Contact your Members of Congress today, encouraging their support for adult multilingual learners of English (MlEs) through the Adult Education WORKS Act (S. 3075 and H.R. 5987).
The Adult Education WORKS Act will:
- Increase the authorized funding for adult education by 2029 to $1.35 billion.
- Ensure that adult education providers are represented on workforce and other boards and are part of the workforce planning process.
- Support the professionalization of the adult education field by strengthening state policies, encouraging full-time staffing models, and expanding professional development opportunities and career pathways for adult educators.
- Incorporate digital and information literacy into adult education and workforce development programs.
- Provide support for college and career navigators at public libraries and community-based organizations.
- Strengthen coordination and leverage resources between adult education and workforce development programs.
- Expand the role of public libraries in the one-stop delivery system for workforce development.
- Encourage innovation though pilot projects to test new approaches to measuring performance and ensure WIOA performance metrics capture the full range of skills gains supported by adult education programs.
- Promote the provision of integrated education and training concurrently with other adult education activities and services.
Almost half of the adult education participants in WIOA funded programs are MLEs - strengthening and expanding these programs elevates MLEs and their families.
More information on the bill can be found here.