Democrats Retake Congress With Large Majorities
This Tuesday, Americans across the country participated in the long-anticipated midterm elections, with results that will shift control of both chambers of Congress from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. The final seat count is still being determined, but in the coming weeks, the makeup and leadership of congressional committees will change, including committee chairs, ranking members, and other roster spots. These changes will be the first step in determining the legislative priorities for the 120th Congress, with implications for future Career Technical Education (CTE) legislation and broader interest in education and workforce development.
Advance CTE will closely monitor and report on the developments on specific committees that impact the federal investment in CTE through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V): both Senate and House appropriations committees, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Education Department Proposes Updates to Priorities
This week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released proposed changes to the Supplemental Priorities and Definitions, which guide the priorities for federal discretionary grant competitions. The proposed changes seek to expand the emphasis on CTE, career pathways, and broader workforce readiness across the existing priorities introduced last year. One proposed change includes broadening school choice by recognizing technical, trade, and vocational schools and expanding support for CTE programs that integrate pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship pathways. A proposed change related to meaningful learning opportunities seeks to align math instruction with workplace math skills and build state and local capacity to strengthen outcome-focused governance.
The proposed changes continue to emphasize the importance of career pathways and workforce readiness, with an interest in work-based learning and other activities aligned with preparation for high-skill, high-wage, in-demand occupations and reflect the administration’s interest in making more information about high-quality credentials available through education and workforce systems credential lists. The public comment window on these proposed changes closes on December 7. Read the proposed priorities and submit comments here.
DOL Opens Registered Apprenticeship Pay-for-Performance Incentive Program
This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) opened applications for its new Pay-for-Performance Incentive Payments Program, offering sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) direct financial support in priority industries. The eligible industry sectors include advanced manufacturing, shipbuilding, defense, information technology, telecommunications, transportation, semiconductors, and nuclear energy infrastructure. Unlike typical grants, payments for this program are tied to apprentice retention and program progression, such as remaining employed for 90 days and completing related technical instruction (RTI) or the apprenticeship program.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds run out. Read the DOL announcement here.
NCES Seeks Input on Future Federal Data Collections
Late last week, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on the strategic redesign of its portfolio of education data collections. NCES is considering how to improve the relevance, timeliness, and accessibility of federal education data while balancing the reporting burden on state and local education agencies. One of the seven questions asks how federal, state, local, and industry partnerships can strengthen education data systems and collections so they can better serve policymakers, researchers, and the public. The comment window closes on December 3. Read the NCES RFI here.
Odds & Ends
- DOL finalized changes to Registered Apprenticeship nondiscrimination requirements, removing affirmative action requirements while retaining applicable federal and state nondiscrimination protections. Read the final rule here.
- ED released preliminary findings from the 2023–24 Civil Rights Data Collection, which captures information on student enrollment, access to advanced coursework, school discipline and educational opportunities across public schools. Explore the data here.
- ED is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collection for the 2026–27 through 2028–29 academic years. The proposed changes would affect the information collected from postsecondary institutions and how that data informs federal reporting and policymaking. Read the proposed revisions here.
