National Coalition for Literacy

Urge Congress to Reauthorize WIA NOW!

Weigh in: What Changes in Adult Education Do You Want Most? 

Deadline: January 15, 2009

The Workforce Investment Act, Title II—the legislation that makes federally funded adult education programs possible—hasn’t changed since it was first authorized in 1998. Thanks to your advocacy efforts, Congress is now working to change it. Now it is time to tell Congress what changes you want to see most in adult education programs.

Remember, this is reauthorization, not appropriations. We will ask you to weigh in on Appropriations in February, after the President’s proposed FY 2011 Budget is released.

So what can we change? Below are the National Coalition for Literacy’s Top WIA Reauthorization Priorities.  Please adopt them as you see fit to develop your message to Congress.

Actions:

1. Use the NCL Top WIA Priorities to develop your message, or identify your own WIA Reauthorization priorities.

1. Call, email, or fax your US Senators and Representative today.

1. Give them this message:

“As you work to reauthorize WIA Title II now, I would like the new law to include provisions that: ___[insert talking point(s)]___.”

Then talk about your experience with respect to the issue(s) you raise. Keep the letter to one page or less.

How:

Email the Senate Authorizing Committee by visiting their website, then click on “Email the Committee” at the top right.

Contact Information:

Locate your US legislators’ contact information using ProLiteracy’s or TESOL’s interactive map.

Click here to tell us you made your contact.

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Talking Points

The following are the National Coalition for Literacy WIA Reauthorization Top Priorities. Please adopt these as you see fit for your message to Congress and speak from your own experience about the issue.  You may find that not all of these are equally important to you and your program.

 A reauthorized WIA should include provisions that:

• Align the activities of Title I and Title II for the benefit of adult education students, specifically by: establishing goals for co-enrollment; establishing shared accountabilities for serving adult education students; explicitly allowing career pathways, integrated education/training and dual and concurrent enrollment; and creating a new funding stream to support a career pathways leadership grant program.

• Use a consistent definition of adult education and allowable local adult education activities in Title I and Title II.[i]

• Authorize annual appropriations for adult education of $1 billion or more.

• Authorize and codify the English Literacy and Civics part of Title II.

• Establish an independent National Center for Adult Education, Literacy and Workforce Skills to provide the resources necessary to improve practice and provide high quality services to the adult education community and those they serve.[ii]

• Increase the amount of state leadership funds from 12.5% to a minimum of 15% to improve teacher quality by providing more professional development, improving working conditions, professionalizing the workforce, and researching what practitioners need to be effective.

• Fund and improve the use of technology for teaching and learning through innovation grants and pilot projects.

• Strengthen the direct and equitable provisions of the law to ensure that all local eligible providers[iii] have access to apply and compete for grants and contracts.

• Include language that recognizes that local programs providing individual instruction may provide fewer contact hours than programs employing group instruction.

• Eliminate the current incentive grant program and allow those funds to be added to the formula grants for states.

• Create a separate funding stream in Title I for the operation of the one-stop delivery system.

• Fund a review of, and update, the National Reporting System, to ensure that required outcomes measures are appropriate for all levels of adult education students.

To learn more about WIA Reauthorization, visit: http://www.ncladvocacy.org/act_wiareauthor.html .

[i] Please see http://www.national-coalition-literacy.org/analysis.html, WIA Side-by-side Analysis, Section 203, Definitions, Column 2, Coalition Proposal.

[ii] Please see http://www.ncladvocacy.org/NationalCenterPolicyPrinciples_FINAL.pdf and http://www.ncladvocacy.org/Center_FINAL.pdf

[iii] The 1998 Workforce Investment Act, Title II, defines “eligible providers” in Section 203, Definitions, as: a local educational agency; a community-based organization; a volunteer literacy organization; an institution of higher education; a public or private nonprofit agency; a library; a public housing authority; a nonprofit institution that… has the ability to provide literacy services to adults and families; and a consortium of the agencies, organizations, institutions, libraries, or authorities described in [the foregoing].