1. Kimberly Green, Executive Director February 7, 2017
National Update
Kimberly Green, Executive Director
February 7, 2017

2. Today’s Agenda National trends Shared Vision Reauthorization
New Administration

4. Trend 1: Career Readiness for All Students

5. Trend 1: Career Readiness for All Students
Title I:
“Well-Rounded Education” now includes CTE
Academic and CTE standards alignment
ESSA and Perkins plan coordination required
Local applications must focus on effective student transitions and may focus on work-based learning
“Fifth indicator” in accountability
Title II has opportunities for aligned PD

6. Trend 1: Career Readiness for All Students
Focus on providing work-based/ experiential learning for all
Strategy for ensuring professional/ career-ready skills

7. Trend 1: Career Readiness for All Students
New Skills for Youth – Career Readiness Expert Working Group

8. Trend 1: Career Readiness for All Students
Consistent state action on career development and advisement
Focus on exploration
Re-emergence of middle grades ”CTE”
Career coaches

9. Trend 2: Focus on Quality
Equity
Access for all students to high-quality pathways
Use of data
Rural vs. urban access
Validation
Role of employers
Use of labor market data
Program approval & funding

10. Trend 2: Focus on Quality
Credentials of value (industry-recognized credentials)
4000+ certification bodies
Question of value, utility, quality
Lessons learned:
Business and industry brought in early;
Credential review process involves a concerted, cross-institutional effort;
Credentials differentiated based on rigor and industry demand; and
Systems are designed to be adaptive. 

11. Trend 3: State Activity: 2013- 2015
Between 2013 and 2015, every state and DC passed at least one policy impacting CTE
400+ different policies in just a three-year period
Common Areas of Focus:
New funding for CTE programs or initiatives;
Support and incentivize business-education partnerships and work-based learning; and
Industry-recognized credentials.

12. Trend 3: State Activity: 2016-2017
CTE referenced in 48% of Governors’ State of State addresses in 2016
Nearly 280 CTE-related bills, initiatives, grants, etc. proposed in 2016; about half passed
Many CTE-related bills, rules or budgets already slated for 2017

13. Trend 4: Systems Alignment
WIOA, ESSA, Perkins encourage “shared” accountability
Combined state WIOA/Perkins plan
Required coordination
Integrated report cards
Career Pathways

14. ? Trend 5: The unknown In federal legislation:
Diminished Secretarial authority
Many more “may’s” than “shall’s”
Lots more activity in states than at federal level

15. Putting Learner Success First: A Shared Vision for the Future of CTE
Focuses on supporting ALL learners over the course of their career journeys
Aims to transform all education – with CTE as a driver of this transformation
Developed through year-long, collaborative effort
Demands full commitment from all stakeholders

16. Vision Supporters

17. Five Key Principles
All CTE programs are held to the highest standards of excellence.
All learners are empowered to choose a meaningful education and career.
All learning is personalized and flexible.
All learning is facilitated by knowledgeable experts.
All systems work together to put learner success first.

18. www.careertech.org/vision Fact sheets Talking points PPT slides
How-to’s
Discussion questions
Partner support

19. www.careertech.org/ shared-vision-sign-on

20. The Congressional Landscape

21. Where We Are Significant political polarization
Republican sweep in elections – both federal and state
Filibuster-proof majority
Unprecedented vote to confirm the Secretary of Education

22. Perkins Reauthorization

23. House Reauthorization Effort
Five Perkins-related hearings since autumn 2013
Leads to introduction of “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act” (H.R. 5587)
Product of bipartisan, committee-level negotiations
Lead sponsors: Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA)
Committee marked-up and approved H.R on July 7, 2016
Full House approved bill by a 405 – 5 margin

24. Main Themes of H.R. 5587
Moderate proposal largely maintaining existing structure of Perkins IV
ESSA / WIOA alignment emphasized at all levels
Strengthen labor market alignment of CTE programs
Significant devolution of federal authority over states; similar devolution for state-to-local
Strengthen linkages between planning and spending

25. New Accountability Focus: CTE Concentrators
All performance measures linked to “concentrators”
Secondary CTE concentrator:
Completed three or more CTE courses (note: not required to be in the same program area) OR
Completed at least two courses in a single CTE program or program of study
Postsecondary CTE concentrator:
Earned at least 12 cumulative credits within a CTE program, program of study or career pathway OR
Completed such a program if the program encompasses fewer than 12 credits or the equivalent in total.

26. Accountability Process changes:
States no longer negotiate performance levels with the feds
Secretary still has authority to approve performance levels as part of the state plan review
“Continuous improvement” language replaced with “be sufficiently ambitious to allow for meaningful evaluation of program quality”
Additional factors added to local performance target setting, including economic conditions, goals in local application and data collection capacity
Data disaggregation and reporting requirements remain
Ability of feds and states to withhold funds for missed targets is eliminated; focus is on improvement plans and technical assistance

27. Local Needs Assessment
At least once every two years
List of groups to consult with regularly
Key areas
Student performance
Size, scope and quality of programs
Labor market alignment
Programs/Programs of study implementation progress
Strategies for special populations
Improving educator recruitment, retention and training, including transition to teaching from business and industry

28. National Activities
Maintains separate funding stream (approximately $7-8 million)
New focus on national research plan to guide efforts
No specific “national research center”
“National assessment” significantly revised
Secretary must still conduct and disseminate research and evaluation through grants
New competitive innovation fund grants

29. Senate Activity
Senate announced eight bipartisan reauthorization principles in November 2015
Negotiations had been ongoing until the election
Politics from ESSA implementation stalled these bipartisan negotiations
Key issue for the impasse: disagreements over Secretarial authority

30. Senate Reauthorization Principles
Make it easier for States and locals to run their CTE programs to serve all students who desire to gain access to CTE coursework, including students with disabilities
Increase access to, and support of, career counseling for all CTE students
Maintain CTE as a formula program
Align with ESEA and WIOA (where applicable) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the education and workforce development programs
Support the expansion of public/private collaborations with secondary and post- secondary programs, including alignment with State or locally-determined in- demand industries and occupations
Support efforts to integrate into and strengthen career pathways at the state and local levels
Address unfunded programs
Improve evaluation and research to support innovation and best practices

31. Emerging Themes from Both Proposals
Alignment to other federal legislation
Performance / accountability
Labor market alignment
Supporting innovation
Employer engagement
Ensuring equitable access
Secondary- postsecondary connections
Coordinated planning and spending

32. Perkins Next Steps?
House expected to begin its work again in March 2017
Another hearing expected
Beginning with H.R. 5587

33. Funding Potentially a really big fight
Trump budget rumored to be built off of Heritage Foundation report:
Eliminates WIOA
Eliminates competitive grant funding under ESSA
10% cut to all formula programs at Dept. of Education

34. Trump Administration on CTE?

35. Questions?
Kimberly Green