Reauthorization of the Perkins Act in the 115th Congress: The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act
Released: 2018-12-21T00:00:00

Introduction

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins Act) is the primary federal law aimed at developing and supporting career and technical education (CTE) programs at the secondary and postsecondary educational levels. Prior to the 115 th Congress, the Perkins Act had most recently been reauthorized in 2006 by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV; P.L. 109-270 ). On July 31, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21 st Century Act (Perkins V; P.L. 115-224 ), which comprehensively reauthorized the Perkins Act. Perkins V is the most recent in a series of acts that have reauthorized the main federal law authorizing support for the development of CTE programs aimed at students in secondary and postsecondary education.

The provisions of Perkins V go into effect on July 1, 2019. The first year of implementation will be considered a transition year and states will be able to submit transition plans to cover requirements for the July 2019-June 2020 program year. Perkins V authorizes appropriations for CTE programs for FY2019 through FY2024. Following the transition plan, or in lieu of the transition plan, each state must submit a state plan for the period of authorization.

The reauthorization of the Perkins Act in the 115 th Congress began in the House, which passed its version of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21 st Century Act ( H.R. 2353 ) by voice vote on June 22, 2017. The Senate passed its own version of the bill by voice vote on July 23, 2018. The House agreed to the Senate version of H.R. 2353 two days later, and the bill was signed into law by the President as P.L. 115-224 .

This report does not attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of Perkins V. Rather, it provides an overview of the primary differences between provisions in place under Perkins IV and those enacted in Perkins V.

Table 1 compares provisions in Perkins IV with new or revised provisions in Perkins V. It also contains a section that highlights selected definitions that are significantly revised or are introduced in Perkins V. Table A-1 depicts the authorizations of appropriations for programs authorized under the Perkins Act as amended by Perkins V.

Comparison of Provisions in Place under Perkins IV to Those Enacted in Perkins V

Table 1 highlights the differences between provisions under Perkins IV and Perkins V as signed into law on July 31, 2018. The table is organized topically, focusing on the areas that will see the most significant changes under Perkins V. These areas include the following:

overall structure and authorized funding levels, state and local funding formula provisions, state and local plan provisions, accountability and improvement plan provisions, state and local uses of funds, national activities, general provisions, selected revised definitions, and selected new definitions.

Appendix. Authorization Levels in Perkins V