Perkins Act
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act
On July 31, 2018, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act was signed into law. This bill authorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV) and is more commonly referred to as Perkins V.
Perkins V reflects the 100-year federal commitment to Career Technical Education (CTE) by providing federal support for CTE programs, and focusing on improving the academic and technical achievement of CTE learners, strengthening the connections between secondary and postsecondary education and improving accountability. Perkins V affords states and local communities the opportunity to implement a vision for CTE that uniquely supports the range of educational needs of students — exploration through career preparation — and balances those learners needs with the current and emerging needs of the economy.
2024 Consolidated Perkins Planning Supports
- State Strategies to Scale Work-Based Learning
- This guide focuses on strategies to scale high-quality work-based learning opportunities for youth and young adults. The three core elements identified for driving long-term systems change are:
- Vision and communication,
- Data and measurement, and
- Resources and policy.
- State leaders can utilize this guide to develop or strengthen work-based learning programs. This resource defines what a high-quality work-based learning program looks like, explains the elements of long-term systems change needed for a high-quality program, and identifies strategies that can support each element of systems change.
- This guide focuses on strategies to scale high-quality work-based learning opportunities for youth and young adults. The three core elements identified for driving long-term systems change are:
- With Learners, Not for Learners: A Toolkit for Elevating Learner Voice in CTE
- This toolkit provides state and local CTE leaders with actionable resources, guidance and tools to ensure CTE learner voices are elevated and heard for the improvement of CTE policies and practices. Resources include:
- A rubric to assess the current commitments for engaging CTE Learners;
- A worksheet to assess organizational readiness to elevate learner voice in CTE;
- Sample focus group questions for current CTE learners; and
- A worksheet for developing a strategy to elevate learner voice in CTE.
- This toolkit provides state and local CTE leaders with actionable resources, guidance and tools to ensure CTE learner voices are elevated and heard for the improvement of CTE policies and practices. Resources include:
- Nontraditional Occupation (NTO) Programs: Scale of Adoption Assessment
- This tool from the Wisconsin Technical College System can be used to assess the adoption of best practices for increasing the enrollment and retention of learners who are nontraditional for an occupational program.
- Promoting a Regional Approach to the Perkins V Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment
- This Advance CTE resource provides a framework, self-assessment, guidance and key questions to help states leverage the CLNA process to foster regional collaboration.
- Lessons in Collaboration and Innovation: The Impact and Promise of the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment
- This report, co-authored by ACTE and Advance CTE, shares state approaches to the CLNA process, perspectives on successful implementation, and reflections on opportunities for improvement. It also includes a set of six recommendations for state leaders to consider as they support the CLNA going forward to ensure they continue to build on early CLNA success and drive quality and access within their CTE systems and programs of study.
- The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities
- This report outlines commonly included state plan elements that support a comprehensive and cohesive state vision and implementation plan. These hallmarks include:
- A shared statewide vision;
- Ongoing and meaningful alignment and collaboration across the K-12, postsecondary and workforce systems;
- A commitment to access and learner support;
- A commitment to quality programs;
- Systems for attracting, retaining and developing CTE instructors;
- The use of data-driven decision-making; and
- A strong system of support to ensure fidelity of implementation.
- This report outlines commonly included state plan elements that support a comprehensive and cohesive state vision and implementation plan. These hallmarks include:
- Planning for Engagement: Identifying Key Stakeholders for Perkins V
- This tool was designed to jumpstart state stakeholder engagement efforts and includes strategies and tools to coordinate engagement efforts.
- Career Readiness Stakeholder Engagement Tool
- The tool helps state leaders with prioritization of stakeholder engagement efforts through the use of a stakeholder map that measures the level of support and the level of influence of each stakeholder. By completing this worksheet and keeping all information on stakeholder engagement in one place, users will be better prepared to implement communications related to CTE and career readiness reforms.
