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REVIVING OUR ECONOMY: HOW 

CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 

CAN STRENGTHEN THE WORKFORCE 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION 

AND THE WORKFORCE 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

HEARING HELD IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, MARCH 18, 2014 

Serial No. 113–52 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/ 

committee.action?chamber=house&committee=education 

or 

Committee address: http://edworkforce.house.gov 

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(II) 

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE 

JOHN KLINE, Minnesota, Chairman 

Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin 

Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California 

Joe Wilson, South Carolina 

Virginia Foxx, North Carolina 

Tom Price, Georgia 

Kenny Marchant, Texas 

Duncan Hunter, California 

David P. Roe, Tennessee 

Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania 

Tim Walberg, Michigan 

Matt Salmon, Arizona 

Brett Guthrie, Kentucky 

Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee 

Todd Rokita, Indiana 

Larry Bucshon, Indiana 

Trey Gowdy, South Carolina 

Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania 

Martha Roby, Alabama 

Joseph J. Heck, Nevada 

Susan W. Brooks, Indiana 

Richard Hudson, North Carolina 

Luke Messer, Indiana 

George Miller, California, 

Senior Democratic Member 

Robert C. ‘‘Bobby’’ Scott, Virginia 

Rube ́n Hinojosa, Texas 

Carolyn McCarthy, New York 

John F. Tierney, Massachusetts 

Rush Holt, New Jersey 

Susan A. Davis, California 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

Timothy H. Bishop, New York 

David Loebsack, Iowa 

Joe Courtney, Connecticut 

Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio 

Jared Polis, Colorado 

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, 

Northern Mariana Islands 

Frederica S. Wilson, Florida 

Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon 

Mark Pocan, Wisconsin 

Juliane Sullivan, Staff Director 

Jody Calemine, Minority Staff Director 

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(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on March 18, 2014 ............................................................................ 1 

Statement of Members: 

Heck, Hon. Joseph, a Representative in Congress from the State of Nevada ................................................................................................................ 2 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 4 

Hinojosa, Hon. Rube ́n, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Texas .............................................................................................................. 8 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 8 

Kline, Hon. John, Chairman, Committee on Education and the Workforce 1 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 9 

Scott, Hon. Robert, C. ′′Bobby′′, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of Virginia ............................................................................................ 5 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 7 

Statement of Witnesses: 

Nemcek, Felicia, Principal, Southwest Career and Technical Academy, 

Las Vegas, NV ............................................................................................... 10 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 13 

Spangler, Michael, PH.D., School of Advanced and Applied Technologies, 

College of Southern Nevada, North Las Vegas, NV ................................... 17 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 19 

Qua, Kacy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Qualifyor, Las Vegas, 

NV .................................................................................................................. 24 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 27 

Aleman, Alan, Student, College of Southern Nevada, North Las Vegas, 

NV .................................................................................................................. 35 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 37 

Morrison, Visiting Professor, William S. Boyd School of Law, University 

of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV ............................................................................ 40 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 42 

Woodbeck, Frank, R., Director, Nevada Department of Employment, 

Training, and Rehabilitation, North Las Vegas, NV ................................. 47 

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 50 

Additional Submissions: 

Mr. Spangler: Perking Grant Funding Received to Support Workforce 

Development at the College of Southern Nevada ....................................... 70 

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(1) 

Reviving Our Economy: How Career and Technical Education Can Strengthen the Workforce 

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 

House of Representatives 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

Washington, D.C. 

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 1:00 p.m., at the Southwest Career and Technical Academy, Coyote Ballroom, 7050 West 

Shelburne Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada, John Kline [chairman of 

the committee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Kline, Heck, Scott, and Hinojosa. 

Also present: Representatives Titus and Horsford. 

Staff Present: Janelle Belland, Coalitions and Member Services 

Coordinator; Marvin Kaplan, Workforce Policy Counsel; Rosemary 

Lahasky, Professional Staff Member; Dan Shorts, Legislative Assistant; Alex Sollberger, Communications Director; Jacque 

Chevelier, Minority Education Policy Advisor; and Brian Kennedy, 

Minority Senior Counsel. 

Chairman KLINE. A quorum being present, the committee will 

come to order. Good morning. Welcome. I am glad to be here in Nevada’s 3rd District with my good friend and colleague, Joe Heck. 

Joe, thanks for letting us come visit. 

Mr. HECK. Thank you. 

Chairman KLINE. Thank you to Southwest Career and Technical 

Academy for hosting our field hearing and to our guests and witnesses for joining us today. We are here to discuss ways schools, 

States, and the Federal government can work together to strengthen career and technical education and help more Americans gain 

valuable job skills. 

Our economy faces many challenges. Millions remain out of 

work, and the labor participation rate has declined to 30-year lows. 

Here in the Silver State, families struggle with 8.8 percent unemployment, one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. 

I think we determined this morning it is second. 

Voice. Second. 

Chairman KLINE. Unemployment among young people ages 16 to 

19 is even higher at 29 percent. We need to do more to help these 

families rebuild and recover from the lingering effects of the recession. One of the House Education and Workforce Committee’s priorities for the 113th Congress has been strengthening the Nation’s 

network of job training services. Last year, the House approved the 

Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act, legislaCEWDOCROOM with DISTILLER

2 

tion that revamped the Federal workforce development system and 

helped more workers learn in-demand skills. 

The committee is now examining career and technical education, 

or CTE, in preparation for the upcoming reauthorization of the Perkins Act. As you may know, the Perkins Act provides Federal funding and supports States to support CTE programs that allow high 

school and community college students to access valuable training 

programs and hands-on experience necessary to gain an edge in the 

local workforce. 

There are a number of great CTE schools in Nevada, and we are 

fortunate to be holding today’s field hearing at one of the best. The 

Southwest Career and Technical Academy is renowned for its rigorous coursework and hands-on training in a number of fields, including nursing, culinary arts, automotive technology, and web design, just to name a few. I believe my colleagues and I have the 

opportunity after the hearing to take a tour of the school, and I 

look forward to meeting with students, visiting the classrooms, and 

seeing firsthand the quality training available here at the academy. 

As the committee works to strengthen career and technical education, it is important that we hear from students, educators, and 

State and local leaders in the business and education communities 

about the challenges and opportunities facing CTE programs. Your 

feedback helps inform and strengthen our work in Washington, and 

we are grateful for your participation and your input. 

Once again, I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us 

today and helping us have a productive conversation on this important issue. 

I would like now to yield to Mr. Heck for his opening remarks. 

Mr. HECK. Well, thank you, Chairman Kline, and welcome to Las 

Vegas and to Southwest Career Technical Academy. And I also 

want to thank Mr. Scott and Mr. Hinojosa for participating today. 

Of course I want to thank the committee staff for all the hard work 

that goes into putting on a field hearing, and of course our hosts 

here at Southwest Career Technical Academy, I think one of the 

shining stars of the Clark County School District. 

You know, I recently visited Southwest a few months back after 

meeting with some of the DECA students from Southwest in Washington, D.C. And I was so impressed by them, I said, you know 

what, when I am back in the district, I am going to have to come 

and check out your school. So next time I was back in the district 

we came for a tour, and it was just incredible to see the amount 

of energy that was harnessed here amongst the students in participating in CTE education. 

They are eager to do well and graduate. They are eager to learn 

skills they know are in demand right now, and they are eager to 

take those skills into the working world or onto college. I am sure 

all of those who may stick around to take the tour after the hearing will be duly impressed by the incredible facilities that are 

present here at Southwest Career and Technical Academy. 

And I want to point out that Southwest is just one of a number 

of highly successful schools in the Clark County School District offering students educational opportunities in fields ranging from 

computer science, to information technology, to law enforcement, 

and nursing. In fact, Clark County School District has over 25 

CEWDOCROOM with DISTILLER

3 

magnet schools and career technical academies dedicated to providing students a variety of pathways leading to both careers and 

higher education. Seventeen of these schools, including Southwest, 

was recently recognized as either a School of Excellence or a School 

of Distinction by the National Organization of Magnet Schools of 

America. 

During the 2012 school year, nearly 40,000 students in the Clark 

County School District were enrolled in career and technical education courses, representing 44 percent of the high school population. They have demonstrated themselves to be high performing 

and highly motivated. They are engaged, and they very much want 

to be prepared to be college or career ready upon their graduation. 

CTE programs prepare students for critically important careers 

in public service. Communities need individuals well-schooled in 

these programs, especially here in southern Nevada. Finally, career 

and technical education extends all these opportunities to those 

who have been disproportionately affected by the recession and the 

slow pace of our economic recovery. Sixty-one percent of CTE students in the Clark County School District are minority students. 

Clearly career and technical education academies are critically important now more than ever, and our students strive to be part of 

them. 

You know, the reason why I also wanted to have this field hearing here, and I appreciate the chairman’s indulgence, is because we 

face some unique challenges here in Clark County when it comes 

to CTE funding. Included within the President’s budget proposal, 

the guaranteed formula funding for CTE programs in Nevada 

would be cut by nearly 50 percent while CTE programs in other 

States would only be cut by less than 1 percent. 

The large disparity in cuts is caused by the outdated funding formula included in the 2006 Carl T. Perkins Career and Technical 

Education Act. The bill established a funding formula largely based 

on population and poverty. However, in States that saw large 

growth spurts during the 2000s, that funding formula really does 

not hold true and represent the large populations that we have 

seen. 

So I joined with Congressman Raul Grijalva, my Democratic 

committee colleague from Arizona, an area that also saw explosive 

growth during this timeframe, to introduce the Career and Technical Education Equity Act, which protects critical CTE funding by 

requiring States to receive at least 90 percent of the funding 

amount allocated the previous years so there are no precipitous 

cuts to any program across the country. I am hopeful we will discuss this critical question of funding for CTE programs during this 

hearing. 

Again, I thank the chairman for his attention to this issue and 

for bringing the hearing to Las Vegas and to Southwest Career and 

Technical Academy. I look forward to hearing the testimony from 

our distinguished panel of witnesses, and yield back the balance of 

my time. 

