An American Heritage - LINCS

An American Heritage

Federal Adult Education

A Legislative History 1964-2013

U.S. Department of Education

This report was produced under U.S. Department of Education Contract No. ED-VAE-11-O-0018 with NOVA Research Company. Joseph Perez served as the contracting officer's representative. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred. For the reader's convenience, this publication contains information about and from outside organizations, including hyperlinks and URLs. Inclusion of such information does not constitute the Department's endorsement. U.S. Department of Education Arne Duncan Secretary Office of Vocational and Adult Education Brenda Dann-Messier Assistant Secretary Division of Adult Education and Literacy Cheryl Keenan Director November 2013 This report is in the public domain, except for the photos on the cover. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, An American Heritage--Federal Adult Education: A Legislative History 1964-2013, Washington, DC, 2013. This report is available on the Department's website at: Availability of Alternate Formats Requests for documents in alternate formats such as Braille or large print should be submitted to the Alternate Format Center by calling 202-260-0852 or by contacting the 504 coordinator via email at om_eeos@. Notice to Limited English Proficient Persons If you have difficulty understanding English, you may request language assistance services for Department information that is available to the public. These language assistance services are available free of charge. If you need more information about interpretation or translation services, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327; TTY: 1-800-877-8339), or email us via the following link to our customer support team: Ed.Language.Assistance@

Capitol Building photo credit: Architect of the Capitol. Other photos ?.

AN AMERICAN HERITAGE

Federal Adult Education

A Legislative History 1964?2013

U.S. Department of Education Office of Vocational and Adult Education

November 2013

Contents

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... iii

Preface ............................................................................................................................................ iv

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1

State Involvement in Adult Education ...................................................................................... 1

National Efforts in Adult Education .......................................................................................... 1

Federal Legislation ..................................................................................................................... 1

Chapter I: Historical Overview--Federal Involvement In Adult Education................................ 3

Development of a Department of Education ............................................................................ 3

Early Adult Education................................................................................................................. 4

The Federal Government's Role ................................................................................................ 5

Federal Investment in Adult Education ..................................................................................................... 5

Manpower Development Programs and Job Training............................................................................... 6

Programs to Develop Literacy and Basic Skills......................................................................................... 8

Chapter II: Initial Federal Adult Basic Education Legislation--The Economic Opportunity Act and the Adult Education Act ................................................................................................. 10

The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.................................................................................. 10

The Adult Education Act of 1966............................................................................................. 11

Chapter III: The Stabilizing Years--1968 to 1978 ....................................................................... 13

1968-1972 Amendments ........................................................................................................... 13

1974 Amendments .................................................................................................................... 14

1978 Amendments .................................................................................................................... 14

Funding and Enrollment Increases ......................................................................................... 15

Chapter IV: Report Card 1979-1990--Years of Funding and Enrollment Growth ................... 16

Growth in Funding .................................................................................................................... 16

Educational Reform .................................................................................................................. 16

Reduction of the Federal Role in Education .......................................................................... 17

Workforce and Enrollment Statistics ...................................................................................... 18

Literacy Crisis ........................................................................................................................... 18

Education Report Card............................................................................................................. 19

Chapter V: Improving Adult Literacy, 1990-1999--Action for Investment in Adults .............. 20

National Literacy Act ................................................................................................................ 21

Grants to States....................................................................................................................................... 21

Accountability .......................................................................................................................................... 22

Decade Trends ........................................................................................................................................ 23

Chapter VI: Improving Adult Employment and Training, 1998-2000--The Workforce Investment Act .............................................................................................................................. 24

Workforce Investment Act ....................................................................................................... 24

Titles ........................................................................................................................................................ 24

State Plans .............................................................................................................................................. 25

Chapter VII: Continuing Improvements, 2000-2013--Investment and Goals for the Future.. 29

Investment ................................................................................................................................. 29

Meeting the President's 2020 Goal for Education.................................................................. 29

i

Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................32 Appendix 1: United States Commissioners of Education (1867-1980) .....................................33 Appendix 2: United States Secretaries of Education, 1979-Present.........................................34 Appendix 3: Vocational and Adult Education Assistant Secretaries, 1972-Present ...............35 Appendix 4: Legislative History of Various Adult Education Public Laws ..............................36

Section 1: Legislative History of Adult Education Public Laws Since 1964 ........................36 Section 2: Workforce Investment Act--History of Reauthorization Bills .............................65 Section 3: Additional New Legislation on Adult Education and Literacy Since 2009.........70 Appendix 5: Adult Education Congressional Appropriations, 1965-2011................................81

Appendix 6: Adult Students Enrolled in the State-Administered Basic Grants Program,

1969-2011........................................................................................................................................87

Appendix 7: General Educational Development Credentials Issued, 1943-2010--the General Educational Development Testing Service of the American Council on

Education .......................................................................................................................................90 References .....................................................................................................................................92

ii

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank in particular Gary Eyre for contributing his expertise in the writing of this history. His career as a professional educator spanned 52 years, with most of those spent in the field of adult education and literacy. In 1965, he wrote the first state plan for adult education (Colorado), just as a greatly enlarged federal, state, and local role in the education of adults was about to emerge. Dr. Eyre served as Executive Director of the National Advisory Council on Adult Education and the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education. He retired in 1998 as Deputy Associate Superintendent for Adult Education Services in Arizona. His life experience and extensive research have enabled the writing of this history, the process of which allowed him to work with a number of dedicated teachers, administrators, and government officials.

As contributing author, Roberta Pawloski provided expert content for Chapter VI on the period 1998 through 2000 when the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was passed into law, describing its impact on adult education. Ms. Pawloski has been associated with adult education and employment and training issues since 1979. During the 1990s, she was Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Adult Education for the Connecticut Department of Education, and was thus involved on a day-to-day basis in implementing these new laws. In 1998, Ms. Pawloski assumed responsibility for Vocational Education for Connecticut, implementing the new state plan under Title II of the WIA.

The field of adult education and literacy is today entering a new and crucial era. Challenges to be addressed include a climate of austerity, a growing emphasis on evidence-based funding, and the potential impact of emerging technologies. More specific factors that will affect the future of adult education are national immigration policies, welfare policies, the K-12 Common Core Standards, the new General Educational Development (GED), and new national goals for multiple educational pathways to employment. What the field will become--its integrity and direction--will be shaped by numerous events that cannot be entirely predicted, prepared for, or controlled. Those serving in the field, collectively and individually, will nonetheless profoundly influence the field's development and direction in the decades to come. First and foremost, adult education practitioners must understand the political climate in which they exist and to whom they are responsible.

Adult education history is likely to be judged alongside the boldest education acts of Presidents and Congress in the narrative of education events.

"Truly, the learning process never ends. It has been said that he who does not increase learning, decreases it. You, adult educator, are the increasers of learning." --Senator Jacob K. Javits (NY), Galaxy Conference (1969)

iii

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download