![[ Go to U.S. Department of Education WWW Home Page ]](/icons/EDhome.gif){kind=icon}
D. VOCATIONAL AND ADULT EDUCATION
(Including the School-to-Work Opportunities Act)
Americans must prepare for a 21st century in which new knowledge-based technologies and global competition will reshape the economic landscape. To respond to these changes, people will need a combination of sound academic skills and broad-based technical skills. The Department's School-to-Work Opportunities, Vocational Education, and Adult Education programs help Americans of all ages attain these skills.
School-to-Work Opportunities
|
1996 |
1997 |
1998 Request |
|
|
BA in millions | $180.01 | $200.02 | $200.02 |
The Administration is requesting a total of $400 million—$200 million for the Department of Education and $200 million for the Department of Labor—for School-to-Work promising educational strategy that aims to connect what goes on in the classroom to future careers and to real-work situations, and to connect students to a broad range of opportunities for postsecondary education and advanced training.
School-to-Work funds have been used for planning and implementation grants to 37 States, grants to local and rural areas characterized by high poverty, training and technical assistance to States and localities, and evaluations. The 1997 appropriation is expected to permit all 50 States to fully implement school-to-work strategies as an integral part of their educational systems. The 1998 request would maintain support for these efforts, with the phase-out of Federal support commencing in 1999 and the transition to full State and local financing completed at the end of the year 2000.
The 1998 budget includes nearly $1.2 billion for vocational education programs, a $33 million increase over the 1997 level. While the budget request is submitted under current law, the Administration will shortly submit a proposal for the reauthorization of the Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act. The proposal would consolidate most current program authorities, enhance State and local flexibility by eliminating many administrative and governance requirements, strengthen the Act’s focus on accountability and program results, and target funds more effectively on the neediest communities and educational institutions.
For State Grants, which provide formula grants that States, local educational agencies, and postsecondary institutions use to improve vocational education programs and to ensure that individuals with special needs have full access to those programs, the request is $1.0 billion, a $28 million increase over the 1997 level. The Act concentrates Federal resources on schools and colleges with high concentrations of low-income and other special-needs students.
The budget also includes a $5 million increase, to $105 million, for Tech-Prep Education, which supports State formula grants for programs that link secondary and postsecondary, and vocational and academic, instruction to prepare individuals for high-tech careers. Level funding is provided for Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Vocational Institutions, which enhance opportunities in vocational education for Indian students.
The Department uses vocational education National Programs funds for applied research and development activities designed to improve and assess vocational education programs nationally. With the $20.5 million requested for 1998, a $7 million increase, the Department would continue funding for the National Center for Research on Vocational Education, launch a new national assessment of vocational education programs, and support and assess the development of high school reforms that feature the integration of vocational and academic instruction with workplace and service learning.
The budget request assumes that no funding will be made available through the Smith-Hughes Act permanent appropriation because the Administration is proposing to repeal that authority, which duplicates Perkins Act funding.
To help adult Americans improve their literacy skills so they can succeed in their roles as workers, citizens, and parents, the 1998 budget includes $382 million for Adult Education State Grants, up $41.7 million or 12 percent over 1997. The request is aimed at helping States to increase the number of adults served, to improve program quality, and to meet increased demand created by welfare reform and new immigration legislation. While the 1998 budget is submitted under current law, this year the Administration will submit a reauthorization proposal that would streamline administration, increase State flexibility, strengthen accountability, emphasize program quality and improvement, and target funds more effectively on the neediest communities and populations.
A $6 million request for Evaluation and Technical Assistance would support a program of evaluation and technical assistance emphasizing the incorporation of technology in adult education programs, improvement of program quality, and identification of promising practices.
For the National Institute for Literacy, the Department’s $6 million request would continue support for efforts to identify, promote, and demonstrate approaches that effectively respond to the diverse needs of adult learners. The Institute also would continue to build national awareness of, and support for, public literacy.
Because all States use a portion of their Adult Education State Grant funds to provide literacy services to incarcerated and other institutionalized individuals, the Department is not requesting funding for the separate Literacy Program for Prisoners activity.
Direct any questions to Martha Jacobs, Budget Service
last update: Feb. 5, 1997