OMB Releases Some Frozen K-12 Funds | Workforce Pell is Here. Now What? | ED Moves CTE, Adult Ed Programs to DOL
This week, David DeSchryver, W/A Sr. VP and Co-Director of Research, is taking over for Ben.
In recent weeks, we’ve been inundated with questions from edtech and workforce vendors, as well as state and local leaders, who are trying to navigate—and make sense of—the federal government’s withholding of funds that they were counting on. The implications, especially this late in the game, have been far reaching.
This afternoon, we got a bit of good news. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released $1.4 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA] Title IV part B) that it was withholding. It is not clear whether or when the agency will do the same for the remaining $5.4 billion of funding that has been frozen since July 1.
This announcement comes after significant lobbying by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.
On July 16, West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito—chairman of the Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee—and nine Republican colleagues sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget advocating for the release of the appropriated FY 2025 funds. The letter argues that the action does not align with the goal of “returning K-12 education to the states.” School leaders from blue and red states have also been making their case to the administration.
The release will not likely affect the lawsuit brought by 24 states and Washington, D.C. against the administration (all Democratic led). The suit argues that the act violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which prohibits the executive branch from withholding funding appropriated by Congress.
All the while, local education and workforce leaders are adjusting budgets and contracts, operating in unprecedented budget uncertainty. The release of 21st Century funding is a promising signal—but it does not yet alleviate the school budget scramble caused by the last hour withholding.
The W/A research team will continue to track the ins-and-outs of federal funding, and its impact on local education markets. Interested in real-time updates or customized reports? Reach out to us to learn more about our subscription research offerings at info@whiteboardadvisors.com.
In this week’s edition of Whiteboard Notes, we’re covering:
Workforce Pell is Here. Now What?
Top 10 “What We’re Reading” Articles of the Week
ED Moves to Outsource CTE, Adult Education to Department of Labor
Can Edtech Tools Work Together?
Early Look at ED’s AI Grant Priorities
Gallup/Lumina: Confidence in Higher Ed is on the Rise
Workforce Pell is Here. Now What?
After years of unsuccessful policy proposals to expand federal Pell Grants to short-term, industry aligned programs, “Workforce Pell” finally made its way to the finish line through the One Big Beautiful Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 4.
The final law comes after a bipartisan compromise was reached in the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee in late 2023, which included distance education and for-profit providers in exchange for several accountability measures.
The final language is only 7.5 pages of the sweeping 887-page bill (compared to the 30-page version from the House last session). Notably, the law does not include a pathway for non-accredited providers to access the new funding after being “Byrd bathed” by the Senate Parliamentarian.
Now that Workforce Pell is a reality, what do providers, employers, advocates, and investors need to know? Check out our team’s overview of what was included in the law and what may be on the horizon on the W/A blog.
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Top 10 “What We’re Reading” Articles of the Week
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How Trump plans to dismantle the Education Department after Supreme Court ruling [The Associated Press]
Underserved students interested in STEM are often overlooked [Fast Company]
More than half the states have issued AI guidance for schools [Stateline]
SNAP cuts threaten food programs, raising fears of increased child hunger [Chalkbeat]
A.I. in higher education: These students are avoiding it. [Slate]
Free Photo Library Aims to Capture Authenticity of Higher Ed [Inside Higher Ed]
Are misperceptions about higher education’s cost causing adults to skip college? [Higher Ed Dive]
How to prepare graduates for the AI revolution [University Business]
'Panicking': Recent college grads struggle to find jobs [NPR]
These employers will help you earn a no-cost degree or certification while on the job [WorkingNation]
ED Moves to Outsource CTE, Adult Education to Department of Labor
This week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new interagency partnership to coordinate federal education and workforce systems and address the nation’s critical talent shortage. The effort both aligns with President Trump’s workforce development priorities and marks a major milestone in the Trump administration’s ongoing quest to shutter ED.
Catch up quick: On May 21, ED and DOL quietly signed an interagency agreement (IAA), setting the stage for their partnership. The IAA stalled out in court after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, citing pending litigation on the constitutionality of ED’s massive reductions in force filed earlier in May. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted ED’s emergency request to stay the injunction on Monday, allowing the Department to proceed with the layoff of roughly 1,400 employees.
What’s next: Through the IAA, DOL will take on a “greater role” in the administration of ED’s adult education, family literacy, and career and technical education programs funded under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V) and WIOA Title II. ED is expected to maintain statutory responsibilities, policy authority, and oversight of the impacted programs.
What they’re saying:
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said, “Support from the Department of Labor in administering the Department of Education’s workforce programs is a commonsense step in streamlining these programs to better serve students, families, and educators.” These sentiments were echoed by Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who emphasized that the ED-DOL partnership would provide states with “clearer guidance, reduced regulatory burdens, and more resources that are directly invested in opportunities for American workers.”
The partnership has met resistance from some Democratic lawmakers, who say that reforms to these programs need to be approved by Congress. In a June 18 letter, Sens. Patty Murray (WA) and Tammy Baldwin (WI) and Reps. Robert “Bobby” Scott (VA) and Rosa DeLauro (CT) wrote: “Respectfully, federal agencies are not interchangeable entities that simply hand out money to states and localities… We urge you to cease plans to implement this IAA immediately and implement CTE and adult education programs as specified in authorizing and annual appropriations laws.”
