Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998

Signed into Law on August 7, 1998, the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA--P.L. 105-220) reforms Federal employment, adult education, and vocational rehabilitation programs to create an integrated, "one-stop" system of workforce investment and education activities for adults and youth. Entities that carry out activities assisted under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act are mandatory partners in this one-stop delivery system.

Title I of WIA authorizes workforce investment programs and activities that are administered by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. Learn more about the implementation of Title I of WIA.

Read the law (P.L. 105-220) or the conference report (H. Rept. 105-659).

Side-by-side Comparison of Adult Education Act as Amended by the National Literacy Act of 1991 with the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (Available in MS Word or PDF Guidance for the Development of a State Plan Under Title II-- Adult Education and Literacy of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 in MS Word or in PDF

The Division of Adult Education and Literacy has developed a Guide to help State agency staff prepare State plans for adult education to meet the requirements of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

Final Unified Plan Guidance

On January 14, 2000, the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor published in the Federal Register (Volume 65, Number 10, pp. 2463-2489) final guidance for unified plans submitted under section 501 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The final guidance reflects many of the comments and suggestions that were received about the first draft of the guidance that was published in October 1999. The purpose of the unified plan guidance is to facilitate the development of unified plans by streamlining non-statutory planning requirements for partner programs. The guidance is not a mandatory format for submission of unified plans. The submission date for unified plans is April 7, 2000. The submission date for Adult Education and Perkins III State plans that are not submitted as part of a unified plan continues to be April 1, 2000.

Policy Memoranda

• FY 2001 State Allocations for Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education -- June 20, 2001



• Adult Education State Allotments for Fiscal Year 2001 -- February 2, 2001



• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Use of State Unemployment Insurance Wage Records to Report on Performance-- January 18, 2001



• Adult Education State Allotments for Fiscal Year 2000 -- Memo and Table -- February 3, 2000



• Second Jointly Issued Guidance Regarding the Non-Duplication Provision in the Workforce Investment Act -- June 30, 1999



• Responsibilities and Opportunities Created by Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 -- June 1, 1999



• Guidance for Implementing the Adult Education Family Literacy Act -- March 1999



• Additional Guidance for Development of a State Plan Under Title II -- December 30, 1998

Title I of the Workforce Investment Act Resources Available to Support Local One-Stop Delivery Systems

A wide range of Federal programs activities are mandatory and optional partners in the new One-Stop delivery system established by WIA. We've prepared a chart that provides program-by-program estimates of the resources that will be available at the local level to support the implementation of the One-Stop delivery system.

Performance Accountability

Titles I and II of WIA and Perkins III established State performance accountability systems. A number of the "core indicators" used to measure State and local performance are similar or identical for all three programs. This chart summarizes the core indicators established by Congress for these three programs. (Available in MS Word and PDF .)

We have also prepared a side-by-side chart that includes all of the statutory performance accountability and reporting requirements for the three programs. (Available in MS Word or PDF .)

Request for Public Comments Regarding the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act and the Workforce Investment Act

In the February 17, 1999 edition of the Federal Register, the Secretary of Education invited written comments and recommendations regarding the implementation of titles I, II, and V of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) Pub.L. 105-220, enacted August 7, 1998), as they pertain to the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act. Comments received on or before April 5, 1999, are being considered in the development of guidance and any regulations that may be necessary, as well as the overall implementation strategy. Although the comment period has ended, you may read the request for public comment as it appeared.

To submit questions regarding the implementation of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998, please send them to ovae@.ed.gov.

More detailed information on this and other legislation is available at the Library of Congress's Thomas web site, where you may select from several databases that provide full bill text, bill summaries, and bill status by sponsor, keyword, and bill number.

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