CTE Policy Watch: A blog for CTE advocates

House Committee Clears Rebuild America's Schools Act

On February 26, the House Committee on Education and Labor cleared its first education-related bill of the 116th Congress. H.R. 865, the Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2019, was reported out of the committee on a 26-20 party line vote. The bill, introduced by the committee's chairman, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), is co-sponsored by 166 House Democrats.

The bill authorizes more than $100 billion in grants and bonds to tackle physical and digital school infrastructure, and is seen by House Democratic leaders as just one piece of the broader infrastructure conversation. Democrats, highlighting how the bill would address the health and safety threats to millions of students and teachers posed by old schools in poor condition across the country, emphasize that it would also create nearly 2 million jobs, expand access to high-speed broadband and create a database on the condition of public school facilities. Conversely, Republicans claim the bill is too expensive and includes "onerous requirements."

The bill includes CTE under its list of allowable uses of funds. It specifies that "a local educational agency that receives covered funds may use such funds to… provide instructional program space improvements for programs relating to… career and technical education." The bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, but we will continue to push for CTE and workforce development to be included in any infrastructure package that moves through Congress this year.

House Introduces, Senate Passes 2019 CTE Month Resolutions

To celebrate and officially recognize February as CTE Month, the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution. In the Senate, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced S. Res. 79 with the other co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus. This year, a record-breaking 50 senators co-sponsored, meaning that more than half of senators were listed on the CTE Month resolution. There were 30 Democrats—including independents Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Angus King (I-ME)—and 21 Republicans sponsoring/co-sponsoring the resolution. This is the sixth consecutive year that a CTE Month resolution has passed the Senate—each year since the caucus was founded!

In the House, a CTE Month resolution was introduced for the second year in a row. The House does not take up commemorative resolutions, so we do not expect the resolution to make it to the floor. However, the introduction of the resolution is itself a strong showing of support for CTE and CTE Month. The resolution, H. Res. 119, was introduced by House CTE Caucus co-chair Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and co-sponsored by 46 other representatives. In total there were 22 states represented. There were 28 Democrats and 19 Republicans sponsoring/co-sponsoring the resolution.

Sec. DeVos Joins ACTE’s CTE Month Site Visit

Every year ACTE hosts a CTE Month site visit at a school in the D.C. area. This year, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos joined the site visit, participating in a roundtable discussion and school tour. The site visit was held at the Academies of Loudoun, a state-of-the-art area CTE center that serves Loudoun County Public Schools and was just opened in August 2018.

During the roundtable discussion, Secretary DeVos stressed the importance of CTE and questioned why all schools couldn’t offer similar programming. She also spoke with students, both on the roundtable and throughout the tour, about how their CTE experience has impacted them and their postsecondary plans. Secretary DeVos visited the school’s radiology lab, makerspace and greenhouse. Others on the tour also visited the school’s auto service technology lab, auto collision repair lab and engineering research lab.

ACTE appreciates the Secretary’s interest in CTE Month and hopes participating in our CTE Month site visit will provide new insights into high-quality CTE for the Administration.

The Washington Post, The 74 and Loudoun Now all participated in the school visit and wrote about it. You can learn more about CTE Month here.

New Campaign Aims to Double Investment in CTE

Earlier today Advance CTE launched a new website, isupportcte.org, which calls for doubling the investment in Perkins CTE. ACTE is pleased to partner with Advance CTE and the CTE community to support this goal. Together, we hope to gather signatures of thousands of employers to demonstrate industry's support for CTE funding. ACTE authored an inaugural blog on the campaign that was posted on isupportcte.org, which you can also find below. We urge you to share the site with your business partners and ask them to sign on to the statement of support here.

Doubling the Investment in CTE is Long Overdue

The skills gap is growing and Career and Technical Education (CTE) is gaining in popularity. While Perkins V funding, which is the federal investment in CTE, has also grown in the last two years, it's not nearly enough to keep pace with inflation and persistent underfunding over the last decade. Indeed, in nominal dollars, total funding under Perkins was higher in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 than it is in the current fiscal year. Had total funding under Perkins kept pace with inflation since FY 2004, then funding this year would be over $1.958 billion. Yet, at $1.263 billion, we're nearly $700 million short when accounting for inflation—and that says nothing of increasing funding to match increased demand.

Doubling the nation's federal investment in CTE would show that policymakers are serious about their desire to invest in the American workforce and ensure today's students have the skills to meet the demands of the 21st century labor market. Workforce shortages exist all across the economy, and CTE is helping to fill those gaps and fuel the talent pipeline. But operating these programs can be expensive, and federal dollars are critical to maintaining, improving, and scaling them.

The new Perkins V law makes important improvements in the nation's CTE ecosystem, giving greater flexibility to state and local decision-makers, aligning programs with local labor market needs, requiring stakeholder engagement and more. Now it's time to make the new law as effective as possible by increasing federal support for CTE programs.

ACTE stands proudly with the CTE community in urging policymakers to double the federal investment in CTE. It's the right thing to do both for students and the American economy.