[The statement of Mr. Heck follows:] 

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4 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Joseph Heck, a Representative in Congress 

from the State of Nevada 

I recently visited Southwest Career and Technical Academy here in Nevada’s 

Third District and met with students, teachers, and administrators to learn about 

the school and the courses they offer. 

I also got the chance to hear firsthand from students about their experiences with 

career and technical education and how they think it will help them in the future. 

The overall impression I got from them was clear. 

They are eager to do well and graduate. They are eager to learn skills they know 

are in- demand right now and they are eager to take those skills into the working 

world or on to college. 

I even ate lunch provided by the Culinary Arts students and let me tell you; It 

was delicious. I am sure all of you who stick around for the tour of the school will 

be just as impressed as I was with the students, the facilities, and the quality of 

the educational experience students receive at Southwest. 

But Southwest is just one of a number of highly successful schools here in the 

Clark County School District offering students educational opportunities in fields 

ranging from computer science and information technology to law enforcement and 

nursing. 

In fact, the Clark County School District is home to 25 Magnet Schools and Career & Technical Academies dedicated to providing students a variety of pathways 

leading to both careers and higher education. 

17 of these schools, including Southwest, were recently recognized as either a 

school of excellence or a school of distinction by the national organization Magnet 

Schools of America. During the 2012 school year, nearly 40,000 students in CCSD 

were enrolled in career and technical education courses, representing 44% percent 

of the high school student population. 

Students enrolled in CTE have demonstrated themselves to be high-performing, 

highly-motivated individuals who, according to information we received from Clark 

County School District, graduate at a higher rate than their traditional high school 

peers. 

While enrolled, CTE students are choosing courses of study that will lead them 

down a path to success in the increasingly-advanced global economy. 

On the Committee, we are always talking about the importance of STEM education-education focused on science, technology, engineering, and math. 

Well our CTE students have heard the message. Among the most popular courses 

of study are information technologies and the skilled and technical sciences. 

And the skills learned in our magnet and career and technical academies are 

helping sectors of our economy - like manufacturing and health care services - erase 

talent shortages and fill available jobs. 

CTE programs also prepare students for critically important careers in public 

service. Our communities need individuals well-schooled in criminal justice, law enforcement, early childhood development, and emergency medical services. 

A competent, highly-trained workforce in these areas will make our state and our 

local communities safer and healthier. 

Finally, career and technical education extends all of these opportunities to those 

who have been disproportionately affected by the recession and the slow pace of our 

economic recovery. 

Fifty three percent of CTE students are Hispanic and African American while another 8% are Asian Americans. 

These demographic groups are a growing, thriving part of the diverse culture and 

economy of the Las Vegas Valley and by enrolling in CTE programs, these students 

are learning skills and acquiring knowledge that will help put them on a path to 

success as well as strengthen and diversify our local economy. 

Clearly, career and technical education academies are critically important now 

more than ever. Our students thrive in them and our economy relies on them. 

Yet as CTE is moving this region’s economy forward, a recent proposal by the 

Obama Administration threatens to drastically reduce CTE funding for our state. 

Included within the President’s budget proposal, guaranteed formula funding for 

CTE programs in Nevada would be cut by nearly 50%, while CTE programs in other 

states would only be cut by less than 1%. 

This large disparity in cuts is caused by an outdated funding formula included 

in the 2006 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. 

The bill established a funding formula largely based on population and poverty; 

however, there is also a hold-harmless provision included within the formula that 

guarantees states will receive the federal funding levels provided in 1998. 

CEWDOCROOM with DISTILLER

5 

However, since that time Nevada’s population has increased from 1.8 million to 

more than 2.75 million causing our state to face disproportionate cuts to federal 

CTE funding under the current hold-harmless provision. 

Nevada will not be able to adequately fund our thriving CTE programs on 1998 

funding levels and we should not be punished simply because we have experienced 

population growth. 

So I joined with Congressman Raul Grijalva, my Democratic committee colleague 

from Arizona, in introducing the Career and Technical Education Equity Act which 

protects critical CTE funding by requiring states receive at least 90% of the funding 

amount allocated the previous year. 

This bill will protect CTE funding and continue to provide students around Nevada and the nation with opportunities to learn the skills to help them find in-demand jobs. I am hopeful we will discuss the critical question of funding for CTE 

programs during this hearing. 

Chairman KLINE. I thank the gentleman. We are very fortunate 

to have two of our Democratic colleagues on the Education and 

Workforce Committee joining us today. I would now like to recognize Mr. Scott of Virginia for any opening remarks he may have. 

Mr. SCOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank you and the 

gentleman from Nevada, Mr. Heck, for calling the hearing. I am 

pleased to join my colleague, Mr. Hinojosa, and I believe Mr. 

Horsford from the Las Vegas area will be joining us shortly. I understand he has been detained. I just left the Culinary Academy of 

Las Vegas seeing some of the good work that is done in this area, 

and I look forward to watching the situation here because I understand that they have done an excellent job. 

The reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

Education Act presents this committee with an opportunity to ensure that all students are equipped with the skills to succeed in the 

rapidly evolving 21st century economy. Today’s career and technical education programs, or CTE, are successfully preparing millions of students for lifelong learning, bridging the divide between 

high school and post-secondary education and training. That education is essential today because we live in a high tech informationbased economy where most jobs now require education past the 

high school level, not necessarily a 4-year college, but community 

college, apprentice school, or some education like the ones offered 

here at the Academy to provide students with the skills and knowledge that today’s employers demand. Students here can take 

courses grounded in an integrated curriculum of core academic content and real world work-based relevance. 

Data shows CTE to be a powerful tool for engaging students, 

closing the achievement gap, and improving schools. That makes 

sense because students who see the relevance of their education 

are much more likely to stay in school. 

With the bipartisan reauthorization of the Perkins Act, we must 

guarantee equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from the 

CTE programs, and all students who have completed CTE should 

have an equal opportunity to take what they have learned to pursue higher education and a career. The opportunity to thrive with 

CTE programs increases a student’s earning potential and improves the ability of the student to attain economic security in the 

future. 

I serve on two committees, Education and Workforce, but also on 

the Judiciary Committee, where I see that those who get a decent 

CEWDOCROOM with DISTILLER

6 

education are much less likely to be involved in the criminal justice 

system. Youth who are here getting a good education and good 

training are much less likely to be involved in what the Children’s 

Defense Fund calls the cradle to prison pipeline. They would be in 

a cradle to career pipeline. This is great not only for students, but 

also for the taxpayers because when students mess up and end up 

in prison, it is the taxpayers that have to support them. 

The CTE system represents an innovative approach that allows 

us to get students involved in hands-on learning and training, and 

we know that opportunity must be available to all. Unfortunately, 

each year more than 65,000 students graduate from U.S. high 

schools, who, through no fault of their own, are barred from postsecondary education due to immigration status. These are students 

who are educated in our schools, who pledge allegiance to our flag, 

and who yearn for the ability to work towards the American Dream 

and meaningfully contribute to the American economy. They are 

known as ‘‘DREAMers.’’ This group represents a small percentage 

of more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United 

States. 

Now, many DREAMers participate in CTE programs through our 

Nation’s secondary schools. But unlike their peers, they are unable 

to fully benefit from the public investment that we make in schools 

such as this one. Without a social security number, a student cannot take advantage of work-based experiential training. They are 

barred from legal employment, and in many States cannot afford 

to pursue post-secondary education or job training because Federal 

student aid or work study is unavailable to them. 

With more than 40 percent of undocumented families living in 

poverty, cost alone puts college out of reach. Here in Nevada, this 

lack of opportunity is particularly troubling. More than 12 percent 

of the State’s workforce is undocumented, the highest in the country, and some DREAMers right here at the Academy are learning 

valuable skills that may never be able to put to use. 

Now, some of us are committed to righting these wrongs. Unfortunately, comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act 

remain stalled in the House. The Obama Administration did take 

action on behalf of DREAMers by issuing an executive order for deferred action for children arrivals, DACA. Although not a legislative or a sufficient solution, this executive action allowed thousands 

of DREAMers to pursue work legally and, in some cases, qualify for 

in-state tuition to attend college. On the other hand, last week the 

majority in the House passed not one, but two bills seeking to undermine DACA and return DREAMers to living in fear of deportation or as a permanent underclass. 

So if we expect all students to benefit from career training, we 

must make sure that the 65,000 DREAMers who graduate this 

year are not left behind, and for all of the students we have to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act 

as well as other legislation that addresses the training and educational needs of our country, such as the Workforce Investment 

Act and the Higher Education Act. The future of today’s students 

and, therefore, the future of our Nation depends on what we do. 

[The statement of Mr. Scott follows:] 

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7 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Robert C. ′′Bobby′′ Scott, a Representative in 

Congress from the State of Virginia 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I also want to thank our distinguished witness panel 

for their participation in today’s hearing. I look forward to learning about the great 

work here in Clark County School District to graduate all students and ensure that 

they are college- and career- ready. 

Reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act presents this Committee with an opportunity to ensure ALL students are equipped 

with the skills to succeed in a rapidly evolving 21st century economy. 

Today’s career and technical education programs, or CTE, are successfully preparing millions of students for lifelong success bridging the divide between high 

school and postsecondary education and training. These programs, like the ones offered here at the Academy, provide students with the skills and knowledge that today’s employers demand. Students take courses grounded in an integrated curriculum of core academic content and real-world, work-based relevance. 

Data shows CTE to be a powerful tool for engaging students, closing achievement 

gaps, and improving schools. In a bipartisan reauthorization of Perkins, we must 

guarantee equal opportunity to participate in – and benefit from – CTE programs. 

And all students who have completed CTE should have an equal opportunity to take 

what they learned to pursue higher education and a career. 

The opportunity to thrive in a CTE program increases a student’s earning potential, improves the ability of a student to attain economic security in the future, and 

decreases his or her chances of being involved in criminal activities. Youth are going 

to be on the cradle to career pipeline and make money for themselves, or they will 

be on what the Children’s Defense Fund has coined as the ‘‘cradle to prison’’ pipeline, where TAXPAYERS will be ultimately be obligated to pay for their incarceration. In fact about 2/3 of all prisoners are high school dropouts. 

