Scott, DeLauro, Murray, Baldwin Call on ED to Immediately Cease Illegal Plan to Transfer CTE Program Responsibilities to DOL
As McMahon and Trump attempt to illegally dismantle ED, top lawmakers call on McMahon to follow the explicit mandates in key authorizing and appropriations laws— ensuring essential educational programs are faithfully administered for students nationwide.
WASHINGTON – Today, Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), House Appropriations Committee and the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee, and Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, sent aletter to Department of Education (ED) Secretary Linda McMahon calling out the Department’s illegal efforts to attempt to transfer responsibility over career and technical education (CTE) programs to the Department of Labor (DOL).
“We write to express our deep opposition to attempts, including the Interagency Agreement (IAA) dated May 21st, to move the administration of any aspect of career and technical education (CTE) programs authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 or the adult education programs authorized under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act in Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor,” write the lawmakers, noting that: “Perkins CTE and adult education are education programs whose purpose is to expand educational opportunities to youth and adults. Any attempt to move these programs to Labor would fundamentally alter the purposes of those programs and risk turning them into short-term job training programs, no different than those that are funded under WIOA. Most importantly, it would upend decades of work that took place at the state and local level to embed CTE programs into secondary and postsecondary offerings and improve the quality of CTE and adult education.”
The lawmakers noted that in addition to being illegal, ED’s attempt to transfer administration of grant funding for CTE programs to DOL while maintaining some policy functions at ED would actually create more inefficiency and trouble for everyone who depends on the programs: “This likely would mean states, institutions of higher education, and school districts would have to work with two federal agencies in the administration of these programs, leading to delays in agency decision-making and grant administration. This will likely lead to increased inefficiency in the administration of these important programs.”
“We have a simple demand: to follow our nation’s education and appropriations laws as Congress wrote them. Congress authorized the Department of Education to carry out Perkins career and technical education programs and adult education programs, and Congress annually appropriates funding to the Department of Education to carry out these programs,” state the lawmakers. “Should the Trump Administration have ideas for changing which agency should administer the federal career and technical education program, then the administration needs to propose its ideas to Congress for full and fair consideration through the normal legislative process. In the meantime, we urge you to cease plans to implement this IAA immediately and implement CTE and adult education programs as specified in authorizing and annual appropriations laws.”
To read the full letter, click here.
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