House Democrats’ Bill Reauthorizing WIOA Likely Excludes Proprietary Institutions, Harming Students, and Limiting the Supply of Workers

Career Education Colleges and Universities

3/31/2022

Arlington, VA – Earlier today, Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) introduced a bill that would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA was designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need. The bill appears to remove proprietary institutions from eligibility for WIOA programs by amending the definition of “institution of higher education” to remove references to proprietary institutions.

“We are deeply concerned that this bill’s proactive exclusion of proprietary career schools from the definition of Institution of Higher Education would disqualify those schools from participating,” said CECU’s President and CEO, Dr. Jason Altmire. “Excluding proprietary institutions from participating in WIOA programs would negatively impact thousands of students and further limit the supply of workers in an already limited labor market. We urge Congress not to exclude students attending proprietary institutions from funds that are designed to help job seekers access education and training that strengthens our nation’s workforce.”

For the fact sheet of the WIOA Act of 2022, click here. For the section-by-section of the WIOA Act of 2022, click here. For the full text of the WIOA Act of 2022, click here.

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About Career Education Colleges and Universities

Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) is the national association serving the proprietary higher education sector.

Please direct media inquiries to Devin Miller, Director of Communications at Devin.Miller@career.org