The CTE system represents an innovative approach that allows us to get students 

involved in hands-on learning and training. But we know that ALL students aren’t 

afforded this opportunity. Each year more than 65,000 students graduate from U.S. 

high schools who, through no fault of their own, are barred from postsecondary success due to immigration status. These are students who are educated in our schools, 

who pledge allegiance to our flag, and who yearn for the ability to work toward the 

American dream and meaningfully contribute to the American economy. Known as 

DREAMers, this group represents just a small percentage of the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. 

Many DREAMers participate in CTE programs through our nation’s secondary 

schools. But unlike their peers, they are unable to fully benefit from the public investment that we make in schools like this one. Without a social security number, 

a student cannot take advantage of work-based experiential learning, is barred from 

legal employment, and, in many states, cannot afford to pursue postsecondary education or job training because federal student aid or work- study is unavailable to 

them. With more than 40% of undocumented families living in poverty, cost alone 

puts college out of reach. 

Here in Nevada, this lack of opportunity is particularly troubling. More than 12% 

of this state’s workforce is undocumented – the highest in the country. Some of 

these DREAMers are right here at the Academy, learning valuable skills they may 

never be able to put to use. 

President Obama and Congressional Democrats are committed to righting these 

wrongs. Unfortunately, comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act remain stalled in the House. The Administration took action on behalf of DREAMers 

by issuing the executive order for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA. 

Although not a legislative or sufficient solution, this executive action allowed thousands of DREAMer students to pursue work legally and, in some cases, qualify for 

in-state assistance to attend college. 

Just last week, however, House Republicans passed not one, but two bills seeking 

to undermine DACA and return DREAMers to living in fear of deportation or in a 

permanent underclass. DACA was given as justification for targeting the President’s 

executive orders. 

There are some on the other side of the aisle who claim to support a pathway 

to citizenship for DREAMers and their families, but vote time and time again to 

block or undermine attempts to help these students. For these young people, every 

year, every month of inaction on immigration reform is costly. 

I am eager for bipartisan collaboration to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career 

and Technical Education Act, as well as other legislation that addresses the training 

and educational needs of our country, such as the Workforce Investment Act and 

the Higher Education Act. 

CEWDOCROOM with DISTILLER

8 

But I am also eager for Congress to come together to fix the broken immigration 

system. We need bipartisan collaboration to allow all students, including DREAMers, the opportunity to fulfill their potential and we know that CTE is one approach 

that allows our nation’s students to thrive. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman KLINE. I thank the gentleman. I will now recognize 

Mr. Hinojosa of Texas, for any opening remarks he may have. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Thank you, Chairman Kline. Is this mic on? 

Chairman KLINE. I think so, yes. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Can you hear me in the back? Thank you. I want 

to thank the chairman for hosting this field hearing to discuss 

ways in which to improve State and local delivery of career and 

technical education programs through the reauthorization of the 

Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act 

of 2006. Furthermore, I wish to thank Congressman Joe Heck for 

inviting us to his district and to hear this panel so that we can better understand the educational programs in this area and see how 

we can be of help to you. 

In my view, a bipartisan reauthorization of the Perkins Act 

would ensure that students are equipped with the education and 

skills to succeed in a rapidly evolving 21st century economy. Above 

all, a bipartisan reauthorization of Perkins must prioritize equity 

of opportunity for all public school students to participate in and 

to benefit from career and technical education programs. 

As you know, many of our Nation’s DREAMers participate in 

CTE programs through public secondary schools, but cannot fully 

utilize this education and training because their immigration status bars them from doing so. While congressional Democrats are 

committed to comprehensive immigration reform and passing the 

DREAM Act, the Republican majority has stalled these efforts. As 

mentioned by Congressman Scott in his remarks, most recently the 

House majority has also passed bills seeking to undermine deferred 

action for childhood arrivals under DACA, an executive order 

issued by President Obama that allows thousands of undocumented 

students to work and remain in the United States. 

Today I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to listen 

closely to Alan Aleman’s testimony, to open up their hearts and 

minds, and to demonstrate compassion for the thousands of hardworking DREAMers who know America as their home and are determined to contribute to our Nation’s economy and workforce. I 

look forward to hearing our expert panelists so that I can better 

understand the successes achieved here in Nevada. 

With that statement, Chairman Kline, I yield back my time. 

[The statement of Mr. Hinojosa follows:] 

Prepared Statement of Hon. Rube ́n Hinojosa, a Representative in Congress 

from the State of Texas 

Thank you, Chairman Kline, for hosting this field hearing to discuss ways in 

which to improve state and local delivery of career and technical education programs through the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

Education Improvement Act of 2006. 

In my view, a bipartisan reauthorization of the ‘‘Perkins’’ Act would ensure students are equipped 

with the education and skills to succeed in a rapidly evolving 21st century economy. 

CEWDOCROOM with DISTILLER

9 

Above all, a bipartisan reauthorization of Perkins must prioritize equity of opportunity for all public school students to participate in—and benefit from – career and 

technical education (CTE) programs. 

As you know, many of our nation’s DREAMERs participate in CTE programs 

through public secondary schools, but cannot fully utilize this education and training because their immigration status bars them from doing so. 

While Congressional Democrats are committed to comprehensive immigration reform and passing the DREAM Act, the Republican majority has stalled these efforts. 

Most recently, the House majority has also passed bills seeking to undermine the 

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an executive order issued 

by President Obama that allows thousands of undocumented students to work and 

remain in the United States. 

Today, I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to listen closely to Alan 

Aleman’s testimony, to open up their hearts and minds, and to demonstrate compassion for the thousands of hard working DREAMERs who know America as their 

home and are determined to contribute to our nation’s economy and workforce. 

Chairman KLINE. I thank the gentleman. I expect to be joined 

some time during the hearing by two of our colleagues from Nevada, I think Ms. Titus and Mr. Horsford. 

In the meantime, pursuant to committee Rule 7(c), all committee 

members will be permitted to submit written statements to be included in the permanent hearing record. And without objection the 

hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow statements, 

questions for the record, and other extraneous material referenced 

during the hearing to be submitted in the official hearing record. 

[The information follows:] 

[The statement of Mr. Kline follows:] 

Prepared Statement of Hon. John Kline, Chairman, Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

Our economy faces many challenges. Millions remain out of work, and the labor 

participation rate has declined to thirty-year lows. Here in the Silver State, families 

struggle with 8.8 percent unemployment - one of the highest unemployment rates 

in the country. Unemployment among young people ages 16 to 19 is even higher, 

at 29 percent. 

We need to do more to help these families rebuild and recover from the lingering 

effects of the recession. One of the House Education and the Workforce Committee’s 

priorities for the 1113th Congress has been strengthening the nation’s network of 

job training services. Last year, the House approved the Supporting Knowledge and 

Investing in Lifelong Skills Act, legislation to revamp the federal workforce development system and help more workers learn in-demand skills. 

The committee is now examining career and technical education, or CTE, in preparation for the upcoming reauthorization of the Perkins Act. As you may know, the 

Perkins Act provides federal funding to states to support CTE programs that allow 

high school and community college students to access valuable training programs 

and hands-on experience necessary to gain an edge in the local workforce. 

There are a number of great CTE schools in Nevada, and we’re fortunate to be 

holding today’s field hearing at one of the best. The Southwest Career and Technical 

Academy is renowned for its rigorous coursework and hands-on training in a number of fields, including nursing, culinary arts, automotive technology, and web design, just to name a few. 

I believe my colleagues and I have the opportunity after the hearing to take a 

tour of the school, and I look forward to meeting with students, visiting the classrooms, and seeing firsthand the quality training available here at the academy. 

As the committee works to strengthen career and technical education, it’s important we hear from students, educators, and state and local leaders in the business 

and education communities about the challenges and opportunities facing CTE programs. Your feedback helps inform and strengthen our work in Washington, and we 

are grateful for your participation and your input. 

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Chairman KLINE. It is now my pleasure to introduce our distinguished panel of witnesses, starting with Ms. Felicia Nemcek. She 

is the principal of the Southwest Career and Technical Academy, 

and our hostess, which opened in August 2008. Dr. Michael 

Spangler is the dean of the School of Advanced and Applied Technologies at the College of Southern Nevada. Ms. Kacy Qua is the 

founder and chief executive officer of Qualifyor, a for-profit startup 

that pairs skilled young apprentices with clients, such as MGM and 

Zappos to complete technical and creative projects. Mr. Alan 

Aleman is a student at the College of Southern Nevada. He graduated from the Southeast Career and Technical Academy in 2010. 

Professor Angela Morrison is a visiting professor at the William S. 

Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. And 

Mr. Frank Woodbeck is the director of the Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation for the State of Nevada. Welcome to you all. 

Just a little reminder on how our lighting system works here. We 

have to get used to it ourselves because this is a field setup. As I 

recognize you, you will each have 5 minutes to present your testimony. When you begin, this light in front of you will turn green. 

When one minute is left, the light will turn yellow, and when your 

time has expired, the light will turn red, at which point I would 

ask you to wrap up your remarks as best you are able. After everyone has testified, members will each have 5 minutes to ask questions of the panel, and we will do our best to remember to orient 

those lights over here as we move down that way. If you cannot 

see it, send us a signal. 

I would now like to recognize Ms. Nemcek for 5 minutes. You are 

recognized. 

STATEMENT OF FELICIA NEMCEK, PRINCIPAL, SOUTHWEST 

CAREER AND TECHNICAL ACADEMY, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 

Ms. NEMCEK. Thank you Chairman Kline, Member Heck, and 

members of the Committee. It is an honor and a pleasure to share 

with you my perspective on the importance of career and technical 

education and its relevance to our economy. 

My name is Felicia Nemcek, and I am the founding principal of 

the Southwest Career and Technical Academy here in Las Vegas, 

Nevada. We are part of the Clark County School District, the 5th 

largest district in the Nation. We are one of seven career and technical academies in southern Nevada, and we are modeled after our 

community’s original vocational high school, now known as the 

Southeast Career and Technical Academy. After 30 years of continuous high graduation rates from Southeast, our school district and 

community leadership developed a vision to build upon this success 

by opening more career and technical academies in different parts 

of the Las Vegas Valley, providing more access to students. 

