This week there was movement in both the House and the Senate towards reauthorizing the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The Act is a federal program that distributes more than $1 billion each year to the states to support career and technical education (CTE). The bill was last authorized in 2006 but has been funded through the annual appropriations process since it expired.
In the Senate, the offices of Senators Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Casey (D-Pa.) have begun bipartisan work to reauthorize the bill. The Senators reached out to the CTE Community looking for specific policy recommendations for the reauthorization process. The Senate leaders have a set of bipartisan principles that the Perkins reauthorization bill will be based off of:
- Make it easier for states and locals to run their CTE programs to serve all students who desire to gain access to CTE coursework, including students with disabilities;
- Increase access to, and support of, career counseling for all CTE students;
- Maintain CTE as a formula program;
- Align with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (where applicable) to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the education and workforce development programs;
- Support the expansion of public/private collaborations with secondary and post-secondary programs, including alignment with state or locally-determined in-demand industries and occupations;
- Support efforts to integrate into and strengthen career pathways at the state and local levels;
- Address unfunded programs; and
- Improve evaluation and research to support innovation and best practices.
In response to the request, AGC, along with members of the Jobs and Careers Coalition, provided changes we believe would strengthen a reauthorized Perkins Act. They focused on aligning CTE programs to the local and regional economic needs by offering a variety of frameworks and avoid a one-size-fits-all mechanism that can be duplicative with other federal programs and stifle employer engagement. We also stressed the importance of work-based learning that is defined in a way that encompasses all types of arrangements that may be in use across the spectrum of industries such as internships, apprenticeships and mentorships. The comments also highlighted the importance of industry recognized credentials and the need for the legislation to encourage the development and creation of these credentials and to distinguish them from other post-secondary awards. Finally, AGC supports a stronger and better-defined collaboration between secondary and post-secondary institutions with employers.
Meanwhile, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing this week on ways to reform the Perkins Act to better serve students and meet the needs of a 21st century economy. Among the panelists, a representative of the AGC-supported National Center for Construction Education and Research, testified that the key to CTE is to find skilled craft professionals who have some communications skills and provide them with instruction and training resources. The need for a strong national network of CTE programs is vital along with linking post-secondary institutions with employers. Also highlighted was the need to move trained professionals from training programs into the staffs of employers, particularly construction employers.
For more information, please contact Jim Young at youngj@agc.org or (202) 547-0133.