[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 232 (Wednesday, December 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77456-77459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26483]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2020-OCTAE-0176]


Request for Information on Expanding Work-Based Learning 
Opportunities for Youth

AGENCY: Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is requesting 
information on successful approaches for expanding work-based learning 
(WBL) opportunities for youth by working across Federal, State, and 
local education and employer systems. We will use this information to 
inform our implementation of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 
Education Act of 2006, as amended by the Strengthening Career and 
Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V).

DATES: We must receive your submission by January 13, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your response to this request for information (RFI) 
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. We will not accept submissions 
by postal mail, commercial mail, hand delivery, fax, or email. To 
ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies, please submit your 
comments only one time.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov to submit 
your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, 
including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting 
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under the 
``Help'' tab.
    Privacy Note: The Department's policy for comments received from 
members of the public is to make these submissions available for public 
viewing in their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include 
in their comments only information that they wish to make publicly 
available on the internet. We encourage, but do not require, that each 
respondent include his or her name, title, institution or affiliation, 
and the name, title, mailing and email addresses, and telephone number 
of a contact person for his or her institution or affiliation, if any.
    This is a request for information only. This RFI is not a request 
for proposals (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or a notice inviting 
applications. This RFI does not commit the Department to contract for 
any supply or service whatsoever. Further, we are not seeking proposals 
and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The Department will not pay 
for any information or administrative costs that you may incur in 
responding to this RFI.
    The documents and information submitted in response to this RFI 
become the property of the U.S. Government and will not be returned.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kiawanta Hunter-Keiser, Office of 
Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U.S Department of Education, 
400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 11-119, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, 
DC 20202-7240. Telephone: (202) 245-7724. Email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department awards approximately $1.3 
billion annually for Career and Technical Education (CTE) State formula 
grants authorized under Perkins V. Perkins V assists States and 
outlying areas in expanding and improving CTE in secondary schools, 
technical schools, and community colleges. Each State uses program 
funds to support a variety of CTE programs and activities developed in 
accordance with its State plan.
    The enactment of Perkins V in 2018 highlighted the provision of WBL 
\1\ as an important strategy for preparing CTE students for further 
learning and careers. For example, the new law amended the definition 
of CTE to include WBL as a component (20 U.S.C. 2302(5)); directed 
States to identify in their State plans how individuals who are members 
of special populations \2\ will be provided instruction and WBL 
opportunities in integrated settings that support competitive, 
integrated employment (20 U.S.C. 2342(d)(9)(E)); and permitted States 
to use State leadership funds to establish and expand WBL opportunities 
that are aligned to CTE programs and programs of study (20 U.S.C. 
2344(b)(18)), as well as to facilitate the inclusion of WBL 
opportunities (including internships, externships, and simulated work 
environments) in CTE programs of study (20 U.S.C. 2344(b)(4)(C)).
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    \1\ Section 3(55) of Perkins V defines the term ``work-based 
learning'' to mean ``sustained interactions with industry or 
community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent 
practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution 
that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required 
in a given career field, that are aligned to curriculum and 
instruction.''
    \2\ Section 3(48) of Perkins V defines ``special populations'' 
to mean ``(A) individuals with disabilities; (B) individuals from 
economically disadvantaged families, including low-income youth and 
adults; (C) individuals preparing for non-traditional fields; (D) 
single parents, including single pregnant women; (E) out-of-
workforce individuals; (F) English learners; (G) homeless 
individuals described in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a); (H) youth who are in, or have 
aged out of, the foster care system; and (I) youth with a parent 
who--(i) is a member of the armed forces (as such term is defined in 
section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code); and (ii) is on 
active duty (as such term is defined in section 101(d)(1) of such 
title).''
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    At the local level, amendments made by the 2018 law required 
eligible recipients to describe in their applications for funds the WBL 
opportunities that they will provide to students participating in CTE 
programs and how they will work with representatives from employers to 
develop or expand WBL opportunities for CTE students (20 U.S.C. 
2354(b)(6)). Providing a continuum of WBL opportunities, including 
simulated work environments, is also an authorized use of the funds by 
local recipients (20 U.S.C. 2355(b)(5)(E)). Importantly, the new law 
also included participation in WBL by secondary CTE concentrators as a 
new optional indicator of State performance (20 U.S.C. 
2323(b)(2)(A)(iv)(I)(cc)). In the State plans submitted during summer 
2020, 26 States selected this indicator as one

