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After months of debate, Congress finally approved a Fiscal Year
(FY) 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
appropriations bill as part of a larger $555 billion omnibus
legislative package (H.R.2764). The bill, expected to be signed by
President
Bush later this month, includes $59.2 billion for education
and $1.175 billion for the Perkins Act, an approximate $11 million
cut below the FY 2007 Perkins level.
Approved by the House on December 19 by a 272-142 vote, the bill
met two requirements from President
Bush: (1) it remained under a threshold of overall
discretionary funding that the President set early in the year at
$933 billion, and (2) it included $70 billion in increases for
funding the Iraq War.
Democrat leaders who pushed for large funding increases for
domestic programs throughout the year â€" often joined
by some Republicans â€" were, in the end, unable to
attract enough support. While a reallocation of funds did result in
approximately $1.7 billion in increases for the Department of
Education, all programs in the bill were subject to a 1.75 percent
across-the-board cut.
Perkins funding had been increased by $25 million in an earlier
Congressionally-passed bill, but that measure was vetoed by the
President and Congress was unable to override the veto which
requires a 2/3 majority for passage. The Presidential veto required
Congress to reopen negotiations that resulted in the reduced
allocation and across-the-board cut.
ACTE would like to thank all members who contacted their Senators
and Members of Congress throughout the year requesting a Perkins
increase. A complete funding chart and
additional details about the budget and appropriations process
can be found on ACTE’s Web
site.
Department
of Education Leads Feasibility Study of National CTE Test Item
Bank
Under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of
2006, states are required to report on students’
attainment of challenging technical skill proficiencies that are
aligned with industry-recognized standards where available and
appropriate, and that are measured in a valid and reliable way.
Although a handful of States have established statewide exams or
contracted for third-party assessments, a majority lack
standardized testing systems and the resources to create such
systems.
To assist states in collecting and reporting this information, ACTE
is collaborating with the U.S. Department of
Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult
Education (OVAE), the National Association of State Directors of
Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc), and other
technical education stakeholders to explore the feasibility of
establishing a Web-based, nationally-validated test item
bank.
Working group members are currently focusing on clarifying the
purpose of such an item bank and surveying states as to their needs
and interest in participating. A Design and Feasibility Report will
be created to address such issues as item bank organization and
housing, strategies for soliciting and validating test items,
assessment development and reporting features, and system design
and maintenance costs. The goal is to have a draft of this document
completed by March 2008, and a final version printed in April 2008.
If conditions warrant, the group will then move forward to secure
funding commitments and develop a bidding process, with initial
work on the item bank to begin in the fall of 2008.
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Construction
Employers' Association
