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Public
Policy Update
October 2013
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News
from NAPE
The Promise of a
Quality Education for All: 21st Century Career and Technical
Education
On October 10-11, 2013, NAPE Director of Public Policy, Lisa R.
Ransom, attended this 2-day summit hosted by the United Federation of
Teachers and the Albert Shanker Institute, which provided the
opportunity to develop and support quality CTE programs and to call
upon key policymakers and stakeholders to support and expand the role
of CTE in U.S. education. Highlights of the conference included:
- Creating
and Sustaining Quality Career and Technical Education--the best
new research on current developments in CTE;
- High
Academic Standards and Career and Technical Education--an update
on the work of aligning CTE standards with Common Core
standards; and
- Developing
New Economic Opportunities through Career and Technical
Education--the role of CTE in new thinking about the need for
multiple pathways to academic and career success.
Conference participants shared their expertise and
experience in CTE policy, practice, and research to deepen their
understanding of how quality CTE can expand educational and career
horizons for all students, as featured in an opening presentation on
CTE and Education Reform: Breaking Down Silos, by Randi Weingarten,
President, American Federation of Teachers and Albert Shanker
Institute. Read
Lisa's Summary of the Summit
Administration
Millions of Children
Would Benefit from President's Plan to Expand Early Education with
Tobacco Tax Increase, New Report Shows
President Obama's plan to expand early childhood
education and fund it with an increase in federal tobacco taxes would
ensure that 2 million low- and moderate-income children have access
to high-quality preschool and prevent 1.7 million kids from becoming smokers,
according to a report released today by nine organizations that focus
on early learning and/or public health.
In his FY 2014 budget, President Obama proposed expanding federal
funding for early education programs, paid for with a 94-cent per pack
increase in the federal cigarette tax and a proportional increase in
the federal tax on other tobacco products. "Taken together,
these two measures would help ensure a future of smart, healthy kids
nationwide and in every state," the report concludes. Learn
More
$474.5M
Awarded for Skills Training Partnerships
The Department of Labor has awarded the latest round of Trade
Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT)
grants to community colleges and universities around the country for
the development and expansion of innovative training programs in
partnership with local employers.
The 57 grants, totaling $474.5 million, are meant to foster programs
in growing industries, such as advanced manufacturing, transportation,
and health care, and to support geographic and industry-sector
collaboration through the creation of statewide and regional college
consortia. Grantees in this round were required to demonstrate the
following:
- local
labor market need for education in specific industries
- strong
employer engagement in training activities and work-based
learning
- a
commitment to evidence-based program design and rigorous
third-party evaluation
- the
use of stacked and latticed credentials
- a
clear plan for the transferability and articulation of course
credit
- advanced
online and technology-enabled learning
- strategic
alignment with the workforce system and other partners
- the
ability to leverage previously funded TAACCCT projects
In
addition, the 11 single-state consortia grantees will be required to
incorporate data to develop programs and to communicate results to
the public.
Program
Instruction on TANF
The Department of Health and Human Services sent a Program
Instruction, TANF-ACF-PI-2013-03,
to remind states of the February 22, 2014, deadline for submitting
reports on the implementation of policies and practices to restrict
EBT use at prohibited venues. This document also reminds states about
state plan requirements and the deadline associated with updating
TANF plans.
Congress
Government
Shutdown Ends--For the Moment
After bitter debates in the House and Senate that resulted in a
16-day federal government shutdown, and with less than 2 hours before
the deadline to raise the federal debt ceiling, Congress voted to end
the budget gridlock, thereby ending the shutdown and averting a
default on the nation's debt--at least for the short term. President
Obama signed H.R.
2775 following passage by the House (285-144)
and Senate (81-18).
The legislation passed with bipartisan support in both the House and
Senate--unanimous support by congressional Democrats and limited
support from Republicans. The federal government reopened Thursday,
October 17, 2013, sending 800,000 furloughed federal workers back to
work through the holiday season.
However, the legislation is a stop-gap measure that funds federal
agencies only through January 15, 2014, and extends the nation's
borrowing authority only through February 7, 2014. Funds for
federal programs will remain at FY 2013 levels for the duration. For
Perkins specifically, federal funding for CTE for the 2013-14 school
year was cut by 5.2 percent ($58 million). Some Republicans
want to lock in lower funding levels for FY 2014, while Democrats and
the White House continue to push to replace sequestration with a
balanced approach to deficit reduction.
House and Senate members are planning to meet in conference committee
to develop a finalized budget plan for FY 2014 by mid December. The
committee will also attempt to tackle long-term budgetary issues such
as entitlement spending, tax reform, and sequestration.
Endorsement of
H.J. Res 56, The Equal Rights Amendment
Under the leadership of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), H.J.
Res 56 is a proposed amendment to the U.S.
Constitution relative to equal rights for women and men. This bill
has 98 co-sponsors and has been referred to the Subcommittee on the
Constitution and Civil Justice.
States
Shutdown
Follow-up
Thank you for keeping us apprised of what was happening in the states
during the government shutdown. As far as we know, Arizona and North
Carolina were the only two states to stop providing cash benefits
(AZ) or processing new applications (NC) for TANF families. Advocates
in Arizona were successful in convincing the governor to reverse the
decision to stop providing cash benefits. It is worth noting that
Arizona and North Carolina only use federal funds for cash assistance
payments.
Preparing
for State Sessions
Please contact us if we can assist your
state in preparing for the opening of your 2014 legislative session.
Mark
Your Calendar
The
U.S. Conference on Adult Literacy, October 31 to November 2, 2013,
Washington, DC
A featured session of this conference, PIAAC: What Now?, will address
the findings in a recently released study by the Program for the
International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIACC) that presents
the first seminal data about the literacy skills and competencies of
adults in the United States in more than 10 years. National
presenters will speak about the importance of the study, and
participants will receive tools, resources, tactics, and strategies
for programs interested in using the PIAAC study as a way to advance
their public policy agendas and to raise awareness. Learn
More and Register for Live
Webcast of Session
Close It
Summit, November 5-7, 2013, Washington, DC
This summit brings together stakeholder to explore key issues shaping
workforce policy and industry engagement and to gain insights into
partnerships and new practices to leverage resources and impact.
Sessions include Training the Modern Workforce: Career and Technical
Education, Manufacturing: Building America's Future, and Employer
Strategies for Discovering and Developing Talent. Learn
More
Capitol
Hill STEM Symposium
November 13, 2013, 10 am to 12 pm, Washington, DC
Featuring a panel with Mythbusters Grant Imahar and other STEM
leaders and a presentation by the student winners from the 2012
Siemens We Change the World Challenge. Learn
More
12th Annual
Career Clusters Institute: "Excellence in Action"
June 16-19, 2014, Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort, Phoenix, AZ.
Registration opens January 2014. Learn
More
National
Career Pathways Network (NCPN) Conference
October 12-4, 2014, at the Buena Vista Palace, Walt Disney World
Resort, Florida. Learn
More
The National
Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) is a
national, nonprofit consortium of state and local agencies,
corporations, and national organizations that collaborate to create
equitable and diverse classrooms and workplaces where there are no
barriers to opportunities. Through its Education Foundation, NAPE has
been involved in a number of initiatives to increase diversity in
America's workforce and to increase opportunities in high-skill,
high-wage, high-demand careers. Among these is the National Science
Foundation-funded STEM
Equity Pipeline Project, which works with educational
systems to increase the participation of underrepresented populations
in STEM education.
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