TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF SB 647:

Education – Funding Formula for

Adult Education and Literacy Grants

TO: Hon. Ulysses Currie, Chair, and members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee

FROM: Melissa Broome, Senior Policy Advocate

DATE: February 27, 2008

The Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF) is an independent, nonprofit organization that develops and advocates policies and programs to increase the skills, job opportunities, and incomes of low-skill, low-wage workers and job seekers in Maryland. Because education is a critical component of effective workforce development, we strongly support SB 647 as it would help address a serious shortfall in state support for adult education services.

According to the 2005 MSDE report, “Stepping Up to the Future,” the state’s adult education system serves only about four percent of the nearly one million Marylanders in need of adult education services, such as basic literacy, GED preparation or English as a second language classes. Adult education students in Maryland receive an average of 40 hours of instruction, far below the 100 to 150 hours of instruction that research indicates are needed for students to make significant learning gains. And waiting lists for adult education programs in Maryland average 5,000 potential students a year.

Currently, Maryland falls significantly behind other states’ investment in adult education. The average East Coast state investment per student is more than 6 times the amount that Maryland invests.

Additional investment in adult education would result in economic benefits for low-skill workers, businesses, and the state. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that nationally, the average wages of workers with a high school diploma or GED are 46 percent higher than the wages of workers without those credentials. Similarly, the average wages of workers with a two-year associate’s degree or some college are 19 percent higher than the wages of workers with only a high school diploma.

Adult education boosts the skill level of workers, meets the needs of employers, and makes Maryland more attractive for new businesses. The establishment of a funding formula, as recommended by SB 647, is necessary to reduce waiting lists and build a well-educated workforce. We respectfully urge a favorable report.