Congress was back in session this week and spent significant time continuing work on the budget reconciliation process in the House. The Administration celebrated National Apprenticeship Day and began to implement several of the President’s recent Executive Orders (EOs). President Trump also released an outline of his Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Budget Request. Keep reading for more details! 

• President Trump Releases FY 2026 Budget Request Outline: The Trump Administration released a “skinny version” of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget request. This proposal would reduce non-defense programs across the federal government by $163 billion, or 22.6 percent, including large cuts to education and workforce development. Read more on the blog. 

• House Education and Workforce Committee Introduces Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan: The House Education and Workforce Committee introduced and advanced its budget reconciliation bill, Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan. Read more on the blog. 

• Department of Education Releases Letter on Accreditation Options for Colleges and Universities: The Department of Education published a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) informing institutions of changes made to the accreditation process, in compliance with President Trump’s EO, Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, which instructed the Department to allow institutions to more freely change accreditors and begin reviewing new accreditors. 

• Department of Labor Celebrates National Apprenticeship Day 2025: The Department of Labor celebrated National Apprenticeship Day on April 30 with a ceremonial signing event highlighting the importance of apprenticeships.  

• New EO Impacting Undocumented Students’ In-State Tuition: The Trump Administration announced a new EO regarding sanctuary cities and localities. This instructs federal officials to “take appropriate action” to reduce benefits and protections to undocumented students, including state and local laws that provide in-state tuition to these students. 

On April 28, the House Education and Workforce Committee released its budget reconciliation bill, the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan. The Committee then held a markup of the bill on Tuesday and advanced the legislation on a party-line vote. This bill is just one piece of the broader “budget reconciliation” bill that Congress is working to pass to enact many of the Administration’s priorities.   

Notably, this bill would authorize the Workforce Pell Grant Program, designed to expand Pell Grant eligibility to students enrolled in short-term, high-quality, workforce-aligned programs. This has been a priority of the CTE and workforce development communities for many years, and has bipartisan support in Congress. We will be examining the specific provisions included with this short-term Pell program closely and following activity as the bill moves forward. In addition, the bill does increase mandatory funding for Pell grants slightly, presumably to cover some of the costs to offering short-term Pell.   

The main goal of the bill, however, is to reduce mandatory spending under the jurisdiction of the Committee by at least $330 billion over 10 years. To accomplish this, the bill would implement several critical changes to financial aid and student loan eligibility, limits and repayment options. Key changes include: 

• Placing new maximum caps on student loans for students and parents, and eliminating some loan options 

• Eliminating the “SAVE” student loan repayment plan 

• Consolidating other loan repayment options into one fixed plan and one income-driven repayment plan (with higher payments than current options) 

• Instituting a “risk-sharing” program where colleges are responsible for some defaulted loans 

• Eliminating some student loan borrower protections as well as the gainful employment rule 

• Limiting Pell grants only to students who are enrolled at least half-time, and redefining full-time as 15 credit hours per semester compared with the current 12 hours 

This bill will now go to the Budget Committee and be combined with bills other committees are producing as part of the broader budget reconciliation process. Then the full package would go to the House floor, and if passed there, would still need to be considered by the Senate. Only a simple majority vote is needed in the Senate to pass a budget reconciliation bill however, which means there is no need for bipartisan compromise.   

ACTE will share more about this legislation and its progression as future activity unfolds. 

This morning, the Trump Administration released an outline of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget request. This request would reduce non-defense discretionary programs across the federal government by $163 billion, or 22.6%. Because this outline does not include full details or program funding suggestions for every program, it is known as a “skinny budget,” with more details expected later in the month. As a reminder, the Administration’s budget request is not binding, as Congress has responsibility for writing and passing appropriations bills. 

For the Department of Education (ED), this budget request includes a $12 billion (15.3%) cut. It is not clear what the request’s implications for Perkins funding would be, as CTE is not specifically mentioned. However, two significant block grants are included in the ED budget, one for 18 formula and competitive grants for K-12 education (which could implicate programs supporting CTE) and another for students with disabilities. In addition, the request proposes the complete elimination of funding for Adult Education programs. 

