Career Technical Education (CTE) can provide an on-ramp for rural learners to access meaningful, high-wage careers while simultaneously strengthening the talent pipeline to meet regional labor demand. Yet rural learners all too often face an uphill battle when it comes to accessing high-quality CTE. Scarce resources, limited regional employers and an expansive service area make it challenging for rural institutions to provide robust, high-quality CTE programs of study across a breadth of subjects.

This cheat sheet is designed to help rural policymakers identify leverage points across federal education and workforce programs to support and expand access to high-quality rural CTE at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. It explores opportunities under the following federal education and workforce laws: 

• The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006,
• The Every Student Succeeds Act, and 
• The workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

Click here to explore other resources in the CTE on the Frontier series.

Related Posts

CTE on the Frontier: Rural CTE Strategy Guide

Leveraging Learner Voice in CTE: Empowering Learners, Enhancing CTE

CTE on the Frontier: Strengthening the Rural CTE Teacher Pipeline

The New CTE: New York City as Laboratory for America

Policy Benchmark Tool: CTE Program of Study Approval

Making Good on the Promise: Improving Equity in and Access to Quality CTE Programs for Students Experiencing Homelessness