Paper Examines Federal Role in Career and Technical Education Programs

The Carl D. Perkins Act, which funds secondary and post-secondary vocational education programs, is due to be reauthorized this year.

Southern Compass- http://www.southern.org

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) has released a new white paper, Rigor and Relevance: A New Vision for Career and Technical Education, which re-examines the role of the federal government in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) field. The AYPF believes the division between preparations for college and work has become a false dichotomy, and further that the high school experience for many students is "boring, irrelevant and very negative," leaving them unprepared for work or further learning.

The paper recommends moving from a state grant program to a competitive grant approach. It also suggests that CTE programs be comprehensively and holistically designed, starting in the ninth grade year and continuing through the fourteenth year. Programs should be interdisciplinary, integrated, contextual and create clearer pathways from high school to post-secondary education. In this scenario, federal funds would be used to build stronger partnerships with employers to create opportunities for learning in the community and for ensuring responsiveness to the labor market and industry needs. The paper also suggests that states should receive a meaningful share of the appropriation, at least 20 percent. The remaining 75 percent of the funding would be allocated on a competitive basis to schools.

For the full 36-page report, see http://www.aypf.org/publications/aypf_rigor_0004v.3.pdf.