The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 ( P.L. 109-270 ), reauthorized and revised the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III; P.L. 105-332 ) and renamed the act the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV). Perkins IV supports the development of academic and career and technical skills among secondary and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in career and technical education (CTE) programs, sometimes referred to as vocational education programs. Perkins IV was authorized by statute through FY2012 and was funded at $1.1 billion in FY2014. The General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) automatically extended the authorization for one additional fiscal year to FY2013. CTE provides occupational and non-occupational preparation at the secondary, postsecondary, and adult education levels. Generally, CTE programs require two years or less of postsecondary education or training. As defined in a publication by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), CTE prepares students for roles outside the paid labor market, teaches general employment skills, and teaches skills required in specific occupations or careers. For example, CTE provides preparation in homemaking and a variety of occupations, such as nursing, business administration, culinary arts, automotive maintenance, software programming, engineering technology, and cosmetology. The definition distinguishes CTE from liberal arts: the fine arts, English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, and the humanities. On April 19, 2012, the Obama Administration announced its blueprint for reauthorization of Perkins IV (hereinafter referred to as the Blueprint) in an effort to create more high quality CTE programs. The Blueprint is intended to conform to the policy goals of all high school graduates being prepared for both college and a career and the United States having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. The proposal is expected to "usher in a new era of rigorous, relevant, and results-driven CTE shaped by four core principles:" 1. More effective alignment of CTE programs with labor market needs and high-growth industry sectors, in particular; 2. Stronger collaboration among secondary and postsecondary institutions, employers, and industry partners in an effort to improve the quality of CTE programs; 3. A meaningful accountability system based upon common definitions and clear metrics for performance; and 4. Increased innovation supported through systemic reform of state policies and practices. As of February 2014, the House in the 113 th Congress has held two hearings on reauthorization of the act. On September 20, 2013, the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing entitled "Preparing Today's Students for Tomorrow's Jobs: A Discussion on Career and Technical Education and Training Programs." On November 19, 2013, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing entitled "Preparing Today's Students for Tomorrow's Jobs: Improving the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act." This report is divided into three major sections. The first section provides a brief history of federal legislation supporting CTE. This is followed by an examination of Perkins IV that describes the major programs and provisions. The last section provides statistics on the funding of and participation in Perkins IV programs. To reduce reliance on individuals trained in foreign vocational schools, improve domestic wage earning capacity, reduce unemployment, and protect national security, federal funding for vocational education was initiated with the passing of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917. About 30 years later, the George-Barden Act (P.L. 80-402) expanded federal support of vocational education to support vocations beyond agriculture, trade, home economics, and industrial subjects. The National Defense Education Act (P.L. 85-864), signed into law in 1958, focused on improving instruction in science, mathematics, foreign languages, and other critical areas. It also provided additional funding for vocational education to prepare individuals for technical occupations related to national defense. In addition to the Smith-Hughes Act, Congress provided further support for the development of vocational education in states and territories. A 1934 act provided grants to states for the salaries of faculty of agricultural, home economics, and trades and industrial subjects. A 1936 act replaced the 1934 act, added funding for the salaries of faculty in distributive occupations, and further required that states match the federal grants. The Vocational Education Act of 1946 amended the 1936 act to change the allocation of funds for each vocational education subject and allow support for salaries, teacher training, training program development, counseling, and equipment and supplies. In 1963, the Vocational Education Act (P.L. 88-210) was signed into law. In addition to increasing federal support for vocational education schools, including the construction of area vocational education school facilities, the act also provided funding for vocational work-study programs and research, training, and demonstration programs related to vocational education. Five years later, the Vocational Education Amendments of 1968 (P.L. 90-576) modified the existing vocational education programs. The amendments also established a National Advisory Council on Vocational Education and provided funding for collecting and disseminating information about programs administered by the Commissioner of Education, now the Secretary of Education (hereafter referred to as the Secretary). In 1984, the Vocational Education Act was renamed the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (Perkins I, P.L. 98-524 ). While continuing federal support for vocational education, it established programs emphasizing the acquisition of job skills through both vocational and technical education. The act also sought to make vocational education programs accessible to "special populations," including individuals with disabilities, disadvantaged individuals, single parents and homemakers, and incarcerated individuals. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act Amendments of 1990 (Perkins II, P.L. 101-392 ) made several revisions to the 1984 act. Notably, the act created the Tech-Prep program designed to coordinate secondary and postsecondary vocational education activities into a coherent sequence of courses. The law also provided up to 25% of funds for state programs and required that at least 75% of funds be allocated to local recipients. Most set-asides for "special populations" were removed from the legislation, but the program remained focused on providing members of special populations with access to high-quality vocational education. These populations included disadvantaged and disabled students, limited English-proficient students, and students enrolled in programs to eliminate sex bias. Programs to eliminate sex bias were designed to prepare students for nontraditional training and employment (e.g., training women to be welders or men to be nurses). The law also required states to develop and implement performance standards and measures (e.g., program completion and job placement) to assess gains in learning and program performance. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Amendments of 1998 ( P.L. 105-332 ) reauthorized and revised Perkins II and renamed the act the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (hereafter referred to as Perkins III). Perkins III increased the funds distributed to the local level by states from 75% to 85%, of which 8.5% could be reserved for programs in rural and other high-need areas. Perkins III also allowed states to set aside up to 1% of their total grant for programs for individuals in state institutions (such as prisons) and required that states set aside between $60,000 and $150,000 for services related to nontraditional programs and employment. The act strengthened accountability through the establishment of core indicators of performance with levels negotiated between each state and the Secretary (i.e., adjusted levels of performance), sanctions based on states' failing to meet the performance levels, and incentive grants to states for exceeding performance levels established under Perkins III and under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA, P.L. 105-220 ). On August 12, 2006, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 was signed into law (Perkins IV; P.L. 109-270 ). Perkins IV renamed the act to refer to CTE rather than vocational and technical education. The act reinforced the existing accountability system by establishing separate core indicators of performance for the secondary and postsecondary levels, requiring grantees to meet at least 90% of their adjusted levels of performance on each of their core indicators of performance or be required to develop and implement an improvement plan, and limiting fiduciary sanctions. The act also explicitly linked CTE provisions with the academic standards required under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). A major innovation was the requirement that each local recipient offer the relevant elements of at least one state developed program of education, providing a progressive sequence of secondary and postsecondary courses that lead to an industry recognized credential. Finally, the act permitted eligible agencies to consolidate their funding under the Tech-Prep program into the Basic State Grants program. Perkins IV is the main source of specific federal funding for CTE. The most recent estimate of the total funds expended on CTE that were federal funds was published in 2004 by ED and estimated that 5% of CTE expenditures were federal funds. The remainder is funded by state and local funds. The act authorizes federal funding for five main programs: (1) the Basic State Grants program (Title I), (2) Tech Prep (Title II), (3) National Programs (Section 114), (4) the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions program (TCPCTIP; Section 117), and (5) Occupational and Employment Information (Section 118). This section describes the major sections and provisions of Perkins IV.