Here at Southwest Career and Technical Academy, we have 

1,475 students enrolled in 11 different programs. For the last 3 

years, we have been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School 

for our innovative use of educational technology. And over the last 

2 years, we have been named a Magnet School of Excellence by the 

Magnet Schools of America. 

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Since my appointment as principal in August 2008, I have become a great advocate of career and technical education because of 

the successes I have witnessed here in my school, in Clark County, 

and across Nevada. From my perspective, we need to recognize and 

support the following. First, the role of the principal has changed. 

We play an important role in economic development, and we must 

develop strong relationships with our community. In order to educate 21st century learners and to prepare them to be both college 

and career ready upon graduation, we have to value professional 

development and connect with industry experts in order to keep 

current with local trends and demands. 

As a principal, I challenge all students academically to ensure 

that college is achievable. I oversee the integration of core content 

into our CTE courses to make learning relevant, but, most importantly, engaging. I provide our teaching staff with ongoing and focused professional development, and I ensure that all CTE curriculum evolves with the constant, changing workplace standards. 

We can no longer be building principals working in isolation. 

Second, educational technology should be a standard in all 

schools and in CTE. Every job is tied to technology, and if we are 

to prepare our students to be workforce ready, they need to be educated in a technology rich environment with appropriate equipment 

and software aligned with workplace needs. Here at Southwest, we 

are fortunate to have funding through Carl D. Perkins and State 

grant programs, to provide industry appropriate technology as well 

as the infrastructure that supports it. 

I have many examples of why it is important to make this a 

standard, but one of my favorites is a former student named Jacob. 

Jacob struggled to graduate, but despite several barriers, he earned 

his diploma. After graduation in 2012, Jacob was able to secure an 

introductory job as an auto tech position at a local dealership. After 

3 weeks, Jacob was called into the human resources office. He was 

offered an opportunity to train as a hybrid technician because of 

his ability to adapt to the newer technology. 

Third, business and industry partnerships are vital to our success. These partnerships provide our schools with advice on curriculum, our teachers with professional development, and our students with internships and job shadowing opportunities. Clark 

County School District Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky is especially supportive of these partnerships and their part in moving career and technical education forward. The inclusion of community 

in his plan emphasizes the importance of the role business and industry partners play in advancing student achievement both in 

school and in life. 

One example is Jonathan. Jonathan was a student in the web design and development program. He graduated last June and began 

an internship with Qualifyor. Shortly after completion of his internship, Jonathan was immediately hired by Qualifyor because of 

his solid foundation of IT skills, work ethic, and because he is simply amazing. Jonathan plans to continue working with Qualifyor 

while he attends our community college and later transfers to the 

University of Nevada-Las Vegas. 

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dents may not choose to pursue post-secondary options in the same 

field that they are in right now. And this should not be considered 

a failure in Federal accountability systems. Regardless of the pathway, during their high school years, they have obtained the necessary skills to be employable, they have the ability to work in 

skilled areas and can pay for their own college tuition, and they 

have explored careers prior to enrolling in college, which saves a 

great deal of time and money. 

In conclusion, I believe that career and technical education is 

economic development. Fully funding the Carl D. Perkins Career 

and Technical Education Act is essential to the continued academic 

success of our CTE programs and our economy. Here in Nevada, 

we are still recovering from the great recession, and through Federal and State support, we have been able to sustain our current 

programs. The success of our academies has created a demand from 

our community for more, high quality CTE programs, and we need 

to build those in our comprehensive high schools. 

The key to reviving our economy? First and foremost, adequately 

investing in CTE. Funding at the 2012 pre-sequestration levels at 

a minimum, and the removal or revision of the hold harmless provision so that Nevada can receive its fair share of funding is critical to our State and the continuation of our economic growth. And 

finally, ensuring that all students in all high schools have access 

to high quality programs so that they are prepared to contribute 

positively to our economy. Thank you. 

[The statement of Ms. Nemcek follows:] 

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Chairman KLINE. Thank you. 

Dr. Spangler, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL SPANGLER, PH.D., SCHOOL OF ADVANCED AND APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES, COLLEGE OF 

SOUTHERN NEVADA, NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 

Dr. SPANGLER. Thank you, Chairman Kline and members of the 

committee. My name is Michael Spangler. I am the dean of the 

School of Advanced and Applied Technologies at the College of 

Southern Nevada. CSN is the largest higher education institution 

in Nevada and one of the largest in the country. We offer certificates and degrees in many career and technical education disciplines. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to share with you today some 

examples of the interactions between CSN’s technical education 

programs and our stakeholders in business and government that illustrate our community’s commitment to a skilled workforce. They 

also demonstrate the need for continued support through the Carl 

Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, and it is our principal 

tool to stay active partners with industry. 

I would like to start with a local perspective. Few States have 

felt the recession as acutely as Nevada, particularly in construction, hospitality, and retail. Our constituents want fulfilling careers 

and a family sustainable wage. This requires some form of post-secondary technical education whether it is through an apprenticeship 

or, more commonly, the college technical program. Collaboration 

among education and employment partners is critical. 

My first example is our electronics program’s alliance with defense contractor, JT3. The JT3 Jumpstart Program is this. Students who pass a six-course sequence in math and electronics get 

an interview with JT3. If they are successful, JT3 will hire the students and while on the job, send them back to us to finish their 

associate degree in engineering tech. 

CSN, through Perkins funding, provides state-of-the art laboratories that directly relate to the skill sets needed by JT3. And additionally, JT3 engineers serve as part-time instructors for the program, bringing relevant content to the classroom for all of our students. The JT3/CSN partnership works. 

Another engineering tech connection is in theater technology. 

CSN works with Cirque du Soleil to prepare technicians for the 

large venue shows on the Las Vegas Strip. The technology for a 

show such as ‘‘O’’ at Bellagio requires skills in automation controls, 

hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical power, and computer systems. 

These skills rival those at any industrial plant in the country. In 

fact, the knowledge base in technical theater transfers very well to 

Caterpillar, Boeing, or General Electric. The degree at CSN exists 

because Perkins funding equips the laboratories and because 

Cirque du Soleil managers guide the program design and host internships for an unparalleled work-based experience. 

The next example I would like to present is a pilot program we 

are offering, cooperation between CSN and Clark County School 

District. Perkins funds underwrite the instructional costs for dual 

credit programs in air conditioning and welding. These programs 

are expensive and extremely difficult for high schools to deliver. 

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Our joint program uses the technical infrastructure at the college 

and allows students to simultaneously accrue high school and college credit, and acquire industry certification. 

My last example is the gas heat pump, GHP, project in air conditioning technology. Created by a partnership among the college, 

Department of Energy, Southwest Gas, and IntelliChoice Energy, 

the GHP courses involve natural gas powered heat pumps for commercial air conditioning. This innovative equipment uses about 80 

percent less electrical energy compared than conventional cooling 

systems. 

Understandably, CSN is home to the country’s premiere air conditioning program. This is, after all, Las Vegas, and our local economy depends on ample amounts of cold air and cold drinks. 

[Laughter.] 

Dr. SPANGLER. CSN is the sole provider of skilled technicians for 

this new technology because Perkins funds were leveraged with Department of Energy and private industry investment. 

Shawn Greene, now a graduate of our program, was hired by 

IntelliChoice Energy. In his words, ‘‘I got the confidence and experience I needed at CSN, and it opened doors for me. I love my job.’’ 

And I love that comment. 

To conclude, Nevada’s job losses place us at or near the top of 

a very undesirable list. My opinion, however, is that our unemployment is, to a great extent, an issue of under preparation. CSN’s 

high tech, high demand, high wage disciplines, such as air conditioning, electronics, IT networking, enjoy 100 percent placement. 

Typically, students are working before they finish their degree. I 

believe the best path across our current employment landscape is 

through career and technical education, and Perkins funding remains the life blood of those programs. 

I want to thank the committee for your consideration of my testimony, and I applaud your continued support of technical programs 

in this country. Thank you. 

[The statement of Dr. Spangler follows:] 

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Chairman KLINE. Thank you. 

Ms. Qua, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF KACY QUA, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE 

OFFICER, QUALIFYOR, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 

Ms. QUA. Thank you, Chairman Kline and members of the committee. I am Kacy Qua, founder and CEO of Qualifyor, a for-profit 

downtown Las Vegas based tech startup that prepares young people for the workforce by offering a chance to create dynamic digital 

portfolios of project work, compete with teams on real client 

projects, and demonstrate the adaptability, technical skills, and 

soft skills in demand by employers. 

We have been in business a little over a year, but I have been 

involved in professional education and employment initiatives for 

the past decade. My passion for this space stems from my personal 

path in which I navigated off the traditional education path. It 

started at 13 when I felt that school was teaching me to be a good 

student, a skill that would only be relevant as long as I was in 

school. I wanted to learn how to be a good worker, something that 

would be relevant for the rest of my life. 

I eventually chose to return to formal education, and entered as 

an undergraduate at the Cornell University School of Industrial 

and Labor Relations and later as an MBA student at the UCLA 

Anderson School of Management. But I continued to struggle with 

the gap between the very academic learnings that were occurring 

in school and the skills that I felt were needed in the workforce. 

This personal experience was combined with professional insight 

when I became a labor rep and consultant for Lockheed Martin 

Space Systems, a public sector labor consultant, and led a multimillion dollar prize design aimed at driving breakthroughs in education and learning. 

Finally, I started Qualifyor, which aims to aid a large number of 

students in employment readiness. But as a for-profit startup, our 

model is really driven by market demands. This training provides 

a much-needed alternative to the seemingly limited options available to most young people, particularly those for whom affordability 

of continued education is a concern. More importantly, this type of 

skill is demanded by the modern workforce. Unfortunately, private 

businesses are not able to bear the weight of technical training for 

all young people. 

Today, the speed of technological innovation is exponential. Billion dollar companies rise and fall seemingly overnight. The things 

we learn quickly become irrelevant, and daily life requires adaptability to ever-changing devices, platforms, and technologies. The 

landscape is not only constantly changing, but changing much more 

rapidly than it ever has before. The structure of the current education system requires long lead time to approve coursework and 

curriculum. Where we used to have a sense of what jobs would 

exist in the future, we now barely know what will exist a year from 

now, let alone several years from now. 

