ACTE Public Policy: A Year in Review 2020
Year in Review 2020
As 2020 ends, there has been a flurry of last-minute federal activity. While the Year-in-Review Legislative Update below will provide a broad overview of this year's policy actions impacting CTE, we wanted to also draw your attention to two significant pieces of news that have occurred this week, including the agreement in Congress on a COVID-19 relief and FY 21 appropriations bill, and the announcement of the secretary of education nominee from President-elect Biden. You can visit the two blog posts below for more details on those major news items, and keep reading for a full recap of the year!
Federal Funding
The FY 2021 budget and appropriations process began on February 10 with the release of President Trump’s budget request to Congress. The President’s budget request, which is non-binding, outlined the Administration's spending priorities for FY 2021, which runs from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021. The Trump budget proposal included a $680 million, or 53%, increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant program, bringing the proposed FY 2021 total to $1.963 billion.
The budget proposal also recommended $90 million for Perkins National Programs, $83 million above the FY 2020 level, for competitive grant funds that would have supported a small number of CTE programs in STEM fields. Further, the budget included over $100 million in additional funds that could be generated for Perkins through changes to the H-1B visa program. However, the proposed increases for Perkins were coupled with sharp cuts to education and workforce programs overall, making it difficult for Congress to follow through on these large increases.
This spring, lawmakers had an opportunity to sign letters in support of Perkins funding for FY 2021. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in the Senate, and Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) in the House of Representatives again led the effort. These letters received enormous support on Capitol Hill—a record setting 182 bipartisan members of the House and dozens in the Senate championed federal funding for CTE.
With COVID-19 disrupting the normal appropriations process, the next step happened over the summer, when the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations subcommittee released its bill, which provided an additional $18 million, or 1.4%, to the Basic State Grant program. The full House passed the bill, with this funding increase, later in the summer.
While the House passed the majority of their funding bills, the process stalled in the Senate due to a variety of reasons, but mainly the effort to focus on COVID-19 relief. Running into the September 30 fiscal deadline, the House and Senate passed a ten-week CR that extended funding through December 11 at FY 2020 levels in order to give congressional leadership more time to hash out their funding differences.
Finally, in late fall Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Roy Blunt (R-MO), released the text for the Senate appropriations bill. This bill marginally increased funding for the Department of Education, while providing a $75 million increase to the Perkins Basic State Grant! None of the 12 Senate appropriations bills were taken up in committee however, instead they were used as starting points for negotiations with House Democrats.
This winter, Congress passed multiple short-term CR’s to give them more time to reach consensus on year-long FY 2021 spending levels. Ultimately, Congress passed a full-year omnibus bill including appropriations for all federal programs. The bill included a $52.25 million increase for the Perkins Basic State Grant, bringing the new total to $1.334 billion. This increase serves as the fourth straight for the Perkins Basic State Grant, which provides a strong indication of the growing support for CTE on Capitol Hill!
The final bill is still awaiting the president's signature, and there has been some concern that he may veto it, so this may not be the end of the appropriations saga yet!
COVID-19 Pandemic
Back in early spring, the COVID-19 pandemic began to bring about monumental change to our lives that we continue to see today. Shortly after the pandemic began, Congress passed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020 and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act within weeks of each other. Both of these proposals heavily focused on small business relief and health-related provisions, such as research, testing, and prevention measures. Although there were some child nutrition provisions in the latter, neither included direct funding for education. To round out action in early spring, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), which included almost $40 billion for education.
Although Congress did not pass any additional relief packages that included education funding between late spring and the fall, the education committees stayed busy by holding numerous hearings and member briefings on various COVID-19 related topics, ranging from going back to college safely and safely reopening k-12 schools, to assessing the impact of COVID-19 on public education and relaunching America’s workforce in the aftermath of the pandemic, among other topics. Throughout the year, Congress continued to remain in negotiations on additional pandemic-related relief but was not able to come to agreement.
Aside from the handful of comprehensive COVID-19 relief bills that have passed, there were many others that were introduced by both parties and generally used in negotiations throughout various parts of the process. These proposals include the Relaunching America’s Workforce Act, which would have provided Perkins with $1 billion in dedicated funding; and the HEALS Act, which was Senate Republicans' counter bill to House Democrats' HEROES Act. Another proposal worth noting was the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act, which included $430 billion for various education and childcare programs and initiatives.
With only days remaining in 2020, Congress finally passed an additional relief proposal by coupling it with the FY 2021 omnibus appropriations bill discussed above. In this $900 billion bill, the Department of Education will receive $82 billion for the Education Stabilization Fund. Out of that funding, $54.3 billion is for K-12 (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund), which can be used for a variety of activities, including school facilities repairs and improvements and addressing learning loss among students. CTE activities eligible to be funded under Perkins are also included. Higher education will receive $22.7 billion, while the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund will receive an additional $4.1 billion. Notably left out of the proposal was the extension on the pause of federal student loan repayments. This bill now awaits the president's signature, but as of December 23, it is unclear whether he will sign it into law or if additional changes will have to be made.
