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On this page:

• Announcements Updated
• Laws and Guidance
• Information Collection Requests
• State Plan Resources
• WIOA Resources, Technical Assistance, and Events
• About WIOA Partners
• Email: AskAEFLA@ed.gov

AEFLA COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions New

OCTAE has released Frequently Asked Questions to respond to questions and concerns raised by Adult Education and Family Literacy Act grantees and the widespread impact of COVID-19. The following FAQs and additional resources are available:

• OCTAE Program Memorandum 20-3: AEFLA and COVID-19 – FAQs, Part 1
• OCTAE Program Memorandum 20-4: AEFLA and COVID-19 – FAQs, Part 2
• OCTAE Program Memorandum 20-5: AEFLA and COVID-19 – FAQs, Part 3
• LINCS COVID-19 Support for Adult Educators
• U.S. Department of Education’s COVID-19 Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel

AEFLA Tydings Waiver Request for State Educational Agencies New

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) provides substantial relief to students and educators who have been profoundly affected by the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This law authorizes the Secretary of Education to grant waivers requested by State educational agencies (SEAs) of section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), often referred to as the “Tydings Amendment,” to extend the period of availability of State-administered formula grant funds authorized by the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. A copy of the Tydings letter sent to Chief State School Officers and the optional waiver template may be used for your convenience. States may submit a waiver request to AskOCTAE@ed.gov.

WIOA Program Year 2018–19 Statewide Performance Reports New

Section 116(d)(2) of WIOA requires States to submit an annual performance report on several data elements required by statute, including information on the State agreed-upon levels of performance and levels of performance achieved with respect to the primary indicators of performance. The Statewide Performance Reports for the Adult Education program, WIOA Title II, are available on the Accountability and Reporting page.

WIOA Negotiations and Sanctions Guidance New

OCTAE announces the release of OCTAE Program Memorandum 20-2: Negotiations and Sanctions Guidance for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Core Programs. The guidance describes the process for negotiating levels of performance, as required by section 116 of WIOA, and provides an explanation of the two instances in which a state may be sanctioned.

WIOA Unified and Combined State Plans Submission Deadline and Related Requirements New

OCTAE announces the release of Program Memorandum 20-1: Technical Assistance regarding the Submission Deadline for the Unified and Combined State Plans under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) for Program Years (PYs) 2020-2023 and Other Related Requirements. The document provides an update on technical assistance to states, territories, and outlying areas related to the requirements for submitting PYs 2020-2023 Unified and Combined State Plans covering the four-year period from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023, including information related to submission instructions and deadlines, and instructions for establishing performance levels and acceptable baseline indicators. States must submit a Unified or Combined State Plan by March 2, 2020.

State Wage Interchange System Data Sharing Agreement

On May 3, 2019, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education sent the State Wage Interchange System (SWIS) Data Sharing Agreement (Agreement) to state workforce administrators, state adult education directors, state vocational rehabilitation (VR) directors, and state unemployment insurance directors for their review and signature. States signing the Agreement will be able to exchange interstate quarterly wage records with any other State signing the Agreement to satisfy performance reporting requirements in section 116 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). States not signing the SWIS Agreement will need to develop and execute separate interstate wage sharing agreements with other States to satisfy the requirement that States use interstate wage records in measuring a State's performance on the WIOA primary indicators of performance. The SWIS Agreement replaces the Wage Record Interchange System (WRIS and WRIS2) Data Sharing Agreements previously executed by most States.

To aid your review of the SWIS Agreement, please review the background document that provides information and technical assistance developed by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education related to the purpose, applicability, and content of the SWIS Agreement. The Departments strongly encourage states to sign the SWIS Agreement as soon as possible.

For questions or more information, State workforce agencies may email SWIS@dol.gov; State adult education agencies may email NRS@ed.gov; and State VR agencies may email RSAData@ed.gov. The U.S. Departments of Labor and Education encourage workforce development agencies to listen to the SWIS Agreement webcast and participate in upcoming technical assistance events. Additional information and an updated list of signatory states to the SWIS Agreement can be found on the DOL website.

AEFLA Funds for Integrated Education and Training Programs – FAQs New

OCTAE announces the release of Program Memorandum 19-2: Allowable Use of AEFLA Funds for Integrated Education and Training Programs – Frequently Asked Questions. The memorandum clarifies the circumstances under which states may use AEFLA funds to pay for occupational certificates and/or credentials in an IET program.

AEFLA Demonstrated Effectiveness Technical Assistance Guide

The Determining Applicant Eligibility When Conducting a State Competition for AEFLA Funds technical assistance guide provides information about applicant eligibility to apply for federal AEFLA funds, as well as information about State responsibilities to evaluate applicant eligibility. The guide also contains a State Application Review Guide that may be used by a State to evaluate whether its application for AEFLA funds meets federal requirements to determine the eligibility of AEFLA applicants.

Joint WIOA Data Validation Guidelines

OCTAE announces the release of Program Memorandum 19-1: Guidance for Validating Jointly Required Performance Data Submitted under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Section 116(d)(5) of WIOA requires the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor to establish data validation guidelines to ensure the information contained in program reports is valid and reliable. The program memorandum provides a general framework for data validation that states must use to develop procedures consistent with these guidelines.