Other programs that face funding cuts include grants for teacher preparation and professional development, TRIO and Gear UP, federal work study, English Language Acquisition, grants for preschool development, programs within the National Science Foundation, postsecondary institutional grants, and many others. Funds for program administration and staffing at ED are also reduced.  The budget does suggest an increase for charter schools, noting the Administration’s interest in school choice policy.  

The Department of Labor (DOL) is also facing budget cuts of nearly 35 percent of current funding levels. This would include the elimination of Job Corps, a free career training and education program for low-income young adults. The DOL budget also calls for the creation of a block grant they reference as “Make America Skilled Again” (MASA), which would consolidate a number of existing workforce development programs. This grant program represents at least a 25% reduction in these programs, and redirects some authority to states and localities to spend federal workforce dollars.  

ACTE will share more information as more details emerge about the Administration’s proposals and the appropriations process progresses.  

On April 23, President Trump signed a number of new Executive Orders (EOs) impacting education and workforce development. These EOs covered a range of topics, and included:

• Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth
• Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy
• Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies
• Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future
• White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education
• Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities

The “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” EO is the most directly relevant to CTE and intends to maximize investments in America’s reindustrialization and economic growth. This EO instructs the Secretaries of Labor, Commerce and Education to submit new plans to expand Registered Apprenticeships and ensure 1 million active apprentices a year. This plan must also include how to leverage federal investments in postsecondary student aid and Perkins to expand apprenticeships.  

Secretaries for these three Departments will also need to review all Federal workforce development programs within 90 days and report back on ways to integrate, restructure and consolidate these programs through a “comprehensive workforce strategy” report. Perkins CTE programs would likely be included in such as exercise.  

President Trump’s EO on AI intends to promote AI literacy and proficiency among Americans by integrating AI into education to create an AI-ready workforce and providing AI training for educators.

Secretaries from the Departments of Agriculture, Labor, Energy and Education will collaborate with other relevant departments and agencies to form an AI Education Task Force to coordinate federal efforts related to AI education. The taskforce is also directed to establish as Presidential AI Challenge to “encourage and highlight student and educators achievements in AI,” and to establish public-private partnerships to develop resources on teaching AI literacy. This EO will also direct the Secretary of Labor to promote participation in AI-related Registered Apprenticeships. Notably, the EO does not propose any new funding, but rather focuses on existing funding streams.

President Trump also introduced an EO instructing Secretary McMahon to overhaul the college accreditation system, which is a process colleges must go through in order to receive federal financial aid. The order will serve as a tool to ensure accreditors are complying with the Administration and not engaging in “ideological overreach,” essentially aligning the accreditation standards with the Administration’s values.

ACTE will share more on these orders as activities are implemented.  

Congress has been on recess, making it a quiet couple of weeks on Capitol Hill. While Congress is on recess, the House CTE Caucus co-chairs are continuing to circulate a Dear Colleague Letter, requesting increased funding for Perkins in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. Don’t forget to ask your representative to sign on! Meanwhile, the Administration released several Executive Orders (EOs) impacting education and workforce, and the Department of Education continued to move forward on goals. Keep reading for more!