- Building the Future Workforce: A State Playbook to Shape a New Age in Federal Infrastructure Investments
- This report, released by National Skills Coalition, offers six recommendations and four case studies that illustrate how state policymakers can connect more working people to quality infrastructure and clean energy jobs and create benefits for residents, businesses, and communities that rely on the implementation and maintenance of critical infrastructure.
- Investing in Quality: Funding the Perkins V Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment
- This guide will support state leaders in identifying potential funding streams to support the CLNA through a careful examination of Perkins, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and other state or private funds can be leveraged to support the CLNA.
- Career Readiness Metrics Framework
- The Career Readiness Metrics Framework sets a standard for practitioners, policymakers and researchers to evaluate whether learners are on track for and progressing through their career pathways as well as guidance on implementation for each learner level. It serves as a comprehensive list of learner-level indicator metrics (spanning middle school through adulthood).
- Beyond the Numbers: Design Principles for CTE Data Reporting
- This report provides nine principles for developing effective and accessible CTE data reporting tools. State and local leaders can use these design principles as a blueprint to inform the early design and development of CTE data reporting tools or as a checklist to ensure their final reports align with best practices for access and usability.
- Policy Benchmark Tool: CTE Program of Study Approval
- This resource will assist state and local leaders in assessing the quality of their programs. This tool lays out the non-negotiable elements of an effective policy for approving and evaluating programs of study, encompassing both secondary and postsecondary CTE, and offers an assessment rubric that state leaders can use to identify gaps in their current state policy and prioritize areas for improvement.Advance CTE Members also have exclusive access to the CTE Program Approval Policy Benchmark Tool Facilitation Guide which includes guidance for conducting a self-assessment process within a state leadership team.
- Ensuring Career Pathway Quality: A Guide to Pathway Intervention
- This guide outlines the different types of intervention needed for pathways and explores the steps leaders should take when making decisions to transform or phase out pathways that do not have labor market relevance.
- Auditing a State Career and Technical Education Program for Quality
- This guide outlines a three-phase audit process to address CTE program quality, alignment, and overall effectiveness. The guide argues that an effective CTE program audit consists of the following phases:
- Planning and Prep: Establishing the audit rationale, priorities and program quality indicators;
- Implementation: Identifying and collecting data for program quality indicators; and
- Analysis and Next Steps: Translating audit results into action.
- This guide outlines a three-phase audit process to address CTE program quality, alignment, and overall effectiveness. The guide argues that an effective CTE program audit consists of the following phases:
Perkins V Implementation Resources
- Understanding the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) (PDF)
An overview of Perkins including its purpose, how funds are distributed and why Perkins is an investment that matters. - Summary and Analysis of Perkins V (PDF)
An overview of Perkins V, including state and local implications from Advance CTE and ACTE. - Major Tenets of Perkins V (PDF)
A one-page overview of the major tenets of The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) from Advance CTE and ACTE. - Perkins V Recorded Webinar 8/2/18 (Webinar)
A one-hour recorded webinar from ACTE that covers the main provisions of Perkins V. - Perkins V Reauthorization: Opportunities, Challenges and Risks for States (PDF)
This toolkit by ExcelinEd looks at eight new opportunities in Perkins V for states to consider how to implement high-quality CTE programs.
- Expanding Middle School CTE to Promote Lifelong Learner Success (PDF)
This report from Advance CTE explores state approaches to middle school CTE and career exploration and provides considerations for states when implementing or expanding middle school CTE. - The State of Career Technical Education: Career Advising and Development (PDF)
This report from Advance CTE and the American School Counselor Association summarizes a national survey of State CTE Directors, State School Counseling Directors and school counselors to describe effective and promising strategies for career advising and development. - Career Exploration in Middle School: Setting Students on the Path to Success (PDF)
This report from ACTE examines different approaches to supporting career exploration in middle school and highlights examples from states.
- A Guide for State Leaders: Maximizing Perkins V’s Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment & Local Application to Drive Quality and Opportunity in CTE
This guide from Advance CTE provides a summary, analysis and guidance for each major component of the comprehensive local needs assessment and the decisions states can be making now to support a robust CLNA process that aