U.S. Department of Education: Promoting Educational Excellence for all Americans
FY 2011Budget Summary

Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Summary — February 1, 2010

 

Section III. C.  Career, Technical, and Adult Education

Overview

Programs in the Career, Technical, and Adult Education account provide formula grants to States to support State and community efforts to improve career and technical education, adult education and literacy systems, educational services for incarcerated individuals, and competitive grants and contracts for evaluation, performance measurement and improvement, technical assistance, research and development, innovative programs, and other national activities.

Career and Technical Education
(B.A. in millions)

  2009 2010 2011
Request
 
Career and Technical Education
  State Grants		 $1,160.9 $1,160.9 $1,264.0
Tech-Prep Education State Grants 102.9 102.9 —
National Programs 7.9 7.9 7.9
Total
1,271.7
1,271.7
1,271.9

Funds for the Career and Technical Education (CTE) State Grants program would support continued improvement and upgrading of CTE programs as part of a strategy for improving high school education and preparing high school students to enter the workplace or pursue postsecondary education.  In addition, the program provides funding for postsecondary CTE programs to assist institutions of higher education in improving the quality of their CTE offerings, giving students the opportunity to pursue career-oriented training at the postsecondary level.  The program authorization also directs States to create "programs of study," which are coherent sequences of non-duplicative CTE courses that progress from the secondary to the postsecondary level, include rigorous and challenging academic content along with career and technical content, and lead to an industry-recognized credential or, at the postsecondary level, to an associate or baccalaureate degree. The proposed $103.1 million increase primarily reflects the reallocation of the 2010 funding level for the Tech Prep State Grants program, which is proposed for elimination because the CTE State Grants program already requires the development of programs similar to Tech Prep in the overall context of State CTE activities.

Career and Technical Education National Programs support the National Career and Technical Education Research Center, projects to improve the quality of the performance data States collect and report to the Department, and activities to improve the quality of CTE programs in community colleges.

The request for Career and Technical Education funding would support attainment of the President’s goal that, regardless of educational path after high school, all Americans are prepared to enroll in at least 1 year of higher education or job training so as to better prepare themselves for challenging careers in a 21st century economy.

Adult Education (Adult Basic and Literacy Education)
(B.A. in millions)

  2009 2010 2011
Request
 
Adult Basic and Literacy Education
  State Grants		 $554.1 $628.2 $612.3
National Leadership Activities 6.9 11.3 41.3
National Institute for Literacy 6.5 — —
Total
567.5
639.6
653.7

Adult Basic and Literacy Education State Grants assist adults without a high school diploma or equivalent to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for postsecondary education, employment, and self-sufficiency.  The request is $15.9 million below the 2010 level, but actually reflects an increase of $30 million in program support because the 2010 level included a one-time increase of $45.9 million to compensate certain States for errors in calculating formula grant awards between fiscal years 2003 and 2008.  The forthcoming reauthorization of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), Title II of WIA, provides the Department with the opportunity to better align the Adult Education program with Federal job training programs and the postsecondary education system.  The Department is preparing legislative options for reauthorization involving innovative programs that include technology, career pathways models, and high school completion models with multiple pathways. 

The request for State Grants includes $75.0 million for the English Literacy/Civics Education set-aside, equal to the 2010 level, to help States and communities provide English learner adults with expanded access to high-quality English literacy programs linked to civics education.  The request for National Leadership Activities includes a $30 million increase to support a Workforce Innovation Fund.  These funds, along with an identical amount in Vocational Rehabilitation, would be part of a Partnership for Workforce Innovation, which encompasses $321 million of innovation funding in the Departments of Education and Labor.  The Departments will coordinate to award competitive grants that would encourage innovation and identify and validate effective strategies for improving the delivery of services and outcomes for beneficiaries under programs authorized by the Workforce Investment Act.  This investment would create strong incentives for change that, if scaled up, could improve the effectiveness of the workforce system.   Other National Activities funds would continue support for activities intended to increase the literacy and workforce skills of our Nation’s native-born adult population, as well as the growing need to meet the English language acquisition, literacy, and workforce skills gaps of the immigrant population.  The Department also would use National Activities funds to support priorities previously carried out by the National Institute for Literacy, which was eliminated in the 2010 appropriation.

State Grants for Workplace and Community Transition Training for Incarcerated Individuals

  2009 2010 2011
Request
 
B.A. in millions $17.2 $17.2 $17.2

This program helps State correctional agencies assist and encourage eligible incarcerated individuals to acquire postsecondary education, counseling, and vocational training.  In 2009, nearly 570,000 individuals in State correctional facilities were eligible to participate in this program.

Special Education and Rehabilitative Services  Table of contents  Student Financial Assistance

For further information contact the ED Budget Service.

This page last modified—February 1, 2010(mjj).