Throughout the year, ACTE worked closely with Congress and the Administration to advocate on behalf of CTE programs to ensure they receive the resources and flexibilities needed to navigate the pandemic. Over the course of the year, we wrote letters to both Congressional leadership and the Administration on topics including our concerns for CTE programs, COVID-19 Policy Priorities, concerns regarding student aid exclusions, and response to the HEROES Act; among many cross-organizational letters laying out other funding and policy priorities. Further, we actively worked with congressional appropriators to provide adequate funding for state and local aid, and more specifically, dedicated funding for CTE and other workforce programs.
Perkins Implementation
As 2020 began, states were busy working to finalize their Perkins V state plans for submission to the Department of Education (ED) by the original April 15, 2020 deadline. However, due to the impact of the pandemic, ED released guidance in late March allowing an extension of this original deadline, and states submitted their plans throughout the spring and early summer. ED approved these plans on a rolling basis, and by August, had approved plans for all 50 states plus a number of territories. Since then, states have been working to implement pieces of their plans. In most places, local Perkins recipients also spent the spring and summer finishing up their Comprehensive Local Needs Assessments and Perkins V Local Applications to submit to their state agencies, and despite COVID-19, this school year marks the first full year of implementation of all the provisions of Perkins V.
Higher Education Act Reauthorization
The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) saw a lot of activity in 2019 and was the top education-related priority for Congress heading into 2020. Unfortunately, progress largely stalled due to the pandemic and other related issues.
In the House, Democrats passed their comprehensive HEA reauthorization bill, which included a number of ACTE priorities, out of Committee on a party-line vote at the end of 2019, but it was not brought to the House floor in the new year. In the Senate, negotiations all but stopped between the Committee’s Republican Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), and they were unable to come to agreement on numerous contentious items, including Title IX and program accountability provisions. With COVID-19 taking center stage, the education committees instead shifted to focus on ensuring educational institutions had the necessary resources to continue providing high-quality instruction to their students in a safe manner.
At the very end of the year, there were a few Higher Education Act-related provisions included in the omnibus bill, including FAFSA simplification and removal of the ban on financial aid for incarcerated students.
Congressional CTE Caucus
ACTE worked closely with the caucuses in 2020 to keep congressional staff up-to-date on CTE issues by helping to facilitate briefings and advancing federal CTE policy. Due to the pandemic, the CTE Caucus only hosted one briefing in August, which dealt with how CTE programs were being affected by the pandemic.
The Caucus also spearheaded efforts to boost Perkins funding and promote CTE Month through “Dear Colleague” letters. In total, there were 125 signors on the CTE Month letter (57 senators and 68 representatives), beating the totals in both chambers in 2019. Further, a record number of members signed onto the FY 2021 Perkins Basic State Grant funding letters. Additionally, the size of both the House and Senate caucuses grew in 2020 to all-time highs, compromising almost a quarter of the entire Congress. ACTE also worked closely with the CTE Caucus on a letter, led by House Co-Chairs Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and G.T. Thompson (R-PA), advocating for $1 billion in dedicated funding for CTE in the face of the pandemic.
Administration Activity
The Administration’s efforts related to CTE were largely focused on COVID-19 and providing waivers, flexibilities and funding guidance to schools this year. In the spring, the Office of Career, Adult, and Technical Education (OCTAE) released a pair of FAQs (March 31, April 10) related to Perkins and COVID-19. Other major actions related to CTE and the coronavirus included a memo outlining answers to a series of critical questions related to the use of federal education grant funds; an announcement stating that CTE programs may donate or loan medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) in support of the fight against the coronavirus; and a report to Congress from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos with recommended waiver authority for Perkins, among other statues.
Over the summer, Secretary DeVos announced the Reimagine Workforce Preparation Grant program, designed to provide students the opportunity to develop new skills, provide innovators and inventors the resources to expand existing businesses or build new ones, and encourage institutions of higher education to foster business development and innovation as America begins to recover from COVID-19-related disruptions to education and our economy.
There were a few other key activities that the Administration took not related to COVID-19, including a final rule in June updating the regulations that govern distance education in higher education, and OCTAE’s December "Request of Information" seeking input on successful approaches to expanding work-based learning (WBL) opportunities. Additionally, in June, President Trump signed an executive order extending the National Council for the American Worker and the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board’s authority through September 30, 2021.