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Laws and Guidance

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed into law (Pub. L. 113-128) on July 22, 2014. This Act reauthorizes the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) with several major revisions.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Regulations

The U.S. departments of Labor and Education collectively issued regulations to implement the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113-128). The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) published in January 2019.

Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Regulations

• AEFLA Program-Specific Regulations (Measuring Educational Gain in the NRS): 34 part 462
• AEFLA Program-Specific Regulations: 34 CFR part 463, subparts A-G
• WIOA Joint Regulations (Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability, and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions): 34 CFR part 463, subparts H-J

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Regulations

• VR Program-Specific Regulations: 34 CFR part 361, subparts A-C
• Supported Employment Services Regulations: 34 CFR part 363
• Limitations on Use of Subminimum Wage Regulations: 34 CFR part 397
• VR Miscellaneous Program Changes: 34 CFR parts 367-373, 381-387, 390, and 396
• WIOA Joint Regulations (Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions): 34 CFR part 361, subparts D-F

Department of Labor (DOL) Regulations

• DOL Program-Specific Regulations: 20 CFR parts 603, 651-654, 658, 675, 679-688
• WIOA Joint Regulations (Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions): 20 CFR parts 676-678

Additionally, the Department of Labor's Civil Rights Center (CRC) issued regulations related to Section 188 Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity of WIOA (29 CFR Part 38). The rule’s updated provisions generally reflect obligations already imposed by changes to other nondiscrimination and equal opportunity laws that expanded, for example, protections against unlawful discrimination on the basis of disability, national origin (including limited English proficiency), and sex. Check out information related to Section 188 on the CRC’s Web site at https://www.dol.gov/crc/188rule/.

Program Guidance and Policy Memoranda OCTAE issued several WIOA Program Guidance and Policy Memoranda concerning implementation of AEFLA under WIOA.

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Information Collection Requests

WIOA Joint and Program-specific Performance Information Collection Requests (ICR) The U.S. departments of Labor and Education collaboratively issued WIOA provisions related to joint performance accountability. The associated documents encompassed in this release include: a Participant Individual Record Layout, reporting calculation specifications, and quarterly and annual report templates. All of these documents have been approved by the Office and Management and Budget (OMB Control No. 1205-0526) for collection through June 30, 2019.

OCTAE's Information Collection Request for the National Reporting System tables for Title II (OMB Control No. 1830-0027) The NRS technical assistance guide contains an overview of the NRS information collection and instructions for the WIOA title II performance reporting components such as the statistical tables, the narrative report, the Federal Financial Report, and the data quality checklist.

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State Plan Resources

• Access to Portal for Submission of State WIOA Unified and Combined State Plans
• Final WIOA Unified and Combined State Plan Requirements States must use the information Collection Request (ICR) for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Unified and Combined State Plans Requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reviewed and approved this data collection (Control Number 1205-0222).
  

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WIOA Resources, Technical Assistance, and Events

• WIOA Youth Myth Buster This document dispels the myth that WIOA Title I Youth Program and Title II AEFLA Program funding can’t be used jointly to serve disconnected youth and discusses the benefits of partnering between the two programs.
• Sample Memorandum of Understanding and One-Stop Infrastructure Costs Toolkit The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) established new requirements for the development of MOUs in the one-stop service delivery system. This sample MOU and infrastructure costs toolkit may be used as a reference guide when developing your own MOU, including your one-stop operating budget, infrastructure funding agreements, and cost allocation methodologies.
• WIOA One-Stop Infrastructure Frequently Asked Questions
• Competitive Selection of One-Stop Operators The U.S. Department of Labor's Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL 15-6) provides information on the requirements to designate or certify certain one-stop operators through a competitive process, as set forth in section 121(d)(2)(A) of WIOA.
• WIOA American Job Centers Common Identifier and Branding The Department of Labor released frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the branding and common identifier requirements for American Job Centers (AJC). The FAQs and additional resources on this topic are available on the AJC Common Identifier and Branding page.
• Innovation and Opportunity Network Workforce GPS (ION)
• LINCS.ed.gov Find resources, online courses, and a community of practice around adult education programming on topics including career pathways, serving students with barriers, evidence-based instruction and training, and more.

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About WIOA Partners

WIOA authorized core and partner programs which also maintain resource pages:

• Department of Labor administers Title I (Adult, Dislocated and Youth services) and Title III (Wagner-Peyser Act).
• Department of Education administers both Title II (Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, which is covered by this page) and Title IV (Vocational Rehabilitation).
• (HHS-administered) TANF; Community Services Block Grant;
• (ED-administered) Career and Technical Education programs authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006;
• (USDA-administered) Employment and Training programs and Work programs under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;
• (DOL-administered) Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers programs; Jobs for Veterans State Grants programs; Unemployment Insurance programs (programs authorized under State unemployment compensation laws in accordance with applicable Federal law); Senior Community Service Employment program; and Reintegration of Ex-Offenders;
• (HUD-administered) Employment and Training activities carried by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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