State and Federal Update: December 16, 2025

Dec 16, 2025

Federal Updates

New TEGL provides WIOA waiver guidance

On November 25, the USDOL Employment and Training Administration released Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 05-25, titled “Maximizing Innovation in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Programs.” Broadly aligned to the administration’s August 2025 workforce blueprint, the TEGL encourages states to be aggressive and creative with waiver requests. Specific areas of note include the following.

Supportive services: DOL will consider waivers that would enable providers to pay for wraparound services like childcare and transportation for up to 12 months after a participant completes a WIOA-funded program, though only if adult trainees are already receiving other public benefits and are “unable to obtain” the requested services through other means.
Workforce Board composition and guidance: One suggested waiver would allow states to change the membership of and/or take over local Boards.
ITAs for in-school youth: The TEGL encourages waiver requests for providers to utilize Individual Training Account (ITA) vouchers on youth who are enrolled in school rather than limiting eligibility to out-of-school youth.

NYATEP is continuing to review the TEGL and is eager to hear input from our local Board partners as well the New York State Department of Labor. Our initial sense, however, is that while the greater flexibility offered through this TEGL is welcome, the severe under-resourcing of WIOA and the remaining constraints—including the built-in flaws of WIOA, and external factors like the very limited availability of childcare, limit the potential positive impact of these changes.

Education Department sets draft Workforce Pell regs

After a week of intense deliberations, the AHEAD (Accountability in Higher Ed and Access Through Demand-driven Workforce Pell) committee reached agreement on draft regulations late on Friday afternoon. Expert consensus is that the rules as agreed upon closely reflect language from the federal reconciliation bill, while deferring a number of important procedural considerations to state leaders. The committee was able to clarify a few key points:

The one-year rule. Under the legislation, Workforce Pell-eligible programs must have been offered for at least one year before it can be approved to receive Workforce Pell funds. The Department of Education (ED) clarified that this one-year term begins whenever the governor of the state where the program operates determines that the program meets all other Workforce Pell requirements, and that this determination can be retroactive. In other words, if the governor concludes that a program met Workforce Pell requirements (e.g. 70 percent program completion, 70 percent of completers placed into relevant employment, at earnings above a determined level) one year before Workforce Pell goes into effect, the program will be immediately eligible to draw down funds.
Governor’s discretion for distance programs. Per analyst Wesley Whistle, ED clarified that governors must approve any program offered to students located in their state for Workforce Pell funding, even if the program is offered online and originates from an out of state institution. ED added new language enabling bilateral agreements between states to help facilitate Workforce Pell eligibility for distance learning programs.
RA x Workforce Pell. Whistle also reported that ED has broadened a provision relating to Registered Apprenticeship (RA), an administration priority to accommodate module-based courses—meaning that an RA with any related instruction component that meets Workforce Pell requirements can access the funds. This also means that an RA could include multiple Workforce Pell programs.

Whistle also notes that a number of key subjects—related to accreditation, transparency, and more—have not yet been addressed. NYATEP is working with partners in the education sector and state government to determine the state of play for Workforce Pell in New York, and looks forward to sharing additional updates soon.

Labor-HHS funding bill likely next month; WIOA Reauthorization talks on tap; H. Mack confirmation pending

As 2025 winds down, Congress continues to work on the FY 2026 budget. We hear that the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is unlikely to move until the new year, but given the need for bipartisan agreement, extreme proposals—such as the administration’s Make America Skilled Again (MASA) block grant plan from last spring—seem to be off the table.

Beyond funding, and as noted in our last update, the House Education and Workforce Committee seems poised take the lead on a WIOA reauthorization effort that would take as its starting point the December 2024 version of the A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA). ASWA’s key provisions include a 50 percent training requirement for Adult and Dislocated Worker funds, with a 10 percent cap for individual career services and/or supportive services. While the 50 percent figure seems set, there might be flexibility related to the share that can be used for supportive services. Although negotiations have not officially begun, Committee members have been asking staff questions about reauthorization, showing that interest is growing. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has provided input to Republican staff around its priorities, which unsurprisingly align with the America’s Talent Strategy report released this past August.

Finally, the long-pending nomination of Henry Mack III, a veteran workforce and education administrator from Florida, to lead the Employment and Training Administration within the federal Department of Labor, is among those slated for Senate consideration this month. The US Workforce Association, of which NYATEP is a member, supported his nomination and looks forward to his confirmation.

State update

On December 5, Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill passed with overwhelming support by the state legislature last spring to establish a fiscal cliff task force to assess the reach and impacts of benefits cliffs in state public assistance programs, and to make related recommendations. The governor has vetoed this measure, which NYATEP strongly supports, in prior years as well. We will continue working with partners statewide to focus attention on the impact of benefits cliffs, and advance strategies to reduce or eliminate the harm they do to low-income working New Yorkers as well as their employers.
The Senate and Assembly Majorities caucused last week to discuss their 2026 priorities. The 2026 Legislative Session begins on Wednesday, January 7. (See the full 2026 legislative calendar here.)

The Governor is holding her State of the State Address on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 1pm. The event will be televised on the Governor’s website.

NYATEP will continue to monitor events as they unfold and share details to our members as soon as possible. If you have an immediate questions or concerns, please contact David Fischer, Interim Executive Director, at [email protected].