Congressman Glenn Thompson continues to be active in the education space.

He has recently put forward two pieces of legislation that aim to impact how Title dollars flow – one for adult learners and the other in elementary schools.

Thompson is one of four representatives co-sponsoring the Creating Opportunities to Thrive and Advance Act.

The legislation aims to permit the use of Title II funds to be used for the first time to create public outreach – public service announcements, social media campaigns, job fairs – to inform the public about workforce development programs.

“I fully support programs that provide learners with career-ready skills,” Thompson, who is co-chair of the bipartisan House Career and Technical Education Caucus, said. “We must be able to tell the public about the resources available to them.

“This bill allows for public service announcements and other advertisements to inform adult learners about workforce development programs and high-quality career counseling. Increased awareness into career choices and programs will lead individuals down the pathway of success and into high-quality, family-sustaining jobs.”

The other bill – co-sponsored with California Democrat Jimmy Panetta and dubbed the All Children Are Equal Act – aims to correct how federal Title I dollars intended to combat the effects of poverty on achievement flow.

According to a statement from the representatives, the bill has the “perverse effect” of “diverting funding from higher poverty school districts to more populous school districts, regardless of actual poverty rates.”

There’s a weighting system that impacts how these grants are distributed and the bill will eliminate that system to ensure “school districts are treated equally based upon their percentages of poverty, rather than population.”

“In rural America, one in five children are living in poverty and are often put at an educational disadvantage simply based on their zip code,” Thompson said.

“The ACE Act levels the playing field for impoverished students and ensures funding is equitably distributed in accordance with the original intent of the law. No child should be put at a disadvantage because of their geographic location or the size of their school,” he added. “The ACE Act is simply about parity and promotes equity under the law.”