Despite the billions of dollars that the federal government spends each year on education and workforce training, education and labor market outcomes remain inequitable. Research shows that students do not receive sufficient information about what careers are available and which courses best lead to those options, so they waste time in courses that do not lead to good jobs. These poor outcomes in part result from how Congress structures and funds federal K-12 education, higher education, and workforce laws. Federal laws do not hold schools, colleges, and workforce training programs accountable for the quality of jobs students receive as a result of their schooling. Every year, millions of high school students graduate but are unprepared for college or careers. As a result, many students who enter postsecondary training do not earn a degree. Similarly, many workers enrolled in workforce training programs ultimately find employment in low-quality, dead-end jobs. Improving long-term outcomes requires a new approach that links all these systems with a unified vision where school and training systems lead to employment in good jobs. This issue brief recommends that federal laws take a unified approach to build pathways to better jobs. Specifically, Congress should: (1) Align the reauthorization schedule with federal education and workforce development laws without creating legislative gridlock; (2) Create a common set of rules and practices around defining quality; (3) Create parameters for job quality that are included in federal education and workforce development laws; (4) Align key legislative elements of federal education and workforce development laws with good jobs; and (5) Require states to implement federal education and workforce development laws collaboratively across the education and workforce training systems.