Department of Ed. Restores States' Accountability for Gender Equity in CTE
Last week, the Department of Education reversed previously released guidance that would have meant a drastic rollback of State accountability for gender equity in career and technical education. On February 27, the Department sent a letter to States and Congress, stating that the final Perkins IV State Plan Guide will require States to be held accountable for student participation in training programs that are nontraditional for their gender and student completion of these programs. Last December, the Department proposed holding States' accountable for only one performance level, most likely by bundling separate participation and completion scores into one score. Women Work!, other national women's organizations, and advocates across the country opposed the change: arguing that two separate indicators are necessary to determine whether critical interventions–such as professional development, mentoring, parental involvement, and peer support programs–occur between recruitment and completion.
Thank you to everyone who submitted comments to the Department on this critical issue for gender equity in education! The Department's rationale for the reversal specifically points to the large volume of comments that OVAE received from advocates of women's economic equity.
Minimum Wage Increase Still Stalled
More than 9 million low wage working women continue to wait as movement on legislation to raise the minimum wage remains stalled in Congress.
Earlier this year, the House had passed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 in three 70-cent increments over the course of two years. The Senate followed several weeks later, but in order to garner the 60 votes needed for successful passage, attached its minimum wage legislation to a package of tax breaks for small businesses. However, because an arcane constitutional rule specifies that all tax legislation must originate in the House—and because many Members of the House opposed the size and scope of the Senate tax-breaks—the House decided to write its own tax-cut companion bill (including about $7 billion fewer in cuts), rather than approving the Senate measure.
Now the legislation is at a standstill as some Senate Republicans and Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) argue that the House-passed bill would provide insufficient tax relief to small business owners who would be adversely affected by a minimum wage increase.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said he may force the Senate to vote on the House-passed bill or a stand alone measure if an agreement cannot be reached in the near future.
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