This article examines the impact of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 on access to community college education and training. The market-oriented, customer-focused rhetoric of WIA is compared to the realities of WIA implementation in three states: Rhode Island, Illinois, and Florida. The authors first discuss the emergence of WIA in the context of recent market-driven pressures on community colleges. Next, they provide an overview of the relevant components of WIA. Finally, they examine how the implementation and practice of WIA affects the ability of low-income populations to obtain postsecondary education. They find that WIA’s rhetoric, intended to promote educational quality and increase customer choice, is not reflected in either formal policy or implementation. Important policy elements such as accountability measures and the focus on multiple customers have undercut the rhetoric of free choice. Thus, in practice, WIA has actually limited access to education and training at community colleges.
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