Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education Regulations
Adult Basic and Literacy Education in Pennsylvania is funded through a combination of state and federal grants, as described below.
- State Act 143
- Federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
The Pennsylvania Adult Basic and Family Literacy Education Act 143-1986, amended June 22, 2001, P.L. 209, No.44
Purpose
It is the intent of this Act to provide coordination and broaden the scope of educational activities to uneducated and undereducated adults in this commonwealth and their families,
including those who speak other languages, and to provide programs to those individuals who have previously been under served. By providing for the coordination of funding streams and programs
across state departments, increased and improved services are provided to adult learners and their families. By encouraging and expanding the availability of adult and family literacy
education programs in this commonwealth, these adults and their families will be able to function more effectively in their personal lives and as citizens and be better prepared for
training and employment so that they may become more responsible and productive members of society.
Priorities and Considerations
- Eligible adults who are receiving either state or federal public assistance, or who are unemployed workers or displaced homemakers.
- Eligible adults in any local area who do not have certificates of graduation from a secondary school and who are not currently enrolled in adult or family literacy education programs.
- Eligible adults who are members of minority groups.
- Eligible adults with less than a fifth-grade reading level.
- At least 20 percent of the annual appropriation shall be used for training volunteer adult literacy education instructors.
- At least 25 percent of the annual appropriation shall be used for family literacy education programs.
- No more than 20 percent of the annual appropriation shall be used to provide education to institutionalized adults.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Title II (Adult Education and Family Literacy Act), 29 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.
Purpose
Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act) provides for the establishment of adult education and
family literacy programs that will:
-
Assist adults who are parents or family members to
obtain the education and skills that are necessary to becoming full partners in
the educational development of their children and that lead to sustainable
improvements in the economic opportunities for their family;
-
Assist adults in attaining a secondary school
diploma and in the transition to postsecondary education and training,
including through career pathways; and
-
Assist immigrants and other individuals who are
English language learners to improve their reading, writing, speaking, and
comprehension skills in English; to improve their math skills; and to acquire
an understanding of the American system of government, individual freedom, and
the responsibilities of citizenship.
The law requires that the states establish performance goals for six
primary indicators of performance:
Employment in the second quarter after exit
Employment in the fourth quarter after exit
Median earnings in the second quarter after exit
Credential attainment rate
Measureable skill gains
Effectiveness in servicing employers
A portion of the funds awarded under Title II of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 is used for integrated English literacy
and civics education services to immigrants and other limited English
proficient populations, as defined in Section 243 of the Title.
In addition to grants to local providers, the law supports the state
agency’s use of funding to provide professional development and technical
assistance to build local program capacity. Pennsylvania has established a
professional development system to support adult education theory and
application in the areas of reading, writing, math, English as a Second
Language, workforce education, and learning differences.
Full
text of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is available at the Library
of Congress Thomas site.