[[Page 77457]]

of their measures of secondary CTE program quality.\3\
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    \3\ Perkins V State Plans approved by the Department can be 
found on the Department's website at https://cte.ed.gov/grants/state-plan.
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    The greater prominence of WBL in Perkins V and interest in 
expanding its availability comes at a time when participation in the 
labor market by youth is at a low point. Since 2000, there has been a 
precipitous drop in participation in the job market by adolescents ages 
16 to 19 of all major races and ethnicities.\4\ The labor force 
participation rate measures the percentage of individuals who are 
employed or who are seeking employment. During July, at the height of 
the summer, the labor force participation rate of 16- to 19-year-old 
youth declined from 62.9 percent in 1999 to 40.0 percent in 2020 (Table 
1). This deep decline occurred among White youth, Black youth, Hispanic 
youth, and Asian youth. Summer job opportunities are particularly 
limited for low-income youth. The employment rate measures the 
percentage of individuals in the labor force who are employed. In July 
2020, the employment rate of youth ages 16 to 19 from families with 
annual incomes of $20,000 or less was about half that of their peers 
from families with annual incomes of $150,000 or more (Table 2). Youth 
participation in the labor market throughout the year also has dropped 
significantly since 2000. The annual average rate of labor force 
participation among youth ages 16 to 19 fell from 52.0 percent in 1999 
to 35.3 percent in 2019, with White youth, Black youth, Hispanic youth, 
and Asian youth all experiencing a decline (Table 3).
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    \4\ See, for example, Steven F. Hipple, ``Labor force 
participation: What has happened since the peak?,'' Monthly Labor 
Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2016, Retrieved 
from https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2016.43.

             Table 1--Percentage of Youth Ages 16 to 19 Participating in the Labor Force During July
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                                                                                     Hispanic
              Year                  All youth,     White youth,    Black youth,   youth, ages 16-  Asian youth,
                                    ages 16-19      ages 16-19      ages 16-19          19          ages 16-19
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1999............................            62.9            66.5            49.8            51.5             (*)
2000............................            61.8            65.6            50.2            51.4            37.2
2001............................            60.3            64.1            47.3            50.9            39.7
2002............................            57.5            61.1            42.7            48.9            43.9
2003............................            53.7            57.0            41.8            43.3            36.2
2004............................            53.6            57.1            41.8            45.0            33.1
2005............................            53.0            56.3            41.7            42.9            34.4
2006............................            53.5            56.9            43.1            44.9            32.6
2007............................            50.0            53.9            36.3            39.5            30.3
2008............................            49.6            53.2            37.7            41.5            30.0
2009............................            46.5            50.1            35.5            42.1            28.2
2010............................            42.6            46.0            30.8            36.8            31.9
2011............................            41.6            45.3            28.5            32.6            26.3
2012............................            43.4            45.9            37.0            37.9            23.0
2013............................            43.3            45.6            36.3            39.5            27.5
2014............................            42.3            45.3            32.0            36.2            27.9
2015............................            41.3            44.1            35.3            35.2            25.3
2016............................            43.2            46.0            34.4            35.3            24.9
2017............................            42.5            43.8            37.5            36.7            30.5
2018............................            43.0            45.4            36.3            37.9            25.1
2019............................            44.3            47.1            38.8            38.3            25.7
2020............................            40.0            42.4            35.9            34.2            20.9
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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Current Population Survey, not seasonally adjusted, 1999-2020.
  Retrieved by searching the BLS Data Finder 1.1 at https://beta.bls.gov/dataQuery/search.
* Data from 1999 on Asian youth ages 16 to 19 are not available.


