Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult Education and Family Literacy Act ProgramsThe Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the following as it pertains to Adult Education and Literacy programs under title II, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).
a. Aligning of Content Standards
Describe how the eligible agency will, by July 1, 2016, align its content standards for adult education with State-adopted challenging academic content standards, as adopted under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(1)).
Current Narrative:
In June 2015, in an effort to better reflect the needs of adult learners in Colorado and to integrate services within the Colorado talent development system, the Colorado Department of Education reorganized the form and function of the team working with adult education and family literacy to form the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) Office of Adult Education Initiatives (AEI). This reorganization began with revisioning adult education in Colorado with partners from workforce, labor and employment, policy advocates, higher education, community–based organizations, and the state’s adult education professional organization. As a result of this effort, the following became the focus of the work of the revisioned AEI office in order to best meet the needs of Coloradans and effectively and efficiently contribute to the talent development system:
- Support a culture of change
- Engage in work groups across the state to move WIOA work forward
- Leverage funding by partnering
- Strengthen connections to livable wage, employability, postsecondary education and/or licensure
- Address barriers for transition through the system
Since the revisioning, adult education and family literacy providers and the AEI office have committed to learning more about the Colorado talent development system, to actively engaging in dialogue at local, regional, and statewide levels, and to building partnerships to best use public dollars and support the needs of Coloradans. Adult education and family literacy representatives have participated in focus groups to guide the work under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), including identification of gaps and generation of solutions for service integration.
Additionally, adult education and family literacy representatives are engaged in work groups focused on partner alignment, service alignment, state legislative policy, and implementation. Further, adult education and family literacy representatives have been welcomed as members of local workforce development boards, which has initiated dialogue at the local level about the talent development system utilization and function.
In 2014, Colorado began a standards–based instruction initiative to promote the quality of adult education and family literacy outcomes to prepare learners for success in adult education, postsecondary education, employment, and the educational advancement of their children. The AEI office officially adopted the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) as a framework to prepare Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)–funded programs for the new demands of high school equivalency exams. This adoption also signifies alignment with Colorado Academic Standards.
In support of this standards–based initiative Colorado joined the Standards–in–Action (SiA) national initiative in order to guide a statewide scale–up and sustainability plan of the CCRS. Statewide adoption of the CCRS promotes the explicit goal to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed for success in postsecondary education, employment, and beyond. Colorado has developed a sustainability plan to outline the professional development model, stakeholders, goals, strategies, tactics, and resources necessary to accomplish the goal of statewide implementation by July 1, 2017.