Other advocacy groups, including Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education, have also voiced opposition to the partnership: “[These programs] are not merely job training programs; [they] are comprehensive educational and career preparation programs that prepare secondary and postsecondary learners for lifelong success.” [Community College Daily; K-12 Dive]
Quick Takes
Early Look at ED’s AI Grant Priorities: The U.S. Department of Education released an unofficial draft of a proposed grant priority titled “Advancing Artificial Intelligence in Education.” The proposal builds on President Trump’s April 23 executive order on AI education and offers school districts and providers a clearer picture of how the Department may approach future grant opportunities, with the goal of expanding AI literacy and promoting the use of AI tools in classrooms to support personalized learning and effective instruction. The official notice will be published next Monday, July 21; stakeholders will have 30 days from then to submit comments before the final version appears in the Federal Register.
Confidence in Higher Ed is on the Rise: According to new research from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation, Americans’ confidence in higher education has increased for the first time in a decade. Of the 1,400 U.S. adults surveyed, 42% said they had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the higher ed sector (compared to 36% in 2023 and 2024). Additionally, the percentage of respondents with little to no confidence declined from 32% to 23% over the last year. However, there is still room for improvement: the share of adults reporting high confidence in higher ed is still well below the 57% recorded in 2015, the first year of the survey. [Higher Ed Dive]
Can Edtech Tools Work Together? This week, Clever released a new whitepaper, exploring one of the thorniest (and often overlooked) challenges in school systems: edtech integration. The average U.S. district now uses over 2,500 edtech tools a year, each often requiring its own rostering and login. This fragmentation—driven by apps with their own login, setup process, and way of handling data—is slowing learning, overburdening teachers, and introducing new security risks. Clever argues in favor of shared standards and smarter infrastructure that let districts stay in control while making tools easier to connect, data safer to manage, and classroom technology more useful for teachers and students alike. As IDEA Public Schools’ Audrey Cisneros puts it: “Every hour our IT team spends on custom integrations is an hour they’re not spending on enhancing the digital learning experience.” Read the full report.
The U.S. Department of Education announced this week another cohort of Trump administration appointees. Appointees include John Huston as Deputy General Counsel, Diana Díaz-Harrison as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Pamela Davidson as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education, Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs, among others.
This fall, DeRionne Pollard will take the helm of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) as its first female CEO. Pollard, a veteran education leader who currently serves as president of Nevada State University, will succeed Walter Bumphus, who has led AACC since 2011. Bumphus announced his retirement earlier this year. [Community College Daily]
The National Association of Higher Education Systems’ (NASH) Board of Directors unanimously voted to appoint Nancy Zimpher as the organization’s next President. Zimpher previously served as Chancellor of the State University of New York and in various leadership roles at NASH, including Board Chair, Interim Executive Director, and Special Advisor to the President. Jessica Todtman, who served as interim president of NASH over the last year, will continue at the organization as Executive Vice President.
Looking for your next opportunity in education? Check out W/A Jobs, which features 3,292 career opportunities from 304 organizations across the education industry. A few roles that caught our eye over the past week:
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is hiring a Texas-based ESA Program Manager to lead the implementation of the state's new ESA initiative, expected to be the largest such program in the country.
General Assembly is hiring a London-based Senior Account Executive to support relationship-building with enterprise clients.
The College Board is hiring a remote Senior Product Manger to lead the vision, strategy, and roadmap for a variety of products being built in their GenAI Studio.
Cambium Learning is hiring a remote Salesforce Product Owner to support the effective utilization of the organization’s Salesforce instance.
Outschool is hiring an on-site Office Coordinator to keep their San Francisco office operations running smoothly.
Upcoming Events and Convenings
League for Innovation in the Community College: Reimagining Student Engagement: How Merced College Is Using Immersive VR to Transform Learning, July 23 at 1 p.m. ET, Virtual.
BrainPOP: Summer Connect 2025: Get Ready for Back-to-School, July 30 from Noon - 4 p.m. ET, Virtual.
C-BEN: Early Insights: Skills-Based Math Pathways for Adult Learners, July 30 at 2 p.m. CT, Virtual.
Packback: Designing for Depth: Assignment Strategies That Prevent Cognitive Offloading, August 7 at 1 p.m. ET, Virtual.
SHEEO: 2025 Higher Education Policy Conference, August 11-14, Minneapolis, MN.
Mainstay: Student Success Insights: Live Discussion with National Higher Ed Leaders, August 12 at 2 p.m. ET, Virtual.
National College Attainment Network: 30th Anniversary National Conference, September 8-10, New Orleans, LA.
Council of the Great City Schools: 69th Annual Conference: We Are Public Education, October 22-26, Philadelphia, PA.
ACCT: 2025 Leadership Congress, October 22-25, New Orleans, LA.
Quality Matters: QM Connect Conference: Impact Through Quality Connections, November 3-5, Tucson, AZ.
C-BEN: CBExchange 2025: Wrangling Skills in This Wild, Wild West Environment, November 10-13, Phoenix, AZ.