With the close of CTE Month, a speech was given to members of Congress recognizing Advance CTE’s centenary. Read below to learn about this speech, a hearing on the National Apprenticeship Act, a Senate hearing on the Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal and an article that brings awareness to the impact of CTE funding.
Representative Thompson Delivers Speech for Advance CTE’s 100th Anniversary
On February 28, Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), delivered a speech to the House of Representatives to celebrate 100 years of Advance CTE. Representative Thompson is one of the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Career Technical Education (CTE) Caucus along with Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI). During his speech to members of Congress, Representative Thompson called for “colleagues to please join me in celebrating 100 years of Advance CTE and everything they do to promote skills-based education and opportunity in life.”
House Holds Hearing on National Apprenticeship Act 
The House Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee of the Education and Labor Committee hosted a hearing about “Reauthorizing the National Apprenticeship Act: Strengthening and Growing Apprenticeships for the 21st Century” on Wednesday. The hearing accompanied the introduction of a proposed National Apprenticeship Act reform. Subcommittee Chair Susan Davis (D-CA) and Ranking Member Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) both emphasized the important role that apprenticeships play in supporting the needs of workers, employers and communities. Both also spoke of the need to align apprenticeship programs with education pathways. The National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 aims to codify existing standards, as well as create new apprenticeship opportunities. 
Member opening statements as well as witness testimony can be found here and here. You can watch this Wednesday’s hearing here and read the full National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 discussion draft here. 
Secretary DeVos Testifies to Senate on Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Proposal
On Thursday, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy Devos testified to the Committee on Appropriations’s Subcomittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies about the administration’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal. During the hearing, Secretary Devos spoke about the necessity of the proposed increase to CTE funding. She noted that this is a crucial time for CTE given the 2018 reauthorization of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), and current work that states are doing on their four-year Perkins V plans. Secretary DeVos shared that “many plans are very ambitious expanding the opportunities for students not just in high school, but in the middle school years, helping students to understand the multitude of options” that CTE programs can offer. Members, such as Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) expressed strong support for the CTE programs in their states.

Senators also expressed serious concern for other components of the President’s budget request, which would slash funding for many programs and include a new block grant program for K-12 education. Other discussions during the hearing involved the Department’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, as well as bipartisan support for rural school funding.

Secretary DeVos’s testimony can be viewed here, and a full video of the hearing can be viewed here.
Article Shares the Impact of Federal CTE Funding 
In recognition of the end of CTE Month, Advance CTE in partnership with the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) wrote about the impact of CTE funding and put out a call to double the federal investment. You can read the full article here. If you agree with the importance of federal funding for CTE share this article on Twitter, and be sure to tag @CTEWorks and @CTEMedia!
An excerpt from the article can be found below: 
“CTE cuts down on the high school dropout rate, saving our economy $168 billion per year while sending students to postsecondary education just as often as non-CTE students. Since 2011, 80,000 jobs that require a high school diploma or less have been created, while 11.5 million careers for workers with some postsecondary education have been added. CTE fills the skills gap while igniting the passions of the next generation.”
Meredith Hills, Policy Associate and Samuel Dunietz, Senior Associate for Federal Policy