State Resources

State Policy Resources

Advance CTE is a national leader in providing state CTE leaders timely insights, research and tools that elevate best practices and guide the field towards continuous improvement. 

Advance CTE routinely provides the CTE community with intuitive and timely tools, resources and knowledge required to support high-quality CTE. These resources include policy briefs on key CTE topics, success stories from on-the-ground implementation and relevant research from the field.

The New Skills ready network bolsters JPMorgan Chase’s efforts to support an inclusive economic recovery, as part of both their $350 million, five-year New Skills at Work initiative to prepare people for the future of work and their $30 billion commitment to advance racial equity.

Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group are working with six U.S. sites to improve student completion of high-quality career pathways. The site teams consist of partners from local school systems, higher education, employers, and state agencies focusing on four priority areas: strengthening the alignment and rigor of career pathways, expanding real-world work experiences, improving transitions to postsecondary success and closing equity gaps. Advance CTE is providing research and resources to support sites to meet the objectives of the initiative and translate lessons from the sites into tools and resources that can be leveraged across the nation.

New to CTE? Get started with our introductory fact sheets and the Learning that Works Resource Center.

Annual State Policy Trends

Since 2013, Advance CTE has informed the field on innovative state policies and national trends related to CTE and career readiness through an annual Year in Review report. This resource, produced in partnership with the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), groups trends into a variety of ategories, including industry partnerships and work-based learning; funding; access and equity; data, reporting and/or accountability; and industry-recognized credentials. 

State Policy Tracker

Advance CTE’s new longitudinal policy tracker is a compilation of over ten years of Year in Review reports, compiling state-level policy enacted since 2013, including CTE-related budgets, legislation, executive orders or state board of education actions across the 50 states and U.S. territories. This tracker is filterable by year, state, system, or content area. Our team is working to ensure this tool is as functional as possible, however due to changes to state websites, some links may not exist or are broken. This policy listing is validated annually by State CTE Directors, but if you have questions about incomplete or missing information, please email Associate Director of State Policy Dan Hinderliter.

Three students of color in semi-transparent background working in lab environment. In front is report title: The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of State Secondary Funding Models

State of Career Technical Education Reports

To understand the current status of CTE in the United States, Advance CTE conducts a yearly scan of CTE connected to a timely policy issue. The resulting annual report provides recommendations based on 50-state surveys, research and case studies across topics including career advising, secondary CTE funding models, employer engagement and early postsecondary opportunities. 

Policy Benchmark Tools

Our policy benchmark tools provide a step by step process for state CTE leaders to identify strengths and challenges in key CTE system structures, as well as a short and long-term path towards enhanced quality, equity and alignment of CTE experiences for all learners. 

 

Embedding Credit for Prior Learning in Career Pathways 

Career Readiness Data Quality and Use Policy Benchmark Tool

CTE Program of Study Approval Policy Benchmark Tool