At the same time, education is decentralizing with various online 

platforms offering e-learning curriculum, improved software for 

learning, hybrid online/offline models, badging capabilities, digital 

portfolios, and other credentialing tools. As more individuals opt 

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into the use of these platforms and the bachelor’s degree ceases to 

be the only viable credential, companies are facing ever greater 

stacks of applicants for whom the quality is uncertain. This means 

that people who have hard evidence of their competency and capacity will have an edge in the labor market. 

In the spring of 2012, Zappos CEO and head of the $350 million 

downtown project, Tony Hsieh, was thinking about how to educate 

and prepare the local labor ecosystem for a lot of investment that 

he was putting into downtown Las Vegas. And he provided seed 

funding for my company, Qualifyor. I came to Las Vegas with its 

reputation for struggling education and high unemployment and 

began reaching out to educators and employers to get a firsthand 

sight of what was really happening here. 

What I found shocked me. Not only was there great talent here, 

but I also witnessed some of the most progressive scalable education programs I had ever seen in the form of the career and technical academies. There are great young minds in Nevada, but many 

of them leave the State in favor of better employment opportunities 

and never look back. 

On the other hand, businesses were not interested in making 

hires of unproven young talent that lacked experience. To solve the 

no experience, no job, and no job so no experience problem, we 

needed to find low risk methods for young people to get their foot 

in the door, namely things like competitions and project work 

which resulted in a portfolio to show rather than tell what they 

could do. 

The first school I visited was Southwest Career and Technical 

Academy, and I was completely blown away by the level of talent 

and professionalism I saw in the students. As Felicia mentioned, I 

got to meet Jonathan Cervantes, a web design major, who confidently shook my hand, showed me his business card, and an impressive portfolio of web design work. A year later, Jonathan is 

here in the audience, and he is an important member of our staff 

managing web, marketing materials, social media, IT, business development, and basically on call for anything that us older folks do 

not know how to do. 

While Jon is remarkable, he is not alone. In our recruitment 

process, we have met dozens of incredible young people who are 

leaps and bounds ahead of their peers from an employability perspective because they have gone through the CTA curriculum and 

built portfolios of work under conditions that mimic the workforce. 

We had 50 applicants, and we are unable to accept any of the comprehensive school applicants, not because they are not bright or 

passionate, but because they lacked the portfolio that companies 

require in order to work with young people. 

The product of our education system currently is not developed 

with the customer in mind, meaning employable graduates are not 

available going into the workforce. A school that intends to prepare 

students for collegiate success will utilize different curriculum than 

a school preparing students for the workforce. 

I commend the CTAs and all of you for your work in funding 

these incredible types of programs, and hope that as you make a 

consideration around this, you think about optimizing the output 

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of education to benefit the companies that exist in the country. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Ms. Qua follows:] 

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Chairman KLINE. Thank you. 

Got to get your microphone there. Mr. Aleman, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF ALAN ALEMAN, STUDENT, COLLEGE OF 

SOUTHERN NEVADA, NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 

Mr. ALEMAN. Chairman Kline, Mr. Scott, and members of the 

Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to tell my story. 

My name is Alan Aleman, and my American Dream began when 

I came to this country at the age of 11. Many opportunities came 

into my life. I can say, in my own opinion, that I attended one of 

the best high schools here in southern Nevada, Southeast Career 

and Technical Academy, SECTA High School. 

My parents came to this country looking for a better future and 

education, and that was what SECTA High School gave me. 

SECTA High School not only gave me an education, but also gave 

me the necessary tools to succeed in life and in my career. I applied 

to SECTA High School because one of my dreams is to become a 

doctor. SECTA had a medical program that I knew would be great 

for my career. When I received my acceptance to SECTA, I was 

very enthusiastic. I felt like I was finally reaching my goals. 

My freshman year was amazing. I felt welcomed and appreciated. 

I came across teachers that cared about me and my future. They 

would always be there for me for any questions, and they would 

never criticize me for being undocumented. Instead, they pushed 

me to pursue my dreams. 

Unfortunately in my sophomore year I got the sad news that I 

was not going to be able enroll into the medical program because 

of the lack of nine digits, a social security number. Due to this setback, I decided to change to the business program instead, which 

was office technology, and I do not regret it whatsoever. 

While I was a business major, there were many internships 

available to students that involved my career and technical skills. 

I knew I was capable, but many of the internships required a social 

security number, and without authorization to work, I could not 

participate. It was sad to see that many of my U.S. citizen friends 

were taking advantage of these opportunities, and I was not. I was, 

however, able to obtain certifications that I knew were going to 

help me in an office job: Microsoft Office Application Specialist in 

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These are certifications that many 

office employers would seek in a potential employee. 

I was excited that I graduated from high school in 2010, but 

skeptical. I knew I had the necessary skills to obtain a good job 

where I could utilize my certifications, but because of my immigration status, I could not be employed in a job like that. Despite that, 

I was determined to pursue college. Luckily in the State of Nevada, 

I can go to college without a social security number. I have to go 

part time due to working full time because I am not eligible for financial aid due to my immigration status. After I graduate from 

college, I hope to go on and become a doctor and someday be in the 

Air Force to serve my country. 

In 2011, I became an executive board member of the Latino 

Youth Leadership Alumni, the LYLA, to represent them at the 

Latin Chamber of Commerce as a board member. At the beginning 

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I was nervous because I knew it was a professional environment, 

but I knew I was ready thanks to what I learned at my SECTA 

High School. In 2010, I was voted to be the youth board member 

at the Southern Nevada American Red Cross Chapter. I still serve 

on all three boards, and I know I have been successful in these professional settings due to the skills I learned at SECTA. 

On October 17, 2012 I was approved for DACA, which changed 

my life. I was partially given the opportunity to live without fear, 

get a decent job, and finally obtain something that I saw my 

friends getting in high school, a driver’s license. Hermandad 

Mexicana Transnacional offered me a job, in which I was finally 

applying the skills I learned at SECTA in a real job. Prior to 

DACA, I was not working in a job like this. 

DACA is temporary and not sufficient. I still do not know if I am 

going to be able to enroll in medical school, and DACA does not 

give me a path to citizenship. We need a common sense approach 

to fix these problems. DREAMers and families are tired of seeing 

and listening to unsupportive excuses just to avoid this topic. Many 

U.S. citizen students cannot concentrate at school because they are 

afraid of their parents being removed from this country. 

It is sad to see that many in the House of Representatives say 

they support DREAMers, but yet they vote against us, and that 

puts DACA at risk over and over. I loved being a student at 

SECTA, but what good is it to learn the skills and then have no 

options to go forward with my dreams? I think Congress should 

support schools like SECTA and other schools through the Perkins 

Career and Technical Education Act. 

It is heartbreaking that many families are being separated by 

this Administration and because some members care more about 

their political affiliation than what the American people want: a 

path to citizenship. Members of this committee, I would like to ask 

you to take action on this matter instead of perpetuating it. Many 

dreams, futures, and families depend on you. Do it for the greater 

good of this country, the United States of America. 

Again, I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify before 

you and to express my career and technical education here in Clark 

County School District, and, more importantly, on the need for congressional action on the DREAM Act and on comprehensive immigration reform. 

[The statement of Mr. Aleman follows:] 

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Chairman KLINE. Thank you. 

Professor Morrison, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF ANGELA MORRISON, VISITING PROFESSOR, 

WILLIAM S. BOYD SCHOOL OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, 

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 

Ms. MORRISON. Good afternoon. I thank Chairman Kline and the 

Committee for inviting me to testify this afternoon. I commend the 

committee for its focus on such an important topic. 

While programs under the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act provide a means for State and local leaders to develop 

programs that encourage successful transitions from secondary 

training to post-secondary training to careers for many young people, a substantial number of young people stall at the secondary 

level due to their own immigration status or that of their parents. 

By not providing a method for these young people or their parents 

to regularize their immigration status, the United States is squandering the enormous contributions that these young people could 

make to the United States. 

Children in the United States have the right to a public, K–12 

education regardless of their immigration status. However, three 

aspects of our current immigration system means that some young 

people in whom we have invested are left out in the cold when it 

comes to further developing their skills through post-secondary 

education and transitioning into the workforce. First, and perhaps 

most obvious, young people who are unauthorized are unable to 

work in the wake of legislation passed in the 1986 Immigration 

and Reform Control Act, which made hiring unauthorized workers 

a crime. 

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Programs program 

allows some young people to temporarily overcome the challenge of 

work authorization because approval under the program comes 

with work authorization for a period of 2 years. Around 1.09 million young, unauthorized immigrants meet the age, entry, and eligibility requirements of DACA, and United States Citizenship 

Services has approved over half a million applications. Nonetheless, DACA bestows no immigration status, and is merely an exercise of the Administration’s prosecutorial discretion authority. 

Second, unauthorized immigrant youth, even those with DACA, 

face tremendous challenges in obtaining post-secondary education 

and training. It is up to individual States whether to grant in-State 

tuition to unauthorized students or even allow unauthorized students to enroll. And when unauthorized immigrants do enroll, they 

are unable to access Federal financial aid, including, grants, loans, 

and work study programs. 

Finally, the United States immigration system negatively impacts the educational and career opportunities of U.S. citizen children whose parents are unauthorized. An estimated 4.5 million 

United States citizen children have an unauthorized immigrant 

parent. And from 2010 to 2012, DHS effected 204,810 removals 

that involved the parents of U.S. citizen children. The removal of 

a United States citizen child’s parent can result in the de facto removal of that child. The immigration arrest or removal of a parent 

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can also impact the child’s ability to successfully participate in 

school. 

Through my work supervising student attorneys at UNLV Law 

School’s Thomas and Mack Legal Clinic, I have assisted young people who are unauthorized immigrants and interacted with young 

U.S. citizens whose parents are facing removal. The experiences of 

two young people illustrate the challenges our immigration laws 

pose to the successful transition from secondary education to postsecondary education and careers. 

