Throughout history, and continuing today, learners of color, low-income learners, female learners and learners with disabilities have been historically tracked into terminal vocational programs leading to jobs with uncertain promise of economic growth and prosperity. As a result, some communities do not view CTE as a viable mechanism to help them achieve their college and career goals. This brief, the third in Advance CTE’s Making Good on the Promise series, maps out five steps state leaders can take to rebuild trust in marginalized communities that CTE historically failed to serve equitably:

1. Acknowledge that inequity is a problem;
2. Promote a culture that values equity and diversity within the state agency and instructor workforce;
3. Commit to transparency and advancing only high-quality CTE programs of study;
4. Implement strategies to gain buy-in from communities and stakeholders; and
5. Celebrate, lift up and replicate successful programs of study and practices.

To help states with these steps, the brief features state examples from Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Idaho and Nebraska. The Making Good on the Promise series is made possible through the New Skills for Youth initiative, a partnership of the Council of Chief State School Officers, Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group, generously funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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