ICYMI: Ranking Member Scott Hosts Event on Impact of Dismantling ED on Adult Education, TRIO Programs

ICYMI: Ranking Member Scott Hosts Event on Impact of Dismantling ED on Adult Education, TRIO Programs

WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) hosted a rogue event on the impact of the Trump administration's decision to transfer Adult Education and Family Literacy programs from the Department of Education (ED) to the Department of Labor (DOL), warning that the move shifts the focus of adult education from lifelong learning to workforce training. For decades, these programs have helped adults build foundational skills that prepare them for further education, career advancement, and success in a changing economy.

The Members were joined by Rachel Gittleman, Local AFGE President for the Education Department's staff union; Dr. Amy Loyd, Chief Executive Officer at All4Ed; Braden Goetz, Senior Policy Advisor at New America; and Diane Shust, Vice President for Public Policy at the Council for Opportunity in Education.

Watch the event on YouTube.

Here is a transcription of Ranking Member Scott's opening remarks:

"Thank you all for joining us today and thank you to our panelists for being here and sharing your expertise.

"We are here today to examine the Administration's decision to transfer Adult Education and Family Literacy programs from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor as part of its broader effort to dismantle the Department of Education itself. We will also hear an example of a concern that the Administration is seeking to turn education-focused programs into ones that focus on workforce development pathways.

"So, let me be clear: the Administration's decisions to transfer programs to the Labor Department is not a routine bureaucratic reorganization. It is part of a deliberate campaign to weaken public education infrastructure and erode Congress' intent in how the programs are administered.

"For decades, Adult Education and Family Literacy programs have been housed at the Department of Education for a reason. These programs do not simply train someone for one job. They help adults learn to read, write, improve math skills, learn English, earn a GED, and build the foundational skills needed to adapt as the economy changes around them.

"Yes, workforce development matters. But adult education is about more than preparing someone for their next job. It is about building long-term capability and lifelong learning. In short, these critical programs are educational missions with lifelong value.

"Stakeholders, such as the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), are ringing the alarm bells about the decision to move adult education programs to the Department of Labor. In a recent statement, they wrote that these actions, 'would have far-reaching negative impacts on CTE programs and learners across the country…Rather than creating innovation and process improvements within CTE, this action would instead create confusion and produce new administrative inefficiencies as outlined in the IAA.'

"Congress has an obligation to ask those questions because before these decisions have real consequences for working parents, veterans, immigrants, displaced workers, and adults seeking a second chance through education.

"Now, oversight matters. Accountability matters. And protecting educational opportunity matters.

"This is also why it is important to protect our education programs to ensure that they are being implemented in the ways they were envisioned. But today, we will hear how recent grant applications for the TRIO program's Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Centers are shifting the focus away from these programs' historic focus on education and toward workforce development. While it is important to ensure students have access to all types of opportunities, the government should not suddenly change the focus of programs that have been successfully serving students in communities for decades. Further, we will hear about the ways that moving the administration of TRIO programs from the Department of Education over to the Department of Labor further harms the programs.

"Today's [event] is an opportunity to examine the ways the Administration's actions are impacting students, providers, states, workers, and communities across the country."

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