January 18, 2023

Leading the news this week: The House of Representatives and Senate are both out of session this week, yet despite being back home federal lawmakers have announced committee assignment talks are still underway. House Republicans have released several chairs and even some committee assignments. Of note: Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) is the new chair for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education appropriation subcommittee, which oversees education funding levels. Now let's dive into the latest news in higher education.

New YouthBuild Grant Opportunity

The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) issued a funding opportunity announcement  for the YouthBuild grant program.

The YouthBuild program model prepares participants for quality jobs in a variety of careers and contains wrap-around services. Grant recipients will be expected to provide pre-apprenticeship services that support education, occupational skills training, and employment services to opportunity youth, ages 16 to 24, while performing meaningful work and service to their communities. YouthBuild applicants must include construction skills training and may include occupational skills training in other in-demand industries.

The deadline to apply for the grant is February 7, 2023. The prospective applicant webinar and webinar transcript can be found here. For more information on the funding opportunity and to apply, click here.

Summer 2023 Executive Office of the President Internship Applications Now Open

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) has launched an EOP-wide paid internship program for the first time ever!

Interested students may now apply for the Summer 2023 EOP Internship Program here.  Applications will be open from Tuesday, January 17 through Friday, February 10, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET. Community College students are highly encouraged to apply.

The Summer 2023 term begins on June 5, 2023 and ends on August 11, 2023. Interns will receive a stipend of $7,500 for participation in the program. All internships are located in-person in Washington, D.C. and are full-time; participants must be able to commit to a minimum of 35 hours per week (Monday – Friday).

ACCT encourages members to spread the word at your institutions to expand the applicant pool. For more information, please contact MBX.OA.OCAO.EOPInternProgram@oa.eop.gov

2023 Community College Legislative Summit

In preparation for the 2023 Community College National Legislative Summit (NLS), the government relations teams at ACCT and AACC will host a webinar on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, at 3 PM (ET), unveiling the final 2023 Community College Priorities (Green Sheet).

Staff will provide a general overview of the priorities and their importance for community colleges, as well as provide prospects for advancing said priorities in the 118th Congress. To register for the webinar, click here. 

Feature Spotlight:

The Seldin Haring-Smith Foundation's (SHSF) Public Transit Maps project assessed public transit accessibility at community colleges across the country. Through their research they found that 57% of community college main campuses are transit accessible, but an additional 25% could be made accessible through extending existing bus lines. SHSF is producing interactive maps of each state, and we will be featuring these maps as they are made available.

The ninth interactive map is Washington, DC. SHSF found that 100% of Washington, DC's five community and technical colleges have a transit stop within walking distance. To delve deeper into Washington, DC's accessibility click here. To view the interactive map click here​​​​​​​.

• January 27 - deadline to apply for the Expanding Community Colleges as SNAP E&T Providers RFA

• February 10 - deadline to submit comments for Proposed Regulations for Improving Income Driven Repayment Plans and RFI Regarding Public Transparency for Low-Financial-Value Postsecondary Programs

• February 7 - deadline to apply for the YouthBuild grant program

• February 15 - deadline for preliminary proposals for the NSF Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity program
• February 23 - deadline to apply Lead of a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Network
• October 2023 deadline to apple for Advanced Technological Education

Outreach Efforts

Is your institution meeting or hosting an event with federal elected officials?

We created a Congressional Contact Form that will help us track outreach efforts of community college leaders across our membership. By filling out the form, you are better informing ACCT's advocacy efforts and our advocacy team is able to continue those conversations with congressional staff in DC. 

We also put together an outreach toolkit and an advocacy guide to share best practices for meeting with elected officials and set your team up for success.

ACCT NOW is the go-to resource for issues affecting community colleges. Our new website features original reporting and research, as well as of-the-moment legislative updates. ACCT NOW also includes articles, reports, and research from outside sources that benefit the ACCT community. Read the Latest Articles on ACCT NOW:

Have a Question?

Contact us with any questions or concerns about public policy and ACCT's advocacy on behalf of two-year colleges and two-year college trustees. ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts are sent to interested ACCT members to keep you up to date on important legislative activities that impact community colleges. If you no longer wish to receive ACCT's Latest Action in Washington alerts, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. For more information about ACCT's advocacy services, visit acct.org/advocacy

Spread the Word.

Please encourage your fellow trustees, presidents and colleagues to stay up to date about legislation that affects their community colleges by joining the Latest Action in Washington (LAW) E-Alert network. To join, simply e-mail publicpolicy@acct.org with 'LAW Alert' in the subject of the e-mail.

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