WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) is the 2014 federal law that governs the public workforce system; it requires states to submit four‑year Unified or Combined State Plans describing how they will coordinate workforce, education and training services. A WIOA State Plan typically covers the six WIOA “core” programs — Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs; Title III Wagner‑Peyser Employment Service; Title II Adult Education and Family Literacy (AEFLA); and Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation — and may include additional partner programs when submitted as a Combined State Plan.
Perkins V (the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act) is the federal CTE statute that provides state formula grants to support secondary and postsecondary career and technical education. Perkins V supports CTE programs, local needs assessments, and credential/pathway development; it interacts with WIOA by aligning CTE programs and credentials to employer demand, by supporting shared career pathways, and by being a partner program that states can include in a Combined State Plan to coordinate education and workforce investments.
A Combined State Plan is a single state plan that integrates WIOA core programs plus one or more partner programs (for example Perkins V); it’s optional. Advantages include stronger alignment across education and workforce programs, streamlined federal planning/administration, and clearer employer‑driven pathways; trade‑offs include greater interagency coordination burden, more complex negotiations to satisfy multiple program rules and stakeholders, and potential constraints on program‑specific policy flexibility.
The departments’ joint guidance (TEGL No. 07‑25 and companion Education guidance) points states to: available WIOA waivers and authority that can allow streamlined service delivery; federal funding streams and timing tools (for example guidance on Perkins V and Adult Education grants and DOL GrantSolutions/PMS activation referenced in the release); technical resources and state plan templates; and workforce alignment tools to map training/credentials to employer demand. (The TEGL and the Education State‑plan guidance list program‑specific waiver and flexibility mechanisms and links to current opportunities.)
“Workforce Pell” is the proposal to allow Pell Grant eligibility for short‑term, high‑quality workforce training programs (shorter than traditional degree programs). Aligning state WIOA/Perkins plans can help implementation by coordinating funding, defining approved short‑term credentials and programs, and connecting Pell‑funded training to employer needs and One‑Stop services — which states would need in order to operationalize Workforce Pell locally.
Extending the State Plan modification deadline from March 3 to April 30 gives states ~8 extra weeks to complete interagency negotiations, incorporate Perkins V and other partner program material, and finalize Combined Plan submissions; it does not change statutory responsibilities but delays the administrative cutoff for submitting modifications and approvals noted in the guidance.
Services for individuals with disabilities are explicitly a WIOA priority: aligning State Plans (including vocational rehabilitation/Title IV and Perkins V CTE) promotes coordinated assessment, shared individualized employment plans, and better transitions into postsecondary credentials and employer‑connected training. That coordination is intended to increase postsecondary attainment and workforce participation for people with disabilities by reducing service silos and integrating accommodations and supports across systems.