Education and Employment Issue Area Plan: Fiscal Years 1995-96

Our issue area's work in education focuses on matters relating to children's early development and their preparation for higher education and work. These issues are especially significant as Congress assesses the effectiveness of current federal education programs and reconsiders the extent of federal involvement. We will continue to focus on federal activities supporting state and local governments' efforts to address (1) children's readiness to learn and (2) the adequacy of school resources and instruction. In higher education, our focus is on the federal role in ensuring access to quality education while containing costs for both students and the federal government. In school-to-work transition, our focus is on (1) the skills students need to successfully move from school to work and (2) linking those skills with the skills businesses need in future employees to remain competitive in the world economy. Our focus will be on (1) a federal role that is less directive and more guiding and supportive and (2) the multiple federal funding streams supporting state school-to-work initiatives. Our employment work focuses on the development of a well-trained, competitive workforce and on workplace conditions. Specifically, we examine the federal role in helping (1) workers acquire the skills they need to be fully employed and (2) employers locate qualified workers. Under the workplace quality issue, our work focuses on federal regulation of the workplace, especially the impact of such regulation on ensuring worker protections without unduly burdening employers and on employer compliance. In this report, we describe our key planned work on these issues.