November 2011 Legislative Alert:
House and Senate Move on Appropriations Bills

Alert received from National ACTE

Appropriations work in the House and Senate is moving forward. The Senate was able to pass its first FY 2012 appropriations “minibus” on November 1, which combined funding for agriculture, housing, transportation, commerce and justice programs into one piece of legislation. The House and Senate are now conferencing to iron out the differences between the House versions of these three separate appropriations bills and the Senate-passed bill, and appropriations for homeland security and the legislative branch are expected to be added to this minibus bill as well. The final bill is expected to also include another continuing resolution (CR) to fund all other federal programs until December. The current CR expires on November 18. Read more… 


OVAE Launches Perkins Accountability Congress

Earlier this fall, the Office of Vocational and Adult Education announced a “CTE Transformation Strategy” focused on three key elements:

  • Scale high-impact CTE programs of study
  • Promote career (employability) skills for all students
  • Remake the CTE accountability system

Efforts to address the last element began in earnest on November 2, with the first meeting of a new State Perkins Accountability Congress (SPAC).  The SPAC is designed to reach agreement among states on future student participation definitions and measurement approaches for core performance indicators under Perkins, and to identify and reach agreement on any “progress” measures in addition to core indicators that might be useful to collect. Read more…


 ACTE Writes HELP Committee on Senate ESEA Passage

On November 1, ACTE sent a letter to Senators Harkin (D-IA) and Enzi (R-WY), Democrat and Republican leaders of the HELP Committee. The letter provides ACTE reaction to the HELP Committee-approved ESEA reauthorization bill and outlines issues of support and concern. In general, ACTE supports some improvements incorporated in the legislation, such as a new secondary schools section, but believes much more focus is needed to address other issues such as career readiness and career development activities. Read more…


 November 8: Election Day 2011

With less than a year to go, the countdown to Election Day 2012 has begun. In the coming months we will begin providing special 2012 election coverage on the CTE Policy Watch Blog. However, many voters will not have to wait until 2012 to cast their ballots! Off-year general elections will be held tomorrow (November 8, 2011). Read more…


Read More on the CTE Policy Watch Blog

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the ACTE Public Policy Department. You can read more about ACTE’s policy activities and the latest happenings in Washington, D.C., on ACTE’s CTE Policy Watch blog — check it out today!