Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act Passes House Education & Workforce Committee

Thompson’s Career & Technical Education Bill Advances as Part of House Elementary & Secondary Education Reauthorization

Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act Passes House Education & Workforce Committee

Washington, D.C. — The Education for Tomorrows Jobs Act (H.R. 3154), a bill introduced by U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson during the first half of the 112th Congress, today passed the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee as part of the Student Success Act (H.R. 3989), which is one of several bills that will serve as the basis to reauthorize the current Elementary and Secondary Education law, also known as No Child Left Behind. H.R. 3989 passed the full Committee by a vote of 23-16.

“American competitiveness is contingent upon the next generation of young minds attaining both the knowledge and necessary skills to graduate high school and be career and college ready,” said Thompson. “The Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act will allow school districts the flexibility to engage with the community and match necessary skills with the needs of local employers to provide rigorous academics alongside of real world educational experiences.”

Currently, school districts must submit education plans to the Department of Education outlining how they intend to use federal education funding. The Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act provides new flexibility for school districts to integrate academic and technical instruction, encouraging the creation of partnerships between school districts, institutes of higher education, local industry, and other community stakeholders.

In the first session of the 112th Congress, the Committee held 11 hearings, receiving testimony from dozens of state and local education officials across the country, in preparation for the ESEA reauthorization. Based on these hearings, the Committee introduced the Student Success Act (H.R. 3989) and Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act (H.R. 3990), which also passed during today’s mark up.

“The Student Success Act and Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act restore maximum flexibility at the local level, while ensuring that schools, teachers, and parents have the tools and resources to enable our kids to succeed,” added Thompson added. “I am very pleased that these bills have moved forward with the needs of our local school jurisdictions and communities first, which is paramount in our efforts to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.”

In addition to serving on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Thompson currently serves as Co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus alongside of Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI). Thompson’s Education for Tomorrow’s Jobs Act has a companion bill in the Senate, S. 1686, which was introduced by Senator Bob Casey on October 12, 2011.