  Table 2--July 2020 Employment Rate of Youth Ages 16 to 19, By Annual
                              Family Income
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                                                             July 2020
                                                            percentage
                      Family income                         employment
                                                               rate
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Under $20,000...........................................            18.9
$20,000-$39,999.........................................            24.3
$40,000-$59,999.........................................            32.4
$60,000-$74,999.........................................            33.3
$75,000-$99,999.........................................            35.4
$100,000-$149,999.......................................            37.9
+$150,000 and higher....................................            40.3
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey public use
  microdata, July 2020. Retrieved by searching the Census Bureau's MDAT
  tool at https://data.census.gov/mdat/#/.


[[Page 77458]]


           Table 3--Annual Average Percentage of Youth Ages 16 to 19 Participating in the Labor Force
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                                                                                     Hispanic
              Year                  All youth,     White youth,    Black youth,   youth, ages 16-  Asian Youth,
                                    Ages 16-19      ages 16-19      ages 16-19          19          ages 16-19
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1999............................            52.0            55.5            38.7            45.5             (*)
2000............................            52.0            55.5            39.4            46.3            35.8
2001............................            49.6            53.1            37.6            46.9            32.0
2002............................            47.4            50.5            36.0            44.0            33.3
2003............................            44.5            47.7            32.4            37.7            29.6
2004............................            43.9            47.1            31.4            38.2            28.4
2005............................            43.7            46.9            32.4            38.6            26.0
2006............................            43.7            46.7            34.0            38.3            25.1
2007............................            41.3            44.4            30.3            37.1            24.5
2008............................            40.2            43.1            29.4            36.9            24.9
2009............................            37.5            40.6            27.2            34.0            20.8
2010............................            34.9            37.7            25.5            30.9            22.0
2011............................            34.1            36.8            24.9            28.3            21.7
2012............................            34.3            36.9            26.9            30.9            20.1
2013............................            34.5            36.9            28.0            31.0            21.5
2014............................            34.0            36.2            27.2            30.3            21.0
2015............................            34.3            36.4            28.1            30.9            20.6
2016............................            35.2            37.4            29.0            31.2            21.2
2017............................            35.2            36.8            30.0            31.9            23.5
2018............................            35.1            37.2            30.5            32.5            19.6
2019............................            35.3            37.5            30.1            32.2            21.6
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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, not seasonally adjusted, 1962-2019.
  Retrieved from the BLS Data Finder 1.1 at https://beta.bls.gov/dataQuery/search.
* Data from 1999 on Asian youth ages 16 to 19 are not available.

    With the heightened interest in expanding WBL for CTE students 
occurring at the same time that participation in work by youth is 
waning, the Department is soliciting ideas and information from a broad 
array of stakeholders on strategies and approaches to expand WBL 
opportunities for primarily high school students ages 16 or 17. These 
opportunities may include, but are not limited to, paid internships, 
work study, cooperative education, apprenticeships, and pre-
apprenticeships. Input on stabilizing and increasing WBL will also be 
critical to mitigate the potential short- and long-term impact of the 
pandemic on youth employment.
    We are interested in learning about successful approaches to 
expanding WBL opportunities for youth from States, Tribes, State and 
local educational agencies, community-based and other nonprofit 
organizations, employers, industry associations, philanthropic 
organizations, faith-based organizations, researchers, and other 
interested individuals and entities. The public input provided in 
response to this notice will inform the deliberations of the Department 
on the implementation of Perkins V and the Department's consultation 
and coordination on activities related to federally supported youth 
employment initiatives with its partners in the implementation of the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (Pub. L. 113-128), including 
the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services.
    In responding to the questions, please provide information about 
WBL in the context of both prior to and during the pandemic, as 
applicable.

