first spring but saw small declines in second fall. 
• Trades-related certificate programs, such as precision production and construction, made up four of the top five certificate programs with the highest second fall persistence rates.  
• Part-time students fell far behind full-time students for both persistence and retention. 
• Younger students (aged 20 or below) were more likely to persist and be retained than older students.  
• Hispanic, Black and Native American students have retention rates lower than the national average and have mixed persistence rates.  

Almost all attention in Congress this week was focused on the budget reconciliation bill, which was passed by the Senate on July 1 and then sent back to the House for final passage. After a very long vote, the House passed the bill 218-214 on July 3 and the President signed it into law on July 4. While most of the debate was focused on Medicaid and tax changes, the final bill includes a number of provisions impacting postsecondary education, including student loan changes, new accountability indicators for colleges, and an expansion of short-term Pell. There are also new school-voucher provisions on the K-12 side. We’ll have full analysis of each of these areas over the next week. The House will now be in recess for a week due to the extended session. In other news this week:

• Department of Education (ED) Withholds Approximately $7 Billion from States: On July 1, ED was scheduled to release FY 2025 formula grant funding to states. However, despite statutory requirements related to this funding, grants were not released for adult education and several programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act, totaling almost $7 billion to states. While Perkins funds were released, many schools use the withheld funds to support CTE teachers and students as well. The Committee for Education Funding, of which ACTE is a member, sent a letter to Congress urging them to weigh in to ensure funds are distributed.
• ED Restores Access to Some COVID Funds: The Department of Education sent a letter to states and issued a new FAQ document announcing that they were returning to the original COVID-related funding extension process. This now allows extensions of some COVID-related Education Stabilization Fund spending in all states to create uniformity in how states were treated considering ongoing litigation.
• Department of Labor (DOL) Awards Apprenticeship State Grants: On June 30, DOL awarded approximately $84 million in grants to all 50 states to expand Registered Apprenticeships. This funding was from the State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula and you can view how much each state received at the link above.
• ED Wraps Up Negotiated Rulemaking Session: From June 30-July 2, the ED held a session discussing potential changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The panel discussed changes to the definition of a qualifying employer. While no consensus was reached, the discussions will be used to inform draft regulatory changes that will be published in the federal register for public comment.
• Private Sector Orgs Sign White House Pledge to Invest in AI: On June 30, the White House released a list of almost 70 organizations and companies that have signed a pledge to “provide resources that foster early interest in AI technology, promote AI literacy and proficiency, and enable comprehensive AI training for educators.” The pledge supports the Administration’s priority to establish public-private partnerships in this space.

This week, the Senate passed its budget reconciliation bill in a 50-50 vote. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Rand Paul (R-KY) joined all Senate Democrats in opposing the bill. Vice President J.D. Vance served as the tie-breaking vote.

This vote came after an intensive review from the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. The Senate Parliamentarian reviews every provision to ensure it complies with the Byrd Rule, which is named after former Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV). The Byrd Rule is designed to keep unrelated measures out of budget reconciliation bills. Under this rule, provisions can be removed if they don’t directly impact federal spending or revenue, if their budgetary effect is considered “merely incidental,” or if they increase the deficit beyond the timeframe set by the budget resolution.

During this review, the parliamentarian initially ruled that the provisions on workforce Pell and private school vouchers did violate the Byrd Rule. In response, the Senate Republicans slimmed down these provisions to ensure that they were compliant with the Byrd Rule.

Initially, the parliamentarian ruled that the expansion of Pell Grant access violated the Byrd Rule because of the provision that gave access to unaccredited programs. Lawmakers reinserted the section and removed the ability for unaccredited programs to be eligible for Pell Grants.

Additionally, the parliamentarian ruled that the provision creating a $5,000 tax for K-12 private school vouchers violated the Byrd Rule. The revised bill language limits the credit to states that currently authorize Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO) and makes a few other changes.

The bill now moves back to the House where lawmakers will either vote on the Senate bill, amend the bill and send it back to the Senate, or move to a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two chambers.

ACTE will continue to monitor the progress of the budget reconciliation process and provide regular updates to our membership. If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org).

This week, Congress continued work on the budget reconciliation package following the Senate Parliamentarian’s rulings on several relevant provisions. Meanwhile, several Trump Administration nominees for the Department of Education (ED) and Department of Labor (DOL) were advanced by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Keep reading for details! 

• Senate HELP Committee Advances Education and Labor Nominees: The Senate HELP Committee voted this week to advance eight Trump Administration nominees at ED and DOL and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  This includes Penny Schwinn, who has been nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of Education. 

• Parliamentarian Rules on Key Education Provisions: This week, the Senate Parliamentarian made several rulings on education provisions lawmakers are hoping to include in the final reconciliation package, including provisions for the expansion of Pell Grant access for short-term job training programs. This is a very fluid situation as the bill moves forward.  

• Supreme Court Upholds Universal Funding Mechanism in Federal Communication Commission (FCC) v. Consumers’ Research: In a decision on the FCC v Consumers’ Research case, the Supreme Court voted to uphold the constitutionality of the Universal Service Funding Mechanism. This ensures the continued operation of the E-Rate program, which provides support for broadband access and Wi-Fi connectivity in schools.  

• Senate Appropriations Committee Holds Hearing on President’s Rescission Request: The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the President’s Rescission Request, which would rescind $9.4 billion in enacted funding in FY 2025. While most of the funding in the current recission package is related to foreign aid and public broadcasting, this has the potential to set a precedent for the recission of other funding.   

Monday, June 30 Update: Over the weekend, changes were constantly being made to the reconciliation bill, and versions of short-term Pell and school voucher tax credits were reinserted. The situation is still very fluid, so we'll have more updates as the text of the bill is finalized in the Senate. 

