A somewhat buried lede in this San Jose Mercury News story on the GED, from July 7th:
The California Department of Education is seeking approval from the state Board of Education to adopt an alternative high school equivalency test that could be taken either using pencil and paper or on a computer, said Denise Moore, education program consultant. However, the idea is still in its early stages and the alternative test might not be available until later next year, she said.
Shouldn’t a vision test and free or subsidized vision correction be an automatic, integrated part of all adult literacy services? I’m not suggesting that adult literacy programs typically have the resources or staff qualified to provide eye tests, but somehow, at the very least, working with a local clinic or partner organization, a vision check should be a part of every incoming student’s initial assessment. I know that many programs ask about this and make references and some may do more, but it seems so fundamental to reading success that it ought to be a standard best practice at all programs.
Even trickier is what to do when the person does turn out to needs glasses: again, in a sane universe, any adult learner who can’t afford glasses should be able to acquire them for free or at a deeply subsidized cost, but this is not how it always works out in the actual universe.
On July 4th, The Washington Post published an interesting article on the prospects of immigration reform legislation in the House, based largely on an interview with Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV). The Post published the entire interview on-line, and if you are interested in this topic, it’s worth reading.
One thing that was surprising to me: Rep. Heck isn’t wild about the “trigger”—the idea that border control provisions would need to be implemented and goals met before any of the pathway to citizenship provisions for unauthorized immigrants go into effect:
“I think there are reasonable steps that the Senate bill puts into place. The issue that I have is that there’s a provision where everything is pegged on being able to go from RPI [Registered Provisional Immigrant] status to green card status that says that if we don’t do all these border security things within 10 years, then they’re waived. And I don’t necessarily agree with that. I think if we’re saying that we’re going to put these things in place, then moving forward, we have to put these things in place.”
Rep. Heck also doesn’t like the idea of including workforce provisions in the legislation that are not directly connected to immigrant labor:
“In the Senate bill, there’s a provision that was tacked on that has to do with the Youth Job Corps. Now, as a workforce investment act item, it has nothing to do with immigration, it doesn’t create jobs for DREAMers or new immigrants, it’s for underprivileged youth between the ages of 16 and 25. And it’s going to be funded by an additional fee tacked on to the guest worker program paid for by employers.
“Look, I’m very active in educational workforce investment issues. I sit on the Education and Workforce Committee. I’ve introduced legislation to make the Workforce Investment Act work better. It has no place in an immigration bill. And that’s what happens when you have an 1,198-page immigration bill.”
Without passing judgment one way or another on the specific provision he’s talking about, those of us suggesting provisions within immigration reform that address jobs and job training in a more general way think this is fundamental to the success of the legislation, not just something that’s being “tacked on.” Our argument is that immigration reform is, in fact, a major piece of labor legislation—one of the biggest in recent memory—that will impact the entire labor market, and so it’s appropriate for there to be provisions in the legislation that support all members of the workforce, not just immigrants. And that by doing so, immigrant integration will be more effectively achieved (because everyone then has skin the game).
The National Skills Coalition (NSC) has recently updated their extremely thorough and helpful Workforce investment Act (WIA) page with the 2013 Senate HELP Committee’s recently-released draft bill.
Of particular interest for adult education and adult literacy people:
NSC notes that while there are some differences between the 2011 and 2013 drafts, “the new staff draft has generally remained relatively similar to the 2011 draft.” That is consistent with what I’ve heard from others who have read through it (I have not read any of it other than Title III). NSC also reports that “it is our understanding that certain key issues—including potential consolidation language—are still being negotiated (and may or may not be included in a final draft of the committee bill).” That’s consistent with some off-the-record comments I’ve heard from people involved in WIA reauthorization going back to last year.
Literacy & Policy 