Yesenia’s parents brought her to the United States when she was 

only 18 months old. Yesenia was an outstanding student even as 

early as elementary school. She had dreamed of attending college 

ever since she was young, and her family encouraged her dream. 

She found out that she had no immigration status when she was 

only 9 years old. Despite her unauthorized status, Yesenia was able 

to complete high school and enroll at UNLV. She graduated magna 

cum laude in 2010, and remarkably she was able to do this despite 

a lack of Federal financial aid or work. The clinic eventually was 

able to get Yesenia DACA in June of 2012, and she received deferred action. Importantly, she received work authorization for a 

period of 2 years. 

Johan is a United States citizen, but both of his parents were 

present in the United States without authorization. The clinic met 

Johan when ICE sought to remove his mother. When Johan was 

13 years old and a successful middle school student achieving high 

grades, ICE removed his father from this country. Within the next 

few months, his mother suffered a stroke, they lost their family 

home, and then ICE picked up his mother. Needless to say, Johan’s 

grades plummeted, and he experienced almost debilitating stress 

and anxiety over the possible removal of his mother. The clinic was 

able to obtain a temporary stay. He is now 15 years old, doing well, 

and in ROTC, and has an interest in becoming a software engineer. 

The removal of young, unauthorized immigrants like Yesenia, 

the de facto removal of United States citizen children like Johan, 

and the lack of opportunity for unauthorized young people who remain without the ability to work or enroll in post-secondary education and training programs represent a gap in the United States 

career and technical education programs that can only be addressed through immigration reform. Any legislation or policies 

that this committee considers must take account of this in order to 

truly revive our economy. Thank you. 

[The statement of Ms. Morrison follows:] 

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Chairman KLINE. Thank you. 

Mr. Woodbeck, you are recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF FRANK R. WOODBECK, DIRECTOR, NEVADA 

DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING, AND REHABILITATION, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 

Mr. WOODBECK. Good afternoon, and thank you, Chairman Kline, 

Congressman Heck, Congressman Titus, and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me here today to discuss career and 

technical education and training programs that promote industry 

alignments to strengthen the economy and workforce in Nevada. 

I am Frank Woodbeck. I am director of the Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation, also known as DETR. 

DETR’s mission is to provide Nevada’s businesses with access to a 

qualified workforce, support the career and training goals of job 

seekers, and encourage equal employment opportunities for all Nevadans, including those with disabilities. In unification with that 

mission, DETR continues to seek innovative ways to carry out its 

historic safety net responsibilities even more intently in response 

to the great recession that our Nation endured throughout the past 

7 years. 

Governor Sandoval recognizes the department as the architect 

that designs and promotes collaborations with Nevada’s Department of Education, Nevada System of Higher Education, also 

known as NSHE, including the community colleges, the Governor’s 

Office of Economic Development, and the school districts to deliver 

pathways for careers and vocations to the unemployed, underemployed, and yet to be employed citizens of Nevada. Nevada’s career and technical academies, signature academies, and STEM-related magnet schools play a vital role in our efforts to promote high 

demand occupations to youth who will be entering the workforce 

over the next decade. 

DETR serves as the State’s workforce development arm, providing numerous labor-related services through its divisions. DETR 

manages 10 Nevada JobConnect offices, which provide job seekers 

with resources for job searching, skills assessment and training, 

and provides employers with assistance in finding qualified employees. Thousands of job seekers utilize the JobConnect centers 

daily, while business service representatives serve employers by offering space for hiring events, access to tax incentives, and resources related to on-the-job-training programs. 

When the great recession hit in 2007, demands for DETR’s services ramped up exponentially. When Governor Sandoval assumed 

office, he realigned economic development efforts and quickly 

brought DETR into the fold as a major contributor to economic development activities. If Nevada is to survive another economic 

downturn in the future, it must focus on attracting a diverse cadre 

of industries to do so. And in order to do so, it must have a skilled 

workforce in place that can sustain a globally competitive economy. 

GOED, or the Office Economic Development, commissioned a 

study of Nevada’s economy by the Brookings Institute. Findings 

concluded that Nevadans needed to focus on nine sectors for economic development and workforce expansion. From this study and 

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vestment Board’s industry sector councils to initiate workforce development activities in these sectors that include high demand occupations of the future. These industry sectors include: healthcare 

and medical services; clean energy and sustainability; tourism, 

gaming, and entertainment; aerospace and defense, information 

technology; logistics and operations; mining and materials; agriculture; and manufacturing. 

Utilizing the findings of the industry sector councils, the Governor’s Board provides guidance to the local workforce boards for 

investment of Workforce Investment Act funding in training for the 

unemployed, underemployed, and young adults. 

Each industry sector council is designed to number approximately 22 to 25 volunteer members, and at least 51 percent of the 

membership comes with being business executives coming from 

those the industry sectors, including CEOs, COOs, and human resource executives. These industry sector councils are a component 

of a historic collaboration between the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, the Economic Development Board, DETR, and the 

higher education, and will yield investment and workforce training 

and development that will serve Nevada’s industry growth of today 

and the future. 

All of the industry sector councils have established strategic 

plans, and are underway with initiatives to support growth within 

their respective sectors. For example, the healthcare sector and 

medical services sector have planned a workforce investment summit for April 8th to bring together various stakeholders from across 

the State for input on current and future workforce demands to 

best prepare for an adequate supply of healthcare workers to meet 

healthcare delivery needs in Nevada. Additionally, on the 

healthcare front, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded 

Nevada a $150,000 planning grant for the Future of Nursing State 

Implementation Program to help prepare nursing professionals to 

address healthcare challenges. 

In 2013, the Nevada legislature passed SB 345 and codified the 

formation of the Nevada STEM Advisory Council, of which I am a 

member. The purpose of the council is to develop a strategic plan 

for the development of educational resources in the disciplines of 

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to serve as a 

foundation for workforce development, college preparedness, and 

economic development for the State. Nevada is experiencing a significant shortage in the workforce for those STEM-related skills. 

Career and technical education in Nevada is organized under 16 

nationally recognized career clusters. And the basis of CTE is the 

course sequence commonly known as the CTE program. There are 

over 70 CTE programs in secondary education here with career 

pathways ranging from health sciences to information technology. 

In Nevada, more than 50,000 students in grades nine through 12 

are enrolled in CTE courses. In the 2012 to 2013 school year, Nevada’s cohort graduation rate was 70.65 percent. For students who 

earned two or more credits of CTE coursework, Nevada’s cohort 

graduation rate was 87.75 percent. 

DETR recently partnered with the NSHE and community colleges statewide to open Nevada Workforce Development Centers in 

support of Nevada’s economic development efforts. The first center 

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opened last fall at the College of Southern Nevada at the Cheyenne 

campus. Now, these centers are part of our vision to bring education and workforce development together to help advance economic development throughout the State. 

I would like to thank the committee for its attention this afternoon and for allowing me to submit this particular testimony. 

Thank you very much. 

[The statement of Mr. Woodbeck follows:] 

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Chairman KLINE. Thank you, sir. I thank all the witnesses for 

your testimony. We will move now to member questioning. I would 

advise my colleagues that we are running late. We got started a 

little late, and we are running late, so I will have to insist on keeping within the time limit. 

Ms. Nemcek, let me start with you again, and thank you again 

for hosting here. In your testimony, you talked about the changing 

role of the principal and you were very clear and eloquent, in fact. 

I am trying to understand what kind of contact you have now with 

businesses directly. Is that part of what you are doing? 

Ms. NEMCEK. Yes. With each of the different program areas, we 

have advisory boards. And so, we are bringing in business and industry professionals from each of those areas. And we bring them 

in. We meet with them regularly on advisories, and we have to do 

this two or three times a year to ensure that our curriculum is relevant to what is happening in their fields. 

Chairman KLINE. Okay. Can you adapt your curriculum then 

pretty quickly? 

Ms. NEMCEK. The CTE curriculum is a State curriculum, but it 

does allow a little bit of flexibility for us to adapt. When it does 

become evident that we need to make changes or look at a different 

pathway, we do work closely with our own school district, career 

tech department, and our State Department of Education to build 

that curriculum. 

Chairman KLINE. Okay. I want to continue on that same theme 

of adapting. Ms. Qua, in your testimony, you talked about the time 

to develop a new program and then to scale it up. What is your 

sense of how long does it take you or how long does it take the 

schools to see a new need and then start up a program or scale up 

a program to meet that need? 

Ms. QUA. So I cannot really speak to what the time is for particular schools. I think it is different depending on the level of education, whether that is K through 12 or university. But in terms 

of with Qualifyor, we have been trying to build a really agile model 

where every bit of curriculum that we have developed is directly 

based on what companies have said they need in terms of skill sets. 

And so, you know, it is not to say that all education should be 

completely driven by employer demands, but I think at least a part 

of every education should integrate the changing needs. And in 

particular the things that employers have spoken to us about and 

sort of sought and not found in young people would be, first of all, 

adaptability, self-awareness, the technical skills of course, but also 

things like problem solving. 

And so, some of the softer skills sets, which I think Southwest 

does a really great job of teaching, and that regardless of the career 

that you go into or what your major is, these are things that should 

be brought into the curriculum and taught to students starting at 

a very young age. 

Chairman KLINE. Okay. Dr. Spangler, Ms. Qua mentioned differences in the schools. And so, I am interested in your thoughts 

about the differences between secondary and post-secondary CTE, 

and should there be a better mesh. Do they need to be kept apart? 

How does that difference apply to Ms. Qua’s answer? 

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Dr. SPANGLER. Well, the differences apply only in terms of the direct applicability to business and industry. Our programs are directly responsible to the local employment needs. As far as the 

interlacing of our programs with the secondary programs, that is 

an absolutely essential component. 

The transition of a student from a CTE program at the high 

school to our CTE programs should be nearly seamless. And in 

order to do that, we have employed several tools, the most prominent of which is tech prep, a function of the Perkins process, in 

fact, where students can acquire credit from us for courses that 

they are taking in high school. We have matched content and outcomes, and we do our best to try to encourage as much 

interconnectivity as we can there. 

Chairman KLINE. Okay. Thank you. I see my time is about to expire. Mr. Scott? 

