[AAACE-NLA] In what state agency should adult ed be located?

[David Rosen]

Colleagues,

In recent years, in several states, adult education has been moved  
(usually by the governor) out of the state agency responsible for  
K-12 education into the state labor/workforce development agency or a  
higher education agency. Maryland's governor, for example, has  
recently proposed moving (decided to move?) adult ed from the  
Maryland State Department of Education to the Department of Labor,  
Licensing and Regulation. (See http://tinyurl.com/2repvs )

Where does adult ed belong at the state level? Have any states  
benefited from moving adult ed out of the K-12 education agency? Have  
any suffered? Does moving adult ed mean it gets less or more  
attention? Does it  constrain its mission, make it harder, for  
example,  to serve basic literacy students, older adults, or those  
with learning disabilities? Does it result in increased or decreased  
funding? How has professional development fared with these changes?  
Has your state considered moving adult ed and decided against it? If  
so, why?

If you have views about this but would prefer to email them to me  
privately, please do.  (I may post these here later, in a summary of  
the discussion, without identifying the source of those sent to me  
privately.)

David J. Rosen
Adult Literacy Advocate
DJRosen at theworld.com