This week’s news includes announcements from the U.S. Department of Education on the guidance it will withdraw and Workforce GPS on an upcoming webinar, as well as updates on legislation related to postsecondary data and work-based learning. Read below to find out more about these new announcements and legislation.
U.S. Department of Education Will Withdraw Outdated Guidance 
On October 27, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it will withdraw over 600 pieces of subregulatory guidance that is out-of-date (including nine pieces from the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education that are no longer relevant). The press release notes that “each item has been either superseded by current law or is no longer in effect.” The announcement comes as ED’s Regulatory Reform Task Force continues its work to determine which regulations should be replaced, rescinded or modified.
WorkforceGPS Announces New Webinar, “MOU Negotiations: The Partner Perspective – A Virtual Roundtable”
On Wednesday, December 6, 2017 from 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET, Workforce GPS will be hosting a virtual roundtable on “the requirements of the one-stop delivery system’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) negotiations as called for under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)”. The webinar’s description notes that “grantee representatives from the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services will highlight not only the obstacles they have faced during their local negotiations, but also some best practices they have picked up along the way.” You can register for the webinar online here.
Members of Congress Push for College Transparency Act  
On November 1, Members of Congress pushed for continued support for the College Transparency Act on the House floor. Advance CTE is proud to support this legislation – it would create a federal postsecondary student-level data network to yield better and more complete information about student outcomes in our higher education system. Better data will help students, college leaders and policymakers make more informed decisions about higher education. Read more about a student-level data network in a new policy brief by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
PARTNERS Act Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives 
On October 25, Representatives  Bonamici (D-OR) and Ferguson (R-GA) introduced H.R. 4115, the “Promoting Apprenticeships through Regional Training Networks for Employers’ Required Skills Act of 2017” (or PARTNERS Act). According to the bill summary, the bill would “establish a grant program to support the creation and expansion of industry and sector partnerships to help small and medium sized businesses develop work-based learning programs and provide mentoring and support services for workers.”
Kathryn Zekus, Senior Associate for Federal Policy