New Report Shows Increasing Media Interest in CTE

A new report issued by the American Enterprise Institute addresses the recent uptick in attention that CTE has garnered in state policy, on campaign trails and in the media. The study reports that CTE media coverage has increased more than a hundredfold since 1998, and more than double since 2012. The report looked specifically at articles mentioning "career and technical education," noting that the term surpassed use of "vocational education" 15 years ago.

While the report shows that CTE media coverage has increased significantly over the last two decades, it notes that at certain times other education-related terms like "Common Core" and "No Child Left Behind" were covered much more frequently during a given year than CTE ever has been. However, CTE's coverage has been steadily increasing, whereas other terms increase in popularity exponentially, then rapidly decline. For instance, while "No Child Left Behind," "Common Core" and "Teacher Evaluation" were all at one point more popular terms than CTE ever has been, in 2018, CTE was a more popular term than all three. The study also shows that when it comes to terms typically associated with rhetoric around education improvement strategies, CTE far outpaces "21st-Century Skills," "Personalized Learning" and "School Turnaround," and also surpassed "School Voucher" in 2018.

One fun fact from the study is that in both 2017 and 2018, "Career and Technical Education" beat out "Kim Kardashian" and "Steph Curry" in U.S. media articles, though it did fall short to "Queen Elizabeth."

What the study demonstrates is that unlike many other popular search terms that were examined, CTE is long-lasting, and has experienced a constant increase in its news coverage. The constant flow of news coverage is a function of several factors, including all of the activism and attention given to it by CTE advocates. So for everyone who has written a letter to the editor, organized a media event or helped raise awareness another way… thank you! This media attention has helped tremendously to contribute to policy victories, such as the reauthorization of Perkins and the increased funding CTE has received at the federal level the last two years. To continue your advocacy, you can learn more about ACTE's advocacy resources on our website.

You can read the full report by clicking here.

CTE Absent in State of the Union, Democratic Rebuttal

Last week, President Trump gave his second State of the Union address. Unlike last year, however, no specific CTE references were included in his remarks. Despite Perkins reauthorization last year and much anticipation around reauthorization of the Higher Education Act this year, there was only one sentence related to education. Roughly halfway through his speech, President Trump said: "To help support working parents, the time has come to pass school choice for America's children." The president also urged Congress to pass an infrastructure bill, but failed to mention any investments in the nation's workforce as part of a comprehensive infrastructure package.

Similarly, the Democratic response featured less CTE-related content than last year, where it was delivered at a CTE high school. This year, Democrat Stacey Abrams, a 2018 gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, delivered the rebuttal. She spoke slightly more in depth about education, saying that, "Children deserve an excellent education from cradle to career." She also spoke about school safety, the achievement gap, college affordability, and support for educators.

ACTE will continue to work with the Trump Administration and policymakers in both political parties to advance and strengthen CTE.

116th Congress: New Member Profiles, Edition IX (FINAL)

This week we close with our final coverage of New Members of Congress by profiling new Members from Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

You can find all of our editions at the links below:

• Edition I (AZ, CA)
• Edition II (CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA)
• Edition III (ID, IL, IN, KS, MA)
• Edition IV (MD, ME, MI, MN)
• Edition V (MO, MS, NC, ND, NH, NJ)
• Edition VI (NM, NV, NY)
• Edition VII (OH, OK, PA, SC)
• Edition VIII (SD, TN, TX)
• Edition IX (UT, VA, WA, WI, WV)

In Utah, Republican Mitt Romney replaced Sen. Orrin Hatch, who chose not to seek re-election. Sen. Romney, a former governor and Republican nominee for president, has a significant record on education from his past political campaigns/experience. Education Week recently did a deep dive into Sen. Romney's education record. Sen. Romney has also been named as a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

In Virginia's Second Congressional District, Democrat Elaine Luria defeated Republican Rep. Scott Taylor. Rep. Luria spent her career in the U.S. Navy, retiring at the rank of Commander. On the campaign trail, she talked about ensuring "every child has access to a quality public education—from pre-K to college or technical training." In the Commonwealth's Fifth Congressional District, Republican Denver Riggleman replaced Republican Rep. Tom Garrett, who did not seek re-election. Rep. Riggleman is a former U.S. Air Force officer and NSA contractor, who later became a small business owner by opening a craft distillery. He is also a community college graduate. In Virginia's Sixth Congressional District, Republican Ben Cline replaced Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, who retired. Rep. Cline, a lawyer by trade, is a former state legislator who also worked in government and was president of a sales and marketing company. Rep. Cline serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor.

In Virginia's Seventh Congressional District, Democrat Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Rep. Dave Brat. Rep. Spanberger spent most of her career in federal law enforcement and the CIA. However, upon exiting government service, she worked with academic institutions who sought to diversify their student bodies. On her website, Rep. Spanberger spoke about her commitment to public schools, pledged to address college affordability, and stated her "support [for] building more skills/career training and apprenticeship programs." In the Commonwealth's Tenth Congressional District, Democrat Jennifer Wexton defeated Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock. Rep. Wexton is a former state legislator and prosecutor. On the campaign trail, Rep. Wexton spoke about her work in the state legislature to address college affordability and campus sexual violence. She also pledged her "support [for] policies that raise teachers' pay and benefits, promote STEM courses and careers, and incentivize career and technical training."

