Adult Education

December 2010

Author: Kim Potts

Executive Summary
Legislative Brief

Tennessee has an estimated 571,938 adults between the ages of 18 and 64 without a high school diploma or its equivalent. Individuals with low literacy levels are more likely to face poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and incarceration. Children of low literacy parents have similar challenges and are less likely to complete high school or earn a GED. The primary federal legislation affecting adult education is the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), which focused federal attention on the need to retool America’s labor force. Title II of the WIA, known as the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), provides funds for state-administered adult education programs. This legislative brief describes generally the adult education system as defined by the AEFLA, considering governance and state administration of adult education programs, funding, need and participation, program effectiveness, providers of adult education, and professional development for adult education teachers. The brief makes some comparisons between Tennessee’s adult education system and other states’ systems.