This week, the Senate Parliamentarian made a number of rulings on education provisions lawmakers are hoping to include in the final reconciliation package.

When the Senate takes up a budget reconciliation bill, the Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, reviews all provisions to ensure that it complies with the Byrd Rule, a process commonly known as the “Byrd Bath.” The Byrd Rule, named after former Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), aims to prevent extraneous measures from being included in reconciliation bills. Under the Byrd Rule, provisions can be struck if they do not affect federal spending or revenue, if their impact is "merely incidental" budgetary goals, or if they increase the deficit outside the time period covered by the budget resolution. A senator can raise a point of order to challenge such provisions, but it takes 60 votes to override it.

During this Byrd Bath, the parliamentarian made several rulings on the various education provisions included in the text the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) submitted for consideration.

Most notably, she ruled that the expansion of Pell Grant access for short-term training programs be subject to the 60-vote threshold because of the provision that gave access to unaccredited programs and for-profit institutions. As of now, it is not known if lawmakers will reinsert a slimmed down provision that does not include unaccredited programs and for-profit institutions.

The parliamentarian also ruled that the changes to student loan repayments are in violation of the Byrd Rule. This provision would limit repayment options to the standard plan with fixed payments (over 10-25 years) or a new income-based repayment plan.

In addition to the HELP rulings, the parliamentarian also ruled on a key provision in the Senate Finance Committee bill. She ruled that the creation of $5,000 tax credit for K-12 private school vouchers violates the Byrd Rule.

The parliamentarian is still set to rule on many other provisions, including provisions that would permanently restrict the Secretary of Education from issuing regulations that are “economically significant,” meaning their annual effect on the economy is at least $100 million or they “adversely” affect the economy. The Byrd Bath process must be completed before the Senate can begin consideration of the legislation.

ACTE will continue to monitor the progress of the budget reconciliation process and provide regular updates to our membership. If you have any questions, please contact ACTE’s Government Relations Manager, Jimmy Koch (jkoch@acteonline.org).

Who takes High-earning CTE Pathways?: A report from the Career and Technical Education Policy Exchange examines which students enroll in high-earning CTE pathways.

The researchers analyzed data on CTE concentrators from five school districts across the country to find that gender is the strongest predictor of earnings potential. Across all five school districts, female CTE students were more likely to enroll in Career Clusters associated with lower earnings such as Education & Training and Human Services as well as the higher earning Health Science Cluster. Meanwhile, male students were more represented in high-paying Clusters such as IT, STEM and Finance. 

Smaller but noteworthy differences were also found between racial/ethnic groups. Black and Hispanic CTE students tend to enroll in Clusters that are associated with slightly lower earnings than white students, but the researchers noted that these gaps are much smaller than the national pay gaps between Black, Hispanic and white workers. CTE students from low-income households enroll in Clusters with similar wages compared to high-income students, and differences by disability status were mixed. 

Some College, No Credential Outcomes: A report and data dashboard from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center examines the current population of some college, no credential (SCNC) individuals. Major takeaways from the report include: 

• At the start of the 2023-24 academic year, the total SCNC population under 65 years of age was 37.5 million, a 2.2% increase from the previous year. 
• Most institutions saw reductions in the number of students leaving postsecondary education; notably, community colleges saw a 10.7% reduction in the number of stopouts compared to the previous year. 
• More than one million SCNC students re-enrolled in postsecondary education in 2023-24, and the share of re-enrollees who earned a credential in their first year of re-enrollment increased by 4.7%.  
• Community colleges are the primary destination for returning SCNC students, with nearly three in five re-enrolling in a community college. 
• Approximately one-quarter of SCNC credential earners attained a credential without re-enrolling, possibly owing to state/institutional policies aimed at awarding credentials to learners who had previously stopped out. 
• Although white and Asian students earned credentials at higher rates compared to other SCNC re-enrollees, all racial/ethnic groups saw gains in re-enrollment and credential attainment. 

Gen Z’s Limited Awareness of Non-college Pathways: A report from Gallup, the Walton Family Foundation and Jobs for the Future surveyed over 1,900 Gen Z high school students and their parents/guardians as well as adults nationwide to better understand Gen Z’s experiences and awareness of non-college pathways. 

The researchers found that: 

• Fewer than three in 10 students feel very prepared to pursue any pathway after high school. Apprenticeship programs rank the lowest, with only 8% of students feeling very prepared to pursue them. 
• Only 15% of Gen Z students received information from their schools on career pathways that do not require a college degree, only 24% reported being prepared for an apprenticeship program, and only 39% reported that their schools prepared them to pursue an internship.  
• Gen Z students and their parents know very little about pathways other than college. Despite this, nearly half of all high school students reported interest in pursuing a pathway other than a job or a bachelor’s degree. 
• Students are much more likely to express interest in a pathway if their parents have talked with them about that pathway. For instance, students are 37 percentage points more likely to express interest in pursuing an apprenticeship if their parents have talked to them about apprenticeship. 

2025 Post-graduation Readiness Report: A report from YouScience examines the pathways high school graduates from the class of 2024 pursued and the career guidance that they received. 

The report finds that graduates are increasingly pursuing non-baccalaureate pathways – from 2019 to 2024, the percentage of graduates who pursued a bachelor’s degree dropped by 20 percentage points. Over the same period, graduates were 15 percentage points more likely to be working toward a specific career goal, reflecting a shift toward more skills-based pathways. 

Despite this, 70% of graduates reported lacking confidence in their post-graduation career plans. In addition, students reported the following:  

• 50% said that their schools could have offered more work-based learning opportunities. 
• 39% wished that they had participated in more CTE courses. 
• 38% wished that they had participated in an internship, job shadow or part-time work.  
• 27% wished they had done more research on other postsecondary options.