Sponsors (2)
The bill integrates digital literacy into federal workforce and adult-education goals—helping jobseekers, families, and program alignment—but offers little new funding and risks uneven rollout or widening digital divides where internet, devices, or program capacity are limited.
Unemployed workers and low-income adults will gain clearer access to digital literacy training tied to employment, improving job readiness and economic self-sufficiency.
State and local workforce and adult-education providers will have a federal definition and outcome language for digital literacy, enabling more consistent curricula, program alignment, and reporting across programs and states.
Parents and family members can receive digital skills training to better support children's learning at home, potentially improving student outcomes.
Low-income learners and taxpayers may face budget strain because the bill adds digital literacy goals without new dedicated funding, so benefits may not materialize or could require reallocation from existing services.
Teachers, programs, and rural communities may experience implementation delays or uneven access because new training, equipment, and instructor capacity will be needed to teach digital skills.
Rural and low-income learners risk being left behind if digital-skill emphasis is not paired with expanded broadband and device access.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Adds digital literacy to WIOA definitions and makes digital skills an explicit objective, content area, and outcome of adult education programs.
Adds digital literacy to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act by formally recognizing “digital literacy skills” and making them an explicit goal and content area of adult education and literacy programs. The law cross‑references an existing federal definition of digital literacy and updates outcomes and the definition of literacy so adults are expected to develop and use digital technology skills needed for work, parenting, and civic life. The change focuses on definitions and program objectives rather than new funding. It affects adult education providers, state and local workforce agencies, adult learners (including parents and jobseekers), and organizations that deliver literacy and family education services by requiring programs to include digital skills in curriculum, outcomes, and performance expectations.
Introduced May 23, 2025 by Maggie Goodlander · Last progress May 23, 2025