Mr. SCOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ms. Morrison, what reason would students have not to sign up for DACA? 

Ms. MORRISON. In my opinion, at least here in Nevada, there are 

probably about three reasons why students might not be applying 

for DACA. One might be that they are not eligible. But assuming 

that they are eligible, a lot of what could be driving it is the fact 

that a lot of young people are afraid to apply because they are 

afraid it will bring them to the attention of immigration authorities, and it only provides temporary relief. So they have no guarantee that once they do get the DACA relief that they are going 

to be able to renew it. 

Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Woodbeck, what effect does a person’s status as 

a DACA status have on their career options? 

Mr. WOODBECK. I would have a difficult time answering that 

question. I really do not know, sir. 

Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Woodbeck. Ms. Qua mentioned credentials. In 

the food service or hospitality area, are there credentials you can 

get that would help an employer be able to quickly evaluate what 

you can do and what you cannot do? 

Mr. WOODBECK. Absolutely. 

Mr. SCOTT. And could you give some examples of that? 

Mr. WOODBECK. Well, in the hospitality area, there are high 

schools and also community colleges that have programs within 

hospitality that train in the hospitality arena, as well as Nevada 

partners, for example, that also train. I think you mentioned two 

of our Nevada partners today—Culinary Institute. And so, those 

credentials are used to evaluate. 

Mr. SCOTT. So in the hospitality area in terms of bartending, you 

would know exactly where you would be in the continuum of possibilities, and he could hire you for exactly what you wanted to do, 

is that right? 

Mr. WOODBECK. Right, and they would have to have certain credentials to be hired and remain hired, sure. 

Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Spangler, you mentioned the transition between 

high school and college. Are we making sure that we do not get 

high school students in a vocational and educational rut so that in 

12th grade they cannot change their mind and go to a traditional 

4-year college? 

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Dr. SPANGLER. The transition is available. That is, students who 

pursue a particular technical program in high school can elect to 

adjust that. Our experience has been that students do make 

changes of course. Many of us made undergraduate changes. But 

we found that they rarely change 180 degrees; that is, a student 

in computer aid graphic design may find another design or computer-related field. And we try to adapt the credit or credentials 

that they may already have to those programs. 

Mr. SCOTT. Well, you mean, you do not want to get somebody in 

a situation where they do not have the credits. The option of a 4- 

year college is not eliminated because they got in a vocational educational rut and could not change their mind. 

Dr. SPANGLER. We are right now building new pathways for people who are career and technical students. I can pick on some areas 

in particular, electronics, for example. An electronics student who 

pursues our associate of applied science degree has historically 

been capped at that 2-year associate’s in applied science. 

We are right now working on bachelor of applied science or bachelor degree pathways for those students with other institutions in 

the State, private and public. 

Mr. SCOTT. Thank you. Ms. Nemcek, Mr. Woodbeck mentioned 

higher graduation rates of people involved in this education. Can 

you say a word about the effect it has on attendance? 

Ms. NEMCEK. Well, the effect that we have here in our school and 

with career technical students is that it is much higher than the 

average student that is not in career technical education. Currently 

we sit at 96 percent or higher average daily attendance in all of 

our career technical academies. 

Mr. SCOTT. Which is much better than traditional high school. 

Ms. NEMCEK. Yes. 

Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Woodbeck, there is a question of whether we are 

going to have continued formula grants or competitive grants. Can 

you say a word about what you would prefer in terms of Perkins 

funding? 

Mr. WOODBECK. I would prefer broad flexibility that would allow 

us to apply the grant money in a formula that would allow us to 

apply the grant money where it is needed and where it can be of 

most use for this particular State. 

Mr. SCOTT. As opposed to competitive where you might get funding or you might not? 

Mr. WOODBECK. Correct. 

Chairman KLINE. The gentleman’s time has expired. Dr. Heck? 

Mr. HECK. Thanks, Mr. Chairman, again. Thanks to all the witnesses for participating today. You can see why I was so excited to 

have the hearing here in our district. I could not be prouder of the 

accomplishments of schools like Southwest Career Tech or the community colleges in the career and technical education programs. 

You know, I think, Ms. Nemcek, you brought up a good point 

about allowing the students to follow a different career path even 

after going through a CTE program if they ultimately decide they 

want to do something else. And I could see how the benefit of CTE, 

no matter what they did afterwards, especially if we just use an example the three students we chatted with before we came in. I 

mean, they are all much more articulate, poised, self-confident, and 

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have great self-presence and interpersonal skills, which will serve 

them well no matter where they go. 

You know, we have talked a little bit about the potential funding 

issues. You mentioned it, and I mentioned it in my opening comments. Could you speak to the impact the nearly 50 percent cut to 

the Nevada CTE formula funding which is proposed in the President’s budget for Fiscal Year ’15 could have on your ability to 

maintain the success you have achieved here at Southwest? 

Ms. NEMCEK. Sure. As all of you are aware, it is extremely expensive to continue to upgrade software and hardware and to keep 

current with all the different changing technology in every single 

field. And so, if we were to experience such a cut, we already share 

in the grant money across the State. And less money would also 

mean that we would also have to start making cuts to each program and having to make some hard decisions, and those are just 

decisions that we cannot afford to make if we want to continue to 

grow and to create students that are job ready, career ready right 

out of high school so that they have the best chance of being successful in college and in our own economy. 

Mr. HECK. I am sure that when we take the tour, the members 

will be able to see the capital intensiveness of the infrastructure 

in a CTA when we go out to the auto tech or in the culinary arts. 

A lot of equipment that is very expensive is necessary to make sure 

that other students have the educational opportunities. 

Dr. Spangler, how would the proposed cut I mentioned in my 

question to Principal Nemcek impact CTE education at the College 

of Southern Nevada? Specifically, would it impact your ability to 

collaborate with the Clark County School District as you mentioned 

in your written testimony? 

Dr. SPANGLER. Perkins is our lifeblood, as I said earlier. A sizable cut of that nature would be devastating. Career and technical 

programs are not cheap dates. We definitely require high end and, 

in many cases, state of the art equipment because the training we 

prepare these students for are frequently life and death. 

We cannot afford to half step on the quality and the currency of 

equipment, software, and other tools that we use. I do not want to 

be out on the I–15 with brakes that do not work, nor with technicians that have not been properly schooled on how to keep those 

brakes working. It is an important consideration, and particularly 

since so many of these areas are critical, are indeed life and death 

areas. 

We teach programs that quite literally mean the survival not 

only personally, but of the industry and businesses in this area. 

And we cannot keep up with industry demands and the high turnover of technology without a steady infusion of funding from Perkins. And, frankly, although our industry partners are very generous, they cannot keep up without our contributions, our work in 

Perkins there. 

Mr. HECK. Thank you. Director Woodbeck, as you know, the biggest problem facing our community in southern Nevada is the lack 

of good, high paying middle class jobs. Yesterday I had a job fair. 

About 400 people attended looking for jobs. Can you expand on how 

CTE programs, like those here at Southwest, that are training our 

students for in-demand jobs will attract new and diverse industries 

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to our State creating those high paying jobs and inoculating our 

State from future economic downturns? 

Mr. WOODBECK. Sure. As we attract business to the State, the 

first question they ask is do we have a qualified workforce. And we 

have been fortunate thus far, but what the career and technical 

academies give us is the foundation for a qualified workforce since 

the foundation of a lot of the training they receive here puts them 

in line for various certificate programs, the very certificates of 

achievement in various aspects of their skill training, if you will, 

say, machining, et cetera, which would allow for their hiring either 

out of high school or immediately after achieving another certificate beyond that and what are called stackable credentials. So it 

puts them in line for that. 

Mr. HECK. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yield back. 

Chairman KLINE. Thank you, Dr. Heck. Mr. Hinojosa, you are 

recognized. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And my first question 

is to Mr. Woodbeck. Mr. Woodbeck, did you know that the—or rather maybe I should first say let the record show and give clarification that the cut to the Nevada funding is not proposed in the 

President’s budget. And having said that, my question to you is, 

what was the impact of sequestration on Nevada CTE program delivery, and what, in your opinion, is the appropriate funding level 

for Perkins? 

Mr. WOODBECK. Okay. The Perkins funding is actually within 

the realm of the community colleges here and the Department of 

Education, which I do not oversee. We participate in the use of 

those funds and how those funds are used in deciding that, but we 

do not oversee the funds themselves. 

To get to another point regarding your question regarding sequestration, that hurts. I mean, any funding that we can receive 

and apply to training we would want to do that. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Can you please speak to the impact of Nevada’s 

DREAMers population on the State economy? 

Mr. WOODBECK. That I could not speak intelligently to, no, I 

could not, sir. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Then I will ask my next question to Ms. Qua as 

founder and CEO of Qualifyor. Do DREAMers have the opportunity 

for apprenticeship programs like with Ford and General Motors? 

Ms. QUA. I am not an expert on the DREAM Act, so I prefer not 

to answer any questions about it. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Dr. Spangler, is that available? 

Dr. SPANGLER. I am sorry, Mr. Hinojosa, I have no great knowledge of the effect of the DREAM Act. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Does anybody on the panel have an answer to my 

question? I have a community college, South Texas Community 

College, and I went and visited representatives of Ford Motor Company, and I also went to visit representatives of General Motors 

and told them that in my area we had lots of Latinos that were 

very good with automobiles, but we needed to upgrade them to apprentices. And they brought the apprenticeship program, and it is 

working beautifully. When they graduate as an apprentice, which 

takes about 5 years, they are in the $100,000 range in their salaries, and that seems like something that would work very well. 

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So my next question would be to Alan Aleman. Alan, thank you 

for your courage and your determination. In your testimony, you 

indicated that you would like to be a doctor. 

Mr. ALEMAN. Yes. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Can you tell us why you could not enroll in the 

medical program at Southeast Career Technical Academy? 

Mr. ALEMAN. Yes, because in order to get the license on the 

health occupation that SECTA had, you needed a social security 

number to get certified. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Have there ever been through the director of the 

Governor’s Office of Economic Development a waiver given to somebody as bright and capable as you? 

Mr. ALEMAN. Can you repeat the question, please? 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Have waivers ever been given in Nevada’s history 

of these technical programs where an exception can be made when 

we have a young man as intelligent and bright as you? 

