5 Reasons to Vote Yes on Perkins

Forty years ago, 72% of jobs were held by those with no more than a high school diploma. By 2020, that number is projected to be 36%.¹ That means more people will need more skills in order to succeed in the new economy. Preparing a workforce for the future is no easy task, but a new bill in Congress takes important steps forward on just that—by reauthorizing and improving the Perkins Career and Technical Education Program.

Many prominent economists believe that middle skill jobs—those jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree—will present growing opportunities into the middle class for future workers. But there is currently a mismatch between the skills that Americans have—or are developing—and what is needed to fill current and future jobs. According to the National Skills Coalition, 54% of jobs in the U.S. required middle skills, but only 44% of workers possessed the right skills for these jobs.²

A key tool to better equip workers for jobs in the new economy is a modernized career and technical education (CTE) system. And the latest Perkins reauthorization bill takes a series of five important steps to do just that. Here’s what it does and why we support it:

#1: Links the classroom with the work room

Situation: Right now, what is being taught in high school CTE classes doesn’t necessarily sync up with what is needed to get a job. For example, are the floral design classes as part of the Phoenix CTE curriculum leading to widespread employment?³ Are the theater set design CTE classes in Newtown, MA, helping a lot of people get jobs?⁴ Credentials being offered through some CTE programs aren’t necessarily helping students either. Studies have found that many of the recent certifications for jobs like emergency medical technicians, welders, and law enforcement result in little or no wage increases after completion.⁵

Aligning the classroom and the shop floor is not impossible—in fact, it’s been done with other training programs. In the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WOIA), Congress defined a set of recognized credentials that linked adult workforce development programs and the employer community. That’s great news for the adults in those programs, but Perkins grants—which covers career and technical education at the high school level and the post-secondary level—still don’t fully ensure that what you study leads to credentials actually recognized by your employer.

Fix: The Perkins re-authorization bill makes sure that there is stronger alignment and collaboration between CTE programs and the employers that will be hiring. Promoting closer collaboration between secondary institutions, post-secondary institutions, and employers is a critical improvement that will modernize workforce education to fit the needs of today’s economy. Updated curriculum will put students on track towards industry-recognized credentials, and CTE programs will promote work-based and experiential learning such as internships, mentorships, and apprenticeships. The bill would also allow for the purchase of machinery and equipment to ensure that hands-on learning is available to students. The bill also aligns Perkins and the WOIA programs and other federally funded workforce development programs to ensure that resources are being used as efficiently as possible and all federal workforce programs are moving in sync and guiding students towards the same “recognized postsecondary credentials.”⁶

#2: Boosts the use of data

Situation: Want to know how students are doing within CTE programs? Too bad. Thanks to shortcomings in the 2006 Perkins law, there’s no way to know how students are actually doing since each state collects different types of data. In some cases, there was not clear data on which credentials students actually got. In other cases, there was not a breakdown of different student populations into demographic subgroups—making it impossible to know who was struggling and who was not.⁷ In addition, performance data on CTE students is not integrated into existing national educational data systems and fails to account for non-traditional students, such as adults that may be switching careers.

Fix: The new Perkins re-authorization ensures that states and local partners provide more uniform, detailed data on who is participating and how they are performing. Disaggregated data by race, ethnicity, sex, disability, socio-economic status, and English proficiency will ensure greater accountability for equity and outcome gaps.⁸ The incorporation of CTE data into state data systems will also allow states and local CTE professions to more clearly assess student outcomes as well as target and address areas of deficiency. Further, the bill will allow schools to use CTE funding to pay for testing at the end of a student’s program. The cost of testing can act as a barrier to obtaining credentials for low-income populations, so this flexibility in funding will increase student access to in-demand professions.

#3: Creates more room for innovation

Situation: There are green shoots of innovative partnerships between local employers and secondary and post-secondary institutions, but more needs to be done to foster this type of arrangement. That’s because when it happens, the results for students can be extraordinary. Just take the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) in Brooklyn, NY, which is a collaboration among IBM, the New York City Department of Education, The City University of New York, and the New York City College of Technology.⁹ Students graduate in six years or less with a high school diploma and a free associate degree in either Computer Information Systems or Electromechanical Engineering Technology. In order to develop the curriculum, IBM carefully mapped out the skills needed for entry-level positions within the company. The company then worked with high school and college faculty to map the skills to the curriculum, which would give the students the targeted tools for a career at IBM.

Fix: The new Perkins bill includes a new grant program to foster the development of innovative CTE models at the local and state levels. The bill also allows more flexibility for states to use funds to fit the unique educational and economic needs of the state.

#4: Unlocks the future for people with disabilities

Situation: We can be doing a lot more to help individuals with disabilities get the skills and jobs they need for success. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities from participating in CTE and educational programs. But that doesn’t mean that these students are set up to succeed in CTE. Inadequate collaboration between special education personnel and CTE instructors can lead to placement in courses without necessary support and little chance for success.¹⁰ Among 25-34 year olds, only about 42% of persons with disabilities were employed compared to 83% of non-disabled persons.¹¹

Fix: The Perkins reauthorization requires that those receiving Perkins funds have a detailed plan to improve instruction and outcomes for students with disabilities and other special populations. The bill ensures that CTE instructors have the tools and resources to provide appropriate instruction, training, and work-based experiences for students with disabilities so they can obtain a high quality CTE education. Each state will be able to report steps taken to ensure full access and participation of students with disabilities in CTE programs.¹²

#5: Expands access to high-quality CTE for all students

Situation: If we’re going to train a new generation of Americans for jobs of the 21st century, we need to make sure we have the resources to do so. From the time Perkins was last reauthorized in 2006, grant funding to the states has declined by nearly 15%, making it difficult for many schools to offer an expansive offering of CTE courses and programs of study.¹³

Fix: This new version of Perkins increases authorization levels from $1.13 billion to $1.21 billion, providing the resources that secondary and post-secondary institutions need to increase the quantity and quality of CTE content. Increasing funding will also reduce achievement gaps and ensure more students will have the opportunity to succeed in the 21st century economy.