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Overview of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
Welcome to the second in a series of information sessions designed for State Directors of Adult
Education. The purpose of the series is to acquaint key staff in state adult education
offices with the changes in the recently reauthorized Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,
or WIOA, in order to facilitate transition to the new law. WIOA will require strong partnerships
at the state level. A good working knowledge of the legislation is essential to being effective
in that leadership role. This session employs a format known as a flipped classroom
by delivering content in advance of planned discussion and interaction. This series and
format is a result of conversations with the Executive Committee of the National Adult
Education Professional Development Consortium.
This session will focus on the purposes of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
or AEFLA, outline broad provisions of Unified Plans and the Performance Accountability System,
discuss three new activities in AEFLA, and outline several other changes to the Act.
It will also review authorization levels through 2020 and provide information on how to offer
comment about WIOA implementation and ask questions about the Act.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act reauthorizes the Workforce Investment Act,
which was due for reauthorization in 2003. It represents the first major reform in the U.S.
workforce system in over a decade. Among the overall purposes of the Act, is the intent
to increase access to opportunity for employment, education, training and support services for
individuals, particularly those with barriers to employment, and to the services they need
to succeed in the labor market. It encourages new opportunities for collaboration across
the federal and state agencies, strengthens partnerships, emphasizes accountability, and
promotes connections to employers and to regional needs. The WIOA also supports and makes investments
in innovation and promising models something that is underscored throughout.
Title II: Adult Education and Literacy
Title II of WIOA reauthorizes and enhances the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act.
Two sections, the State Plan and Performance Accountability that are currently a part of
Title II under WIA have been moved to Title I-A, a section of the new law that is focused
on system alignment. The provisions under these two sections apply to all four core
programs in WIOA. This information session will touch briefly on the State Plan and the
performance requirements. Information Sessions 3 and 4 will be devoted to a more thorough
discussion of the provisions within these two areas.
AEFLA retains purposes that have been in place over 50 years of legislative history in adult
education. They acknowledge the broad role adult education and literacy plays in helping
adults improve employment, self-sufficiency and in supporting the educational development
of children. The importance of high school completion for adults continues to be of primary
importance to achieving these broad purposes.
AEFLA recognizes that completion of high school is not an end in itself, but the means to
further opportunity. It adds to the purpose of high school completion, the transition
to postsecondary education though the use of career pathways.
A new purpose statement in AEFLA formalizes a role that adult education has played for
decades related to assisting immigrants and English language learners learn to read, write
and speak English, adding mathematics to the scope of services. It expands the focus of
English language learning by adding civics- related purposes.
States are required to prepare a single, coordinated unified plan across the core programs, or
a combined state plan that adds other specified federal programs including the Carl Perkins
Career and Technical Education Act. Unified Plans must include a strategic vision and
goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce and for meeting the needs of employers.
Strategic goals must be based on economic conditions, workforce needs, and available
resources for workforce development. Operational elements to support the strategy include how
the State plans to align and coordinate the core and other programs, engage community
colleges and career and technical education schools, and improve access to a wide range
of services. States are also required to submit title-specific elements, including for AEFLA,
how they intend to align adult education content standards with state-adopted content standards,
and assess the quality of adult education providers. States must submit Unified plans
in March of 2016.
The Act establishes common performance measures that all core programs must use and requires
the Secretaries of Education and Labor to consult with a variety of stakeholders to
develop definitions for the indicators. This will ensure national comparability of data,
one of the hallmarks of the current National Reporting System. The indicators differ from
the performance indicators in Title II of WIA, adding among other things, a requirement
to report on earnings and a measure for effectiveness in serving employers. The performance accountability
provisions go into effect on July 1, 2016.
AEFLA creates three new activities that are added to the definition of adult education
and literacy services and become a part of required activities for local adult education
programs under the Act. First it creates integrated education and training services that provide
adult education concurrently and contextually with occupational training. Congress issued
a Managers Report that accompanied the introduction of WIOA. The report stresses the delivery
of adult education in conjunction with occupational skills training as a primary reform principle
of AEFLA reauthorization.
Second, workforce preparation activities were added to the definition of adult education
and literacy services. The definition supports teaching employability skills services
that help individuals gain basic academic critical thinking, and digital literacy skills,
as well as other competencies.
The Act also creates a new Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education program. This
replaces the English Literacy and Civics program, which was previously funded through annual
appropriations. The inclusion of it in AEFLA makes it an authorized program and eliminates
the need for it to be funded annually through the appropriations process. The Act requires
the Secretary of Education to reserve 12% of AEFLA appropriated funds and distribute
those funds to States using a formula provided for in the Act. The new program retains the
focus on English language proficiency and civics education instruction and creates stronger
ties to employment and the workforce system.
The Act contains changes that effect how States will compete funds to local adult education
agencies. The definition of eligible provider increases the importance of all eligible applicants
having demonstrated effectiveness in providing adult education and literacy services.
The list of eligible providers under WIA was a definitive list of providers who could apply
for funds. WIOA contains provisions that make the list illustrative allowing any organization
of demonstrated effectiveness eligible to apply for funds.
Other changes in WIOA affect how States may award funds. The 12 considerations under WIA
used in the application process have been revised, adding an emphasis to alignment of
local adult education programs to local workforce plans and one-stops, as well as coordination
of support services. In addition to the considerations, the Act establishes 5 new application requirements
a state must use, including those aimed at alignment with local workforce plans and participation
in the one-stop system. Under Title I-B, which includes local plans under Title I, AEFLA
applicants must first submit applications to local workforce boards to review for alignment
with local plans.
States have many of the same fiscal requirements under WIOA. The changes include an increased
state minimum which may be used for state administration. It also changes the cap on
corrections education and other institutionalized individuals from 10% to 20% allowing a State
to increase its commitments to that program.
WIOA makes significant changes to how States may use State Leadership funds. In preceding
versions of adult education legislation, states had broad discretion in how Leadership funds
were used to support activities of statewide significance in promoting the purposes of
each Act. WIOA, for the first time, requires states to spend Leadership funds on mandated
activities. After the State covers the mandated activities, it may expend funds on other permissible
activities, including any activities of statewide significance.
In addition to increasing the cap on national leadership funds to 2% or up to $15 million,
WIOA contains a provision similar to the State Leadership provisions requiring the Secretary
of Education to fund four new required activities, with permissible activities thereafter. Included
is the requirement to carry out an independent evaluation of the activities under AEFLA at
least once every four years.
The Act authorizes an amount of funds that cannot be exceeded through the appropriations
process in any fiscal year, beginning in 2015 through 2020 when the Act expires.
In partnership with the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which
is responsible for WIOA Title IV Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act, the Office of Career,
Technical, and Adult Education, is seeking input to help identify issues and concerns
that we need to address in order to fulfill the expectations of WIOA, particularly as
we develop draft regulations for public comment. Please visit the blog post and submit comments
by August 29, 2014. The post includes 4 specific questions related to AEFLA. We welcome your comments
The landing pages for partner programs remain available. Please forward questions to the
appropriate mailboxes and access information resources listed.
Thank you for joining this session. Please join us for the third Information Session
on Unified Plans under WIOA.