Reauthorization of the Perkins Act in the 114th Congress: Comparison of Current Law and H.R. 5587
Released: 2016-09-15T00:00:00

Summary:
The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV; P.L. 109-270) is the main federal law supporting the development of career and technical skills among students in secondary and postsecondary education. Perkins IV, the most recent reauthorization of federal law targeting career and technical education (CTE), was passed in 2006 and authorized through FY2012. The authorization was extended through FY2013 under the General Education Provisions Act, and Perkins IV has continued to receive fairly constant appropriations through FY2016.
During the 114th Congress, the House Education and the Workforce Committee marked up and unanimously passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587), which would provide for a comprehensive six-year reauthorization of Perkins IV. The act was subsequently passed by the House on September 13, 2016, by a vote of 405-5.
H.R. 5587 contains a number of major changes to current law. Some of these would include
repealing the Tech Prep program, which provided funds to consortia of secondary and postsecondary CTE providers but has not been funded since FY2010; gradually raising total appropriations levels for CTE, reaching a total of $1.23 billion in FY2022; introducing a change to the state allocation formula that would require states to receive an allocation no less than 90% of their previous year's allocation starting in FY2020; permitting states to reserve up to 15% of their Basic State Grants funds for innovative CTE activities in rural areas or areas with higher numbers or concentrations of CTE students; allowing states to set their own annual targets on the core indicators of performance at both the secondary and postsecondary education levels; replacing the local plan required from CTE providers with a comprehensive needs assessment meant to align the CTE programs being offered with local workforce needs; removing the ability of the Secretary of Education to withhold state funds due to lack of improved performance; and revising and introducing a number of new definitions, including common definitions for terms already defined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
This report highlights the key provisions in H.R. 5587, and explains the major differences between H.R. 5587 and current law.

subsections: section_title: Introduction
paragraphs: The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV; P.L. 109-270 ) is the main federal law supporting the development of career and technical skills among students in secondary and postsecondary education. Perkins IV, the most recent reauthorization of federal law targeting career and technical education (CTE), was passed in 2006 and authorized appropriations through FY2012. The authorization was extended through FY2013 under the General Education Provisions Act, and Perkins IV has continued to receive fairly constant appropriations through FY2016. 
During the 114 th Congress, the House Education and the Workforce Committee marked up and unanimously passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21 st Century Act ( H.R. 5587 ), which would provide for a comprehensive reauthorization of Perkins IV and authorize appropriations through FY2022. H.R. 5587 was passed by the House on September 13, 2016, by a vote of 405-5.
This report highlights the major provisions in H.R. 5587 , and explains the major differences between H.R. 5587 and current law. The report does not attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of H.R. 5587 . Table 1 compares provisions in current law side-by-side with new or revised provisions in H.R. 5587 . It also contains a section that highlights selected definitions that were significantly revised or introduced in H.R. 5587 . Finally, Table A-1 depicts the authorizations of appropriations for CTE programs authorized under H.R. 5587 .
section_title: Highlights of H.R. 5587
paragraphs:  Table 1 highlights the differences between H.R. 5587 , as passed by the House in September 2016, and current law. The table is organized topically, focusing on the areas of the law that would see the most significant changes under H.R. 5587 . These areas include the following:
overall structure and funding levels, state and local funding formula provisions, state and local plan provisions, accountability and improvement provisions, state and local use of funds provisions, national activities, prohibitions, general provisions, selected revised definitions, and selected new definitions.
subsections: section_title: Appendix. Authorization and Funding Levels in H.R. 5587