Dear Highline,

We are writing to follow up on last week’s message about the possible impacts regarding the withholding of federal funds and impacts on our English Language, Career and Academic Prep (ELCAP) program.

In response to this news, Washington state joined 23 other states on July 15 in filing for an injunction against the Department of Education for withholding Adult Basic Education and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education grant funds. You can read the Attorney General’s Office news release here: States sue to release $7B in federal education funding illegally withheld

Briefly, the two grants are:

• Basic Grant: $11,161,490. The Basic Grant funds local programs of adult education and literacy services. These services include adult education, literacy, English language, workplace literacy and workforce preparation, and integrated education and training.
• Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) grant: $2,341,074 (based on last year’s numbers since we did not receive a Grant Award Notification (GAN) this year. This funding helps folks learning the English language in a career pathway model that leads to self-sustaining employment. We primarily use these funds to support students in our Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) model.

The potential cuts to funding are approximately $1 million. ELCAP serves 6,000 students annually and regularly has 500 students on waitlists each quarter. This impacts 25% of ELCAP Classes, more than 2,000 individual students. While the State’s legal action proceeds, Executive Cabinet has made the commitment to ELCAP that we will utilize one-time carry-forward funding to sustain the program through the Fall Quarter. If the situation is resolved in the courts, we may not need to use these one-time funds.

ELCAP students are a vital part of the fabric of our campus and community. We want to continue to serve our students by offering the courses necessary for individuals working toward economic stability and mobility for themselves and their families. It is important to note that we will be using one-time carry forward funds for the fall quarter while we work with SBCTC on resolving the federal funding issue . We recognize this may be a significant expenditure at a time we are working to ensure we have long-term financial sustainability.

We appreciate the questions and discussions we’ve had as a result of your submissions to the JOINT INFORMATION CENTER (JIC) INPUT FORM. And we truly appreciate your support and efforts on behalf of our students and community here in south King County.

Sincerely,

Highline College Joint Information Center