Other Issues
ACTE continued to work closely with Democratic and Republican offices in the House and Senate on a variety of other issues. From boosting the infrastructure workforce, to legislation supporting the expansion of broadband and the reauthorization of the National Apprenticeship Act, ACTE continued to advocate for CTE professionals and students.
2020 Elections
The 2020 election saw the highest voter turnout, as a share of the voting-eligible population, since the 1908 election. After almost a week of counting votes, former Vice President Joe Biden cleared the 270 electoral college vote threshold to become the 46th president of the United States. President-elect Biden ended up with 306 electoral college votes to President Trump’s 232 votes. On December 22, President-elect Biden announced Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s education commissioner, as his nominee for secretary of education. After the election, ACTE released CTE policy recommendations for the incoming Administration, accompanied by a letter laying out qualifications we hope the next Assistant Secretary of Career, Adult, and Technical Education possesses.
With all but one race called in the House of Representatives, the Democrats will head into the 117th Congress retaining their majority. The Republicans have shrunk the Democratic majority to 222-212 potentially making certain policy priorities more difficult to accomplish. Additionally, certain member retirements have led to changes in committee leadership positions critical to CTE. Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), Chairwoman of the Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee, which oversees postsecondary CTE legislation, has retired. In terms of seniority, Joe Courtney (D-CT) or Mark Takano (D-CA) are likely to succeed her as Chair. Another important retirement is Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), who is currently the Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee. Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) was elected by her peers to replace Rep. Lowey as the full committee chair, which bodes well for education funding.
On the Senate side, control of the majority is still unclear, although the odds are in favor of Republicans remaining in control of the upper chamber. Currently, Democrats have netted one seat and the chamber sits at a 50-48 advantage for Republicans. Two races in Georgia have yet to be decided, having to go to a January 5th runoff since no candidate met the 50% vote threshold required in that state. If the Republicans do retain the majority, it is all but certain that Sen. Mitch McConnell will continue as majority leader. Like in the House, a major retirement announcement is set to shake up committee leadership in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Long time chairman, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) will be retiring at the end of the 116th Congress. It is expected that either Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) or Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) will replace him in the chairman role.
Top 10 Blog Posts of 2020
ED Chairman Scott Introduces Relaunching America's Workforce Act
Sec. DeVos Testifies at House Hearing on FY21 Budget Request
Broadening the Path: Design Principles for Middle Grades CTE
House Democrats Release HEROES Act; $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Package
New ED Competitive Grant Opportunities to ‘Rethink’ Learning During Pandemic
Looking Ahead to 2021
With a new Administration and a divided Congress, which has historically led to gridlock, the Biden Administration’s actual agenda will likely be nowhere nearly as expansive as his campaign platform. If the Senate remains with a Republican majority, President-elect Biden may be forced to try and achieve his agenda through regulatory moves and executive actions. Whether there will be a bipartisan appetite to pass legislation is still yet to be seen, but it does not lessen the number of important issues that will face Congress; including COVID-19 relief; the reauthorizations of the Higher Education Act (HEA) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA); and infrastructure investments; among other critical issues.
The start of the FY 2022 budget cycle will begin in earnest with the release of the Administration’s budget request in February. President-elect Biden has indicated throughout his campaign that his Administration will seek to prioritize and invest heavily into our nation’s education and workforce systems. From there, Congress will have to work through another politically challenging appropriations process.
The reauthorization of HEA will likely continue to be a priority for both the House and Senate education committees heading into the new Congress. In the House, the Democrat HEA reauthorization plan, the College Affordability Act, will likely be the Democrats starting point for negotiations. The major themes of the legislation include lowering the cost of college, improving the quality of higher education and expanding opportunity for students of all backgrounds to succeed. With Republicans likely to hold a slight majority in the Senate, the HELP committee will again try to create a bipartisan HEA bill in hopes of gaining support from both sides of the aisle. However, this process is likely to be complicated, as the parties differ on key provisions.
More broadly speaking, there is still an interest across party lines to pursue some form of a federal infrastructure package, especially in light of the current economic recession, because of its ability to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Any package could include additional funding for CTE and workforce training programs that support infrastructure-related career fields. Further, the reauthorization of WIOA will be another opportunity to heal the partisan divide and allow members to work across the aisle in order to bolster our nation’s workforce systems.
As you can tell, Congress will be working on a handful of issues important to the CTE community. That is why it is important that we continue to advocate for a strong federal investment for CTE in the new year. Help to amplify CTE by joining us virtually the week of February 22 for ACTE’s 2021 National Policy Seminar!
Your ACTE membership and dues directly impact our ability to serve as your advocate for CTE programs on Capitol Hill, and our efforts would not be possible without your support. Learn more about ACTE’s policy activities and the latest news on ACTE’s CTE Policy Watch blog. If you have any questions, please contact the ACTE Public Policy Department.
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