Congressional leaders from both parties and both chambers of Congress have come together to write a major overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, formerly known as “No Child Left Behind.” The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has replaced No Child Left Behind, which was put in to law in 2002. The legislation will directly affect nearly 50 million public school students and their 3.4 million teachers from kindergarten through 12th grade. Most notably, this new law reverts a great deal of power back to the states as it relates to education spending and planning.
CompTIA was especially pleased to see that career and technical education (CTE) was not forgotten. The new law includes CTE as an allowable expense within a number of funding streams and grant programs. CTE programs, particularly those that are linked to industry-recognized credentials, are a critical part of getting students both college and career ready. It is also a critical path towards employment in the IT industry. In Q3 of 2015 there were more than one million core IT job openings in the US, according to Burning Glass Technologies Labor Insights. Many of these jobs do not require advanced degrees and could be filled by people who have industry-recognized credentials in IT. All this to say, we need to make sure our education system at the earliest levels recognizes all opportunities for students when it comes to steps after graduation, be it furthering their education in a classroom or in the work place.
We applaud Congress for their efforts in passing this important education reform legislation. We will continue to work with Members and their staff preparing our students to be part of the 21st century workforce.
