“The House today passed a bipartisan bill to align career and technical education programs more closely with the needs of local jobs.
The bill (H.R. 2353), passed by voice vote, heads to the White House after being approved by the Senate on Monday through unanimous consent.
Legislation to update the program stalled in the Senate for more than a year over questions on secretarial authority. Senators came to a compromise and released a bipartisan bill that was approved by Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee last month, then added the text to the House bill before voting on it.
The legislation makes several changes, such as allowing grant funding from the training program to be used for younger students in middle school and adding a number of metrics to assess how programs are helping students.
The bill also eliminates a negotiation process between states seeking grant funding and the Education Department. Previously, states would negotiate their performance standards with the department. Under the bill, states can set their own standards, although the department maintains the ability to withhold funding if states fail to meet their goals.”
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