Key Questions

    1. What barriers have you seen in your State or community to 
helping 16-and 17-year-old students gain a WBL experience?
    2. What WBL programs and strategies at the State or local level do 
you consider successful or can be efficiently brought to scale, 
including apprenticeship opportunities for high school and college 
students?
    3. What role does the public elementary and secondary education 
system currently play in the development of career readiness for youth, 
and what role should it play?
    4. How can we better align resources and administrative, 
regulatory, and statutory requirements to allow for greater 
collaboration between educators and private and nonprofit employers?
    5. What do State and local workforce development boards established 
by Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and their 
partners need to do to facilitate better leveraging Federal workforce 
dollars targeted at youth?

Detailed Questions

I. Successful Practices and Strategies

    1. What Federal, State, and local programs or community 
collaborative efforts have led to expanded WBL for high school age 
students? What is the objective evidence of their success (e.g., 
evidence from rigorous evaluations using, for instance, causal research 
designs)?
    2. How might technology be leveraged to overcome geographic 
barriers to student participation in WBL in rural and other 
communities? Are there successful examples of virtual WBL?
    3. What interventions, strategies, or practices would need to be 
included in a WBL program to increase the likelihood of its success?
    4. What are ways to involve parents, students, and employers in 
planning and implementing WBL to help ensure that strategies will be 
successful in meeting their needs?

II. Public and Private Partnerships

    1. Which State, local, nonprofit, and business partners have been 
involved in successful initiatives to expand WBL? Which partners should 
be involved in the future?
    2. What role did or what role could philanthropic organizations 
play in supporting these types of initiatives?
    3. How were the partnerships involved in those initiatives 
structured (e.g., governance models, provision of services, shared 
funding, collaborative professional development)?

[[Page 77459]]

III. Outcomes, Data, and Evaluation Design

    1. What existing data collection mechanisms can be harnessed to 
describe the characteristics of students and employers participating in 
WBL and to track performance outcomes of students who participate or do 
not participate in WBL?
    2. What role, if any, do you believe a State's longitudinal data 
system should or could play in the development, tracking, and 
advancement of career readiness?
    3. What do you see as the most predictive and helpful metrics and 
outcomes for success?
    4. What are examples of some frameworks and protocols for sharing 
data efficiently across programs while meeting privacy and 
confidentiality requirements? What should be the specifications for 
additional frameworks or protocols for the effective sharing of 
information?
    5. What are the best examples of schools and programs using data to 
track progress, inform course corrections, and evaluate program 
performance in WBL?
    6. Would you consider participating in a Department-sponsored 
rigorous evaluation of an innovative WBL practice or strategy?

IV. Student Barriers

    1. What are the legislative, regulatory, or other barriers that 
impede student participation in WBL? What barriers has the COVID-19 
pandemic created?
    2. Are the barriers created at the Federal, State, or local level?
    3. Could the barriers be overcome through administrative action 
(i.e., without changes to laws or regulations)? How and in what ways?
    4. Would overcoming the barriers require changes in Federal or 
State laws? If so, what are those provisions of law and how would they 
need to be changed?
    5. What are examples of schools or communities that have been 
successful in addressing transportation barriers to student 
participation in WBL?
    6. What are the best assessment tools to identify, address, and 
overcome barriers to career readiness among students?
    7. What strategies have been successful in expanding WBL 
opportunities for students from special populations, as well as 
students from major racial and ethnic groups?

V. Employer Barriers

    1. What are the legislative, regulatory, or other barriers, such as 
liability concerns, that impede employer participation in WBL when 
hiring high school students ages 16 to 17? For students ages 18 to 19, 
including college students?
    2. Are the barriers created at the Federal, State, or local level?
    3. Could the barriers be overcome through administrative action 
(i.e., without changes to laws or regulations)? How and in what ways?
    4. Would overcoming the barriers require changes in Federal or 
State laws? If so, what are those provisions of law and how would they 
need to be changed?
    5. Are there incentives that would help employers be more engaged 
with WBL in your community?
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
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use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
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    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 2324; 20 U.S.C. 3416.

Scott Stump,
Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-26483 Filed 12-1-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P