U.S. Department of Education Releases Secretary McMahon’s Meaningful Learning and Workforce Readiness Supplemental Priorities

Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced her sixth and seventh proposed supplemental priorities for the U.S. Department of Education (the Department)'s discretionary grants: Meaningful Learning as well as Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness.

These Secretarial priorities will be used in grant competitions across the Department to promote instructional models that strengthen core instruction, foster deep conceptual understanding, and offer personalized and meaningful learning opportunities; as well as to support career and technical education and work-based learning opportunities integrated into K-12 systems and higher education.

"Amid declining academic outcomes, the Department is committed to revitalizing American education to prepare every student for success in school, work, and life. After four years of the Biden Administration pedaling divisive ideology and racial preferencing, the Trump Administration will prioritize discretionary grants to education programs that actually improve student outcomes by using evidence-based strategies for instruction and creating pathways to high-demand fields," said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "The Department looks forward to empowering states to close achievement gaps and align education with the evolving needs of the workforce."

The Notice of Proposed Priority (NPP) for Secretary McMahon's Supplemental Priorities has been published in the Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period, see Meaningful Learning notice here and Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness here. The Department will complete the rulemaking process by publishing a Notice of Final Priorities (NFP) that it will utilize to shape future discretionary grant competitions.

Background

Meaningful Learning will focus on strengthening core instruction in mathematics, expanding access to high-quality instructional materials, promoting effective interventions and supports, creating competency-based instructional models, creating strategic staffing models, implementing new school day schedules, expanding access to high-impact tutoring, supporting career-connected learning, and advancing innovative assessment models.

Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness will support projects that align workforce development programs with state priorities, encourage state efforts to identify industry-recognized credentials, build the skilled trades, promote industry-led sector partnerships, increase work-based learning opportunities, expand pre-apprenticeships, and foster the development of talent marketplaces.

The Secretary's Supplemental Priorities are tools that allow the Administration to align discretionary grant competitions with its priorities.

To date, Secretary McMahon has released five supplemental priorities to guide the Department's grantmaking:

• Evidence-Based Literacy promotes proven methods of literacy instruction, such as the science of reading, to bolster student performance;
• Expanding Education Choice expands access to education choice across all applicable discretionary grant competitions;
• Returning Education to the States enables the Department to prioritize state applicants in competitions where they qualify as eligible entities or applicants can endorse other types of entities;
• Advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education encourages the responsible use of AI technologies to enhance classroom efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and improve teacher training and evaluation; and
• Prioritizing Patriotic Education promotes civic education that teaches American history and America's founding principles in a way that is accurate, honest, and inspiring.

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