On December 5, 2025, the US Department of Education (ED) issued a Press Release, providing an update on the Administration’s actions to integrate the federal government’s workforce-development portfolio.
The Departments transitioned the WIOA State Plan Portal (SPP) to DOL to streamline federal workforce-development programs, thereby allowing ED and DOL to jointly administer core WIOA programs, including adult education and family literacy.
Subsequent efforts will focus on integrating the Perkins Career and Technical Education (PCTE) SPP into the WIOA SPP so states with combined WIOA plans will be able to submit information through a single portal. ED and DOL are also synchronizing the timeline for submitting the 2026 WIOA State Plan modifications and will provide joint feedback on submissions.
Background information on how the Partnership has progressed includes:
- May 21, 2025, ED and DOL signed an Economy Act Interagency Agreement, allowing federal agencies to procure services from other federal agencies. Under the agreement, DOL is performing certain day-to-day administrative services for ED’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) and DOL’s WIOA Title II programs, alongside the larger suite of workforce programs that DOL already administers. ED maintains all statutory responsibilities for these programs, including policymaking, program determinations, and oversight.
- July 15, 2025, ED and DOL announced the implementation of the Workforce Development Partnership to better integrate federal education and workforce systems.
- September 8, 2025, the agencies launched an integrated WIOA SPP at DOL to streamline these programs, allowing ED and DOL to more easily coordinate administration of the core WIOA programs, including adult education and literacy programs.
- November 25, 2025, DOL issued guidance to governors and workforce boards, in collaboration with ED’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education related to available WIOA waiver and flexibility options, which also included recommendations for further integrating PCTE programs into the public-workforce system.
The ED and DOL Workforce Partnership builds on the work of several innovative states, such as Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio—where, since KRA has provided WIOA-funded Career, Business, and One-Stop Operator Services in Medina and Summit Counties for the OhioMeansJobs Career Center Network—among others, who have reduced duplication and increased efficiency by harmonizing and coordinating state agencies focused on education and workforce development.