Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS)

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Draft Regulations Released

To:	ACLS Program Directors, ACL Local Workforce Investment Board; ACL-WIAA; ACL-SABES; ACL Teacher / All Staff
From:	Jolanta Conway, MA ABE State Director
Date:	April 3, 2015

FY16 is a transition year for Adult Education. During FY16, ACLS and the field will transition from the current federal legislation, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) which since 1998 has served as the guiding legislation for the ABE system to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA was signed into law by President Obama on July 22, 2014 and will be in effect until 2020. This represents the first major reform in the U.S. workforce system in over a decade. The FY16 continuation application will assist ACLS-funded programs in the transition to WIOA and therefore will signal some WIOA-required activities. The WIOA will become effective July 1, 2015 and full implementation is required for FY 17. Note: Some WIOA provisions, such as the performance accountability system however, will not go into full effect until FY 16 (July 1, 2016), Below are the draft regulations to implement the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) which have been posted to the Federal Register website. They come in five parts, known as Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs), that each address different aspects of the law:

Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability, and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions (Joint DOL/ED);

Remaining Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act provisions administered by DOL;

Title II Adult Education and Literacy administered by ED;

Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation administered by ED; and

Miscellaneous Program Changes administered by ED.

The regulations will be published to the Federal Register on April 16, 2015. At that point, the public can submit comments at regulations.gov for 60 days. The Departments plan to analyze these public comments and anticipate issuing Final Rules implementing WIOA in early 2016. ACLS will hold Regional Meetings to discuss these regulations and seek your feedback. The dates and locations will be sent out as soon as possible.

Last Updated: April 6, 2015