CDE Announcements Archive

2025–26 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title II: Adult Education Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)

Dear Adult Education Administrators:

In addition to good news about federal funding for next year, I wanted to share two opportunities for resources to support your adult education programs.

After a four-day partial shutdown that concluded last Tuesday, Congress passed legislation to fund the U.S. Department of Education (ED) through the rest of the federal fiscal year (September 30, 2026). Under the final bill, adult education is level funded, avoiding proposed cuts. The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) will use this funding appropriation to run the requisite funding formula to decide preliminary awards for states and territories.

If your adult education program is currently partnering with your districts in relation to community school grants, or is running a K–12 student success or family literacy program, please reach out to Dr. Zachry via email at adulteducation@cde.ca.gov to let us know.

The Pro-Literacy National Book Fund (NBF) grant application period is open. This is your chance to receive essential classroom materials for your adult learners. The NBF is dedicated to enhancing literacy by providing New Readers Press books and other educational resources. Whether you're a public library, school, community center, or nonprofit organization, the NBF is here to help you access the books you need.

Who Can Apply? Any organization that demonstrates a need for funding to support their adult education and literacy efforts is eligible to apply. Non-members of ProLiteracy are no longer required to pay a matching fee.

Application Deadline: The application period is open through Monday, March 2, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Find out more information and apply here.

Content-Integrated Language Instruction for Adults with Technology Support (CILIA–T) is an INTEGRATED civics, U.S. history, English and digital skills curriculum for high-intermediate /advanced English learners and pre-GED/GED students. It combines academic English, digital literacy and critical thinking with culturally responsive teaching—honoring students lived experiences while building skills and knowledge. The product was developed under the Collaborative Research for Educating Adults with Technology Enhancements (CREATE) program, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences.

Key features of the curriculum include:

• 16 comprehensive units that cover academic English, civics, U.S. history, and digital skills in an integrated fashion
• Can be taught in person, online or in a hybrid format
• Developed by adult educators, researchers and content experts
• Evaluated and shown to increase knowledge and self-efficacy For questions about the curriculum, please contact Dr. Aydin Durgunoglu, Principal Investigator or Erin Cary, Project Coordinator.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Zachry, Ed.D.
Education Administrator and State Director
Adult Education Office
California Department of Education
916-322-2175
adulteducation@cde.ca.gov