In Washington's Eighth Congressional District, Democrat Kim Schrier replaced Republican Rep. Dave Reichert, who did not seek re-election. Rep. Schrier is a pediatrician and daughter of a public school teacher. During her campaign, Rep. Schrier talked about improving STEM outcomes, and said she would work to make college more affordable, including at "trade schools."

In Wisconsin's First Congressional District, Republican Bryan Steil replaced former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who did not seek re-election. Rep. Steil is an attorney who once worked for a plastics manufacturer. He was also on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. Touting that experience on the campaign train, he said that he had "seen first-hand the importance of quality high schools, effective technical colleges and affordable, high quality universities." He also spoke about ensuring that "the federal government does not interfere with [Wisconsin's] efforts to improve and grow [its] workforce."

In West Virginia's Third Congressional District, Republican Carol Miller replaced Evan Jenkins, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. During her campaign, Rep. Miller pledged to bring "West Virginia values to Washington," in part by "funding education."

Regardless of whether you are represented in Congress by a freshman legislator or an incumbent, you can visit ACTE's Action Center to ask your senators and representative to join the CTE Caucus, increase Perkins CTE state grant funding, and more!

ACTE Participates in House CTE Caucus Briefing

Last week, ACTE participated in a "CTE 101" briefing, hosted by the Congressional CTE Caucus. The briefing was aimed at giving new Members of Congress and their staffs an overview of CTE and its unique role in the nation's education and workforce development systems. Speaking to a packed room, the panelists gave an overview of CTE, a recap of Perkins V and discussed the importance of CTSOs.

The panelists at the briefing were:

• Tim Lawrence, Executive Director, SkillsUSA
• Jarrod Nagurka, Advocacy and Public Affairs Manager, ACTE
• Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate for Federal Policy, Advance CTE

The co-chairs of the Congressional CTE Caucus also spoke at the briefing. Reps. Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) each stopped by to talk about what inspired their strong involvement in CTE, and to underscore why CTE is so important.

You can find a full list of the House CTE Caucus here and the Senate CTE Caucus here. If your Members of Congress aren't members of the House or Senate CTE Caucuses, you can contact them through ACTE's action center to ask that they join by clicking here.

Ask Your Senators: Cosponsor the Senate CTE Month Resolution!

The co-chairs of the Senate CTE Caucus, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Todd Young (R-IN), will soon be introducing a resolution honoring February as CTE Month. Last year, a record-breaking 45 senators from 31 states cosponsored the resolution.

CLICK HERE to ask your senators to cosponsor this year’s Senate CTE Month Resolution. The deadline for senators to cosponsor is noon ET on Tuesday, February 12.

You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. An operator will then connect you with your requested Senate office.

The resolution raises awareness about the many benefits associated with high-quality CTE programs. Your advocacy makes a difference and encourages senators to cosponsor the resolution, so please contact your senators today!

House, Senate Education Committee Chairmen Discuss Priorities

Earlier this week, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, spoke at the American Enterprise Institute to discuss his priorities for this Congress. Chairman Alexander's remarks focused on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), which he has previously identified as his top education priority for the 116th Congress and pledged to address in 2019.

Chairman Alexander first highlighted various bipartisan proposals that he supports, making clear that he intends for HEA reauthorization to be a bipartisan process. Notably, he highlighted the work done by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to expand Pell grants to short-term programs, which ACTE strongly supports. Drawing from and adding to various bipartisan proposals, Chairman Alexander proposed three major themes for HEA. First, he pledged to simply FAFSA, noting that much of the information is duplicative as it is already collected by the IRS, and that it can discourage people from applying. Second, he proposed streamlining federal loan repayment into two options. In both options, loan payments would be automatically deducted from paychecks. In the option the Chairman thinks students will prefer, borrowers would pay 10 percent of their discretionary income toward loan repayment. In the other option, students would pay through a 10-year repayment plan. Lastly, the Chairman proposed a new accountability system that measures, among other things, postsecondary institutions' loan repayment rates. He also discussed other priorities, like standardizing language in financial aid awards. You can read more about his remarks here, and watch them here.

Last week, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, discussed his upcoming HEA priorities and stressed the importance of bipartisanship. Chairman Scott's priorities largely centered on college affordability, saying that exploring student loan servicing options and increasing Pell grants could be part of the solution. Unlike Chairman Alexander, however, Chairman Scott identified a review of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as the first agenda item for the committee. Other things that Chairman Scott identified included the Rebuilding America's Schools Act, a bill that funds updates to public school infrastructure; accreditation accountability; and oversight over the Department of Education. You can read more about Chairman Scott's remarks here.

ACTE will continue to work with Democrats and Republicans on both committees throughout the HEA reauthorization process to strengthen CTE. You can find ACTE's legislative priorities for HEA here.