The word from the Hill is that Congress may not take up reauthorization of Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) this session. This law, also known as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), is the piece of legislation that provides the federal funding for adult literacy programs in the U.S., including the District of Columbia.
The problem is that Congress is focused on health care reform legislation right now, and this may well consume all of their time through the end of the year. And they are apparently committed to taking up the Elementary and Secondary Education Act next spring. So the word from the national advocates is that if the legislation is going to be reauthorized this session, it will need to happen sometime between the beginning of the year and the spring, and that is a very small window.
The real problem, however, is that adult education is simply not a priority in right now. It could be because Congress does not hear enough from constituents on the importance of reauthorizing this law. That may not be the only reason, but absent a mandate from Congressional leaders or the President to get moving on Title II, it does seem logical that large-scale grass roots advocacy will be required in order to get Congress to act.
Reauthorizing Title II is important to the residents of the District. Like the rest of the country, we have been working under the same rules since this law was passed in 1998. Here, as in the states, the local officials in charge of distributing the federal funds made available through Title II take their cues from the priorities and mandates spelled out in the law.
Some of the recommendations put forward by the field for improving Title II that I have seen would encourage the development of a more seamless, integrated adult education system—one that connects adult literacy and basic education with adult secondary education, postsecondary education, and training. Other recommendations I’ve seen encourage a more customer-focused approach, particularly regarding the needs of learners at the lowest levels. I have no idea if those recommendations would make it into the actual reauthorization legislation, but the fact that these kinds of recommendations are on the table is encouraging. In any case, without reauthorization, local officials here in D.C. (in our case, at the Office of the State Superintendent for Education, or OSSE) have little incentive to move away from the way things have been done for the last decade. Moreover, local officials will receive a clear signal that adult education is not a priority for the Congress or the Administration. So when Congress reviews the District’s budget each year there will little cause for concern that any questions will be raised regarding the District’s budgetary commitment to adult education. This will make our local advocacy efforts that much more difficult.
In addition, local adult literacy programs here in the District that do not currently receive federal funding have not been allowed to compete for federal grant money in several years because WIA has not been reauthorized. Reauthorization would allow states and the District to re-compete the grants, and to update their state plans. The District desperately needs to update its plan.
Most importantly, although no one can be sure what would happen if WIA is simply allowed to die, national advocates I’ve talked to say that there is a substantial risk that federal funds for adult education could be more easily eliminated or reduced. That seems like a legitimate concern to me.
The National Coalition for Literacy has put together more extensive talking points, which you can read about here:
http://blog.ncladvocacy.org/category/ncltoolkit/reauthorizing-the-workforce-investment-act/
Because there is such a brief window of opportunity to reauthorize the legislation before Congress starts to work on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the spring, the National Coalition is recommending that people let the authorizing Committees know that we want them to move on this now.
Residents of the District, unfortunately, do not have full representation in Congress, which of course limits our influence when it comes to advocating for federal legislation. However, I think there are some things that can be done.
First, although our representative does not serve on any of the relevant committees or subcommittees, residents of the District can contact Rep. Norton’s office and ask her to ask contact her colleagues on the House Education and Labor Committee and urge them to reauthorize WIA Title II this session.
Second, many subscribers to this list live outside of the District even if they volunteer, work or attend classes here. If you live in Maryland, your voice is particularly relevant, because Sen. Mikulski serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Finally, many of you may have friends and relatives living in other parts of the country who may be constituents of a senator who serves on one of the relevant committees. You can notify them about this issue and ask them to contact their representative or senator.
The National Coalition provides lot so ideas and information about how to do this, including links to a list of the members of these committees.
What do you think? Do you have ideas on how to get Congress to act? Are you clear on the consequences of not reauthorizing? Does this sound too wonky to get excited about? We welcome your questions and comments.