Mr. ALEMAN. To be honest, I do not think such waivers exist here 

in Nevada because that is not part of the school. That is part of 

the State. That is part of the State policy. So unless there is a 

change on that State policy, then there would be— 

Mr. HINOJOSA. You might want to ask that question because 

there was a Supreme Court court case where a DREAMer went 

through law school and was allowed to practice. So I think that 

sometimes we have to kick down some doors and open them up. 

Opportunities like professions in medicine or physician’s assistant 

are things that we need badly here in the southwest in States like 

Nevada. 

Mr. ALEMAN. Yes, and that is why I stated that DACA is not sufficient because most of the licenses require you to be a permanent 

resident. Just like my co-worker, she graduated Nevada State College. She has a bachelor’s degree, but she cannot— 

Mr. HINOJOSA. I understand. I understand you are hitting a big 

wall. But, Alan, why do you believe that Congress must pass the 

DREAM Act as part of comprehensive immigration reform, and 

what would it do to the State of Nevada? 

Mr. ALEMAN. I think it will have not only a great economic impact on Nevada, but also on the United States of America. I think 

it is difficult to choose between our parents and our future. I think 

the DREAM Act should be with a comprehensive immigration reform because, in my opinion, thanks to my parents I am here. I got 

the education I needed to succeed in life. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. My time has ended, so I will have to yield back. 

Chairman KLINE. I thank the gentleman. We are running really 

late, but I am very pleased we have two of our colleagues not members of the committee who have joined us here. I think we still 

have two. 

Voice. Mr. Horsford stepped out. 

Chairman KLINE. Okay, well, we may have two. So I am going 

to welcome Congresswoman Titus and Congressman Horsford. 

Without objection, Congresswoman Titus and Congressman 

Horsford will be permitted to participate in our hearing today. 

And I hear no objection, so, Ms. Titus, you are recognized for 5 

minutes. 

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Ms. TITUS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I was pleased to 

serve on this committee in a previous term. I also want to thank 

Mr. Hinojosa for pointing out that the cuts in the budget are not 

the President’s policy, but are a result of a 1998 statute with the 

hold harmless provision in that statute that deals with the formula. And there is a bipartisan effort underway now, led by Mr. 

Grijalva on our side, to change that formula. So let us be clear 

about that. 

Also, I thank you for being here, Kacy, for the downtown project. 

That is right in the heart of District 1. We are very excited about 

that. I would point out that Alan was the honored guest of the 

President at the last inaugural address, and, Professor Morrison, 

the student you mentioned, Yesenia, did most of her undergraduate 

work with my husband, Dr. Tom Wright, in the history department. 

Mr. Woodbeck, you mentioned and it is really true that we often 

hear from businesses about the shortage of Americans who have 

the skills needed to compete in the 21st century, and that is certainly true in the data. It is not over regulation. It is not an unfriendly business tax climate. It is the lack of a qualified workforce. 

So I commend the school district for wonderful academies like 

this and the magnet schools that feed into them with the STEM 

education. But we know it is not enough. There are waiting lines 

for children to get into these programs, and that is especially true 

if you look at the student body with the minority students, a lack 

of minority students going into STEM fields. Now, Alan may be the 

exception, but DREAMers and other minorities are not signing up 

for these fields. 

So I would ask you, Director, you sit on that STEM Advisory 

Council, and also Stavan Corbett, who is a member of the school 

board, sits on it, too. He is working with me on a bill I have introduced to use some of the money for certain visas that bring in high 

tech workers to provide scholarships for minorities going into the 

STEM fields and also to support universities and colleges that 

serve a large percentage of minority students. 

So what is the State doing to bring more minorities into the 

STEM fields? What can the Federal government do to help you? 

And then I would ask you the same thing about community college. 

Mr. WOODBECK. Thank you, Congresswoman Titus. First of all, 

the STEM Advisory Council, there is a twofold problem there. One 

is stirring up the interest and the knowledge of what STEM education is about and what those pathways will do for students in 

getting that interest. And there is quite a bit of interest, but we 

could certainly do more. The other piece is recognizing successful 

STEM programs, and that is the other piece that I will advocate 

for on that council, that we recognize them with awards to teachers 

and to schools, that we underwrite STEM education programming 

more, and that we insist through our own Department of Education 

of having STEM coursework as part of the regular curriculum. 

And it is a multifaceted approach that we need to take, and that 

will, in fact, attract other students, minority students and all students, quite frankly, into those programs. 

Ms. TITUS. We are doing an app competition right now in my district, and they are working with Intel, Microsoft, and certainly 

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Downtown Zappos to mentor some of those students who are competing in that. Are you doing anything special to attract minority 

students? What can we do to help you in that area? 

Dr. SPANGLER. Well, Congresswoman, it is really a function of defining ‘‘minorities.’’ For example, in our areas, and this is technical 

fields, we are looking at gender, which is one of the criterion under 

Perkins, trying to attract women to disciplines that have been historically male dominated—automotive and diesel technology, information technology—or men into healthcare, for example. 

We are doing a number of different projects on that, and that is 

a standard we are trying to meet. For example, this coming May, 

we will be hosting or co-hosting a program called Geek Girls to encourage young women to enter information technology fields. So 

when we look at minority, we define it sometimes a little differently. 

Ms. TITUS. Yes. Well, let us work with you on that. Mr. Chairman, I would yield the rest of my time to Mr. Hinojosa, if that is 

all right. 

Mr. HINOJOSA. Thank you. I want to invite any and all of the 

members of this panel to come down to deep south Texas south of 

San Antonio. There is a University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 

which is celebrating its 15th anniversary of HESTEC, an acronym, 

HESTEC, Hispanic Engineering Science Technology Conference. 

And we have graduated 2,000 minorities in engineering. We have 

graduated physicists and mathematicians. We have graduated researchers, and we have partners with over 50 of corporate America 

to help sponsor HESTEC. 

Chairman KLINE. The gentleman’s time has expired. We all appreciate very much the invitation. The gentlelady’s time has expired. All time for questions has expired. 

I would now like to turn to Dr. Heck for any closing comments 

he might have. And again, thank you for inviting us to your district. 

Mr. HECK. Sure. Well, again, I want to thank you, Chairman 

Kline, as well as the other colleagues from the committee for traveling here to have this field hearing. Again, Ms. Nemcek, thank 

you for hosting, all the panelists for participating. I also want to 

point out that we have Carolyn Edwards, one of our school board 

trustees, here in the audience, Joyce Haldeman—I do not know if 

she is still here—from the superintendent’s office for coming and 

participating today. 

I think one of the resounding themes that we heard today when 

it comes to career technical education is partnerships. It is partnerships amongst secondary and post-secondary institutions, as well 

as private partners in the education system and employers, all 

things that are critical. I think we see that there is a very high return on investment for career and technical education. The followon effects for economic development as Mr. Woodbeck brought out 

I think are something that is critically important, especially for a 

State like Nevada that continues to struggle to recover from the 

great recession. 

As just a point of clarification, the President’s Fiscal Year ’15 

budget does pull $100 million out of CTE funding for a new program, which would result in the hold harmless provision going into 

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effect, which would then result in the 50 percent cut to Clark 

County School District’s CTE funding. 

Mr. Chairman, I give you a lot of credit. You know, the committee has passed out the Elementary and Secondary Education 

Act, reauthorizing that. It is awaiting action in the Senate. We 

have passed out a Workforce Investment Reauthorization in the 

Skills Act doing a lot of the things that Mr. Woodbeck and our 

partners here today talked about in creating collaborative relationships, also awaiting action in the Senate. I hope we will be able to 

pass out the Perkins Act, working on the funding formula so that 

everybody is kept whole to the best of our ability. And, of course, 

we will also be tackling the Higher Education Act as soon as that 

expires in 2014. 

So we have a lot on our plates, but I know that the committee 

under your leadership is up to the challenge as we continue to try 

to make sure that we give all of our students every opportunity to 

graduate college career ready. Again, thank you for bringing the 

hearing here, and I yield back. 

Chairman KLINE. Thank you, sir. Mr. Scott, you are recognized 

for any closing remarks. 

Mr. SCOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I thank our local representative, Dr. Heck, Ms. Titus, and Mr. Horsford, for their hospitality. As we started off saying, education past the high school level 

would be essential for any decent job in the future. Those without 

some kind of education or training after high school will be relegated to very low-paying jobs. 

Career education will enable our students to qualify for those 

jobs with credentials so that the employer will know exactly what 

the employee can do so they do not have to guess, and people who 

are fully credentialed not get the jobs, and people who do not know 

what they are doing get the jobs. We need this education with the 

certificates. 

I think it is important that we not limit high school students. Vocational education used to be a dumping ground. If you could not 

do regular education, well, you just go over there and learn a little 

trade, stay in school, get your little diploma. Vocational education 

used to be a dumping ground, but as Dr. Spangler mentioned, 

these jobs now require expertise. And you are not going to get that 

in a dumping ground. You have got to get the basics, so we have 

to make sure that all of our students get the basics because they 

are going to certainly need it if they expect to do well in a career. 

We need to make sure that all students get that opportunity, including the DREAMers, and so we have to deal with immigration 

reform so that 65,000 high graduates every year do not get left behind. We also need to reauthorize the Perkins Act and Higher Education to ensure that today’s students will be prepared for the future jobs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman KLINE. I thank the gentleman. I am told that we have 

been joined by Bart Patterson, President of Nevada State College. 

Welcome. Glad you could join us. We have had a lively conversation. We have had excellent, excellent witnesses with a great deal 

of knowledge. We very much appreciate your input. 

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I want to thank my Nevada colleagues for letting us come and 

visit. It is a real hardship when you come from Minnesota to come 

to Las Vegas at this time of year. 

[Laughter.] 

Chairman KLINE. But I was willing to make the sacrifice. Joe, 

thank you. Thank you very much. And again, thanks to our witnesses for a really, really good hearing. 

There being no further business, the committee stands adjourned. 

[Additional Submissions by Mr. Spangler follow:] 

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[Whereupon, at 4:00 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

Æ 

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