• Budget Reconciliation Takes Center Stage: Negotiations have begun in the House and Senate as Congress uses the recently adopted budget resolution as a framework to enact President Trump’s legislative agenda through the budget reconciliation process. Reconciliation bills can pass with only a simple majority in the Senate, so no bipartisan negotiations are required, but the complex issues will require significant conversations within the Republican party. Read more on the blog!
• President Trump Issues New Education and Workforce EOs: On April 23, the Trump Administration announced several new EOs focused on education and workforce issues, including a review of workforce programs.
• New Deputy Assistant Secretary is Appointed at OCTAE: Nick Moore has been appointed to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education. He previously served as the director of the Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation in Alabama, and brings a wealth of experience to the role. Several additional appointees have also been recently announced.
• Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer Continues America at Work Tour: Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, continued her tour across the country, most recently visiting training facilities for aviation mechanics. She met with a roundtable of local small business owners, and toured a high school construction project.
• Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) Introduces House Resolution to Recognize Community College Month: Rep. Courtney introduced a resolution in the House to recognize April as Community College Month. ACTE has been sharing materials and resources to celebrate Community College Month. See our social media accounts for more!
• Community College Research Center Loses Federal Grants: The Community College Research Center lost access to several federal grants collectively worth more than $12 million. These cuts were part of a larger freeze on funding by the Administration.
• National Science Foundation Announces New Priorities: The National Science Foundation announced a new set of priorities, no longer aligning themselves with combatting misinformation or disinformation, or focusing on projects that impact limited subgroups of people. This follows the agency’s cancellation of hundreds of programs with guidance from the Department of Government Efficiency.

Which Community College Awards Are Likely to Prepare Students for Post-completion Success?:  This report and data dashboard from the Community College Research Center examines a variety of community college awards to see which are leading students into high-demand, high-wage careers or to transfer to a bachelor’s degree program.

The researchers found that 56% of community college credentials awarded in 2022-23 were workforce/career-technical credentials, programs aimed at leading students to high-wage careers. Among workforce-focused associate degrees, more than three-quarters are associated with median earnings at or above a living wage two years after completion. Similarly, more than three-quarters of workforce-focused credentials at the certificate level also lead to median earnings at or above a living wage within two years of completion. 

Fields such as nursing, computer and information technology, and engineering technology lead to some of the highest-paying careers; however, women, Hispanic and Black workers remain underrepresented in many of these fields. 

Undergraduate Credential Data: Recent data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center focuses on undergraduate credential attainment across the nation. Key takeaways include: 

• Of the 3.2 million learners that earned an undergraduate credential in 2023-24, 58.8% earned a bachelor’s degree, 25.1% earned an associate degree and 16.1% earned an undergraduate certificate. 
• Although the percentage of learners who received associate degrees declined slightly from the previous academic year (-0.9%), this was the smallest decline yet since 2021-22.  
• The number of first-time certificate earners has been increasing dramatically, reaching 10-year highs across nearly all types of postsecondary institutions. Compared to the previous academic year, the percentage of first-time certificate earners rose by 12.6%.  
• Certificate attainment grew for men and women, but more for men (11.6% compared to 9.7%). Women’s rate of associate degree completion continued to decline, while the number of male associate degree earners has stabilized.   
• Certificate attainment for first-time Black and Hispanic students is outpacing attainment for learners from other racial and ethnic groups. 
• Fields that saw the most growth in first-time certificate attainment were primarily trades-related, such as precision production (+13.9%) and construction trades (+16.1%).  

A National Look at Unfilled Jobs and Unmatched Student Potential: A report from YouScience compares middle and high school students’ aptitudes (where students are likely to thrive) versus their interests in specific Career Clusters.  

The researchers found that, for all Clusters, there were significant gaps between students’ aptitude and interest. Some Clusters, such as Education and Training, have a significantly larger proportion of students expressing interest than aptitude while others, such as Health Science, have more students expressing aptitude than interest.  

The analysis also examined gaps between students showing aptitude and students showing both aptitude and interest, with findings ranging from a gap of 12% in Architecture and Construction to a gap of 28% in Health Science. This research highlights the need for CTE programs to carefully consider how they introduce and expose students to different career pathways.  

The Transfer Playbook: A new guide from the Community College Research Center and the Aspen Institute provides community college and university leaders guidance on improving transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment rates for community college students. The research team compiled data and case studies from transfer partnerships: community colleges and universities with high transfer and degree attainment rates. 

The research team identified three effective strategies: 

• Instituting student-centered reforms, including expanding partnerships to address local workforce needs and investing in staff focused on supporting transfer students and policies. For instance, Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University admit thousands of students into each college simultaneously while also providing wraparound supports and aligning programs to high-wage careers. 
• Offering adjustable four-year course sequences, tailored education plans that account for work and family responsibilities, and faculty guidance to support transfer students. Tallahassee State College integrates transfer maps into class registration and degree planning processes. 
• Providing quality advising experiences on transfer policies and alignment with career goals. The University of North Texas schedules mandatory advising sessions for transfer students to ensure they are aware of school resources and understand their pathways to earning a degree. 

In honor of April being Community College Month, we will be highlighting some recent community and technical college research for this and the next Research Roundup. 

Three-year Findings from the Viking ROADS Demonstration: A recent study by MDRC examined the Viking Resources for Obtaining Associate Degrees and Success (Viking ROADS) initiative at Westchester Community College in New York, which launched in 2018 and provides full-time students with counseling, career and tutoring services; financial aid; and specialized enrollment options, such as reserved seats in courses.

Students were randomly assigned into either the initiative or a control group. Although much of Viking ROADS took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found that students engaged had a 12-percentage-point higher graduation rate. Credit attainment also rose – at its peak, students in the initiative were earning 4.3 more credits compared to control group students. Strikingly, among students who earned 60 or more credits (the amount needed to graduate), only 70% of control group students earned their degree compared to 84% of Viking ROADS students. 

Community College Student Trends: A research brief from CompTIA analyzed community college student attitudes on the job market, career pathways and related topics. The researchers surveyed 462 community college students nationwide and found the following: 

• About two-thirds of students report feeling generally positive about the job market after graduation, but 44% of students have economic anxiety. 
• Nearly half of the students report that their academic programs either require (24%) or recommend (24%) attaining an industry-recognized credential. 
• In addition, 81% of students believe that industry-recognized credentials help them advance their careers. 
• For students earning a credential as part of their program, 96% report advancing a step ahead in their career readiness; 46% said they advanced multiple steps ahead. 
• The majority of students ranked many digital skills as important across all careers, such as digital fluency (82%), data and analytics (79%), and IT/cloud/cybersecurity (67%), while 70% of students are working on improving their AI career readiness.  

Promoting Motivation and Learning in Online Courses: A report from the Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative and the Community College Research Center evaluated student engagement and self-directed learning (SDL) skills in online STEM courses. Students from nine broad-access institutions, including seven community colleges, were interviewed about their experiences. 

The researchers categorized their findings into four categories: 

• Peer and faculty interactions motivate students, but these interactions in online learning can be scarce and lead to isolation. Specific interactions that built confidence in students include listening to questions on course content from peers and attending optional synchronous sessions held by faculty. 
• Students want more help as they develop their applied learning skills (such as setting goals and taking notes).  A few students mentioned that direct guidance from their professors – such as weekly emails on upcoming deadlines/strategies to use – were extremely helpful. 
• Students face barriers when seeking help in online courses, including fears of being perceived as unprepared. Students with engaging professors felt more comfortable asking for help. 
• Many students develop their SDL skills from previous experiences and perseverance, citing their families and communities as inspiration for them to complete college. 

The researchers end with recommendations to faculty, such as prioritizing interactions with and between students and providing additional assistance in navigating course resources. 

Governors Reshaping Workforce Development: A report from the Project on Workforce and the National Governors Association examined how governors are utilizing WIOA and similar policies to implement workforce development strategies. The researchers conducted interviews and surveys with workforce development policymakers and workforce administrators across 34 states. 

The researchers noted several overall findings: 

• Workforce governance structures have been facing major shifts in many states, with governors focusing more on workforce policy within their offices and states merging or realigning roles in state workforce agencies. For instance, in 2018, Alabama created the Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation. 
• WIOA planning by states is often stakeholder driven, such as Maine’s Economic Development Strategy, which provides a framework for collaboration between public and private entities. However, some states find such planning too burdensome. 
• Owing to limitations in WIOA funding streams, states are getting creative in finding funding for workforce development. Governor’s WIOA Reserve Funds and Pell Grants are some sources that states report using. 
• Policies aimed at supporting workers are helping states boost their workforce. States often target specific populations, such as youth in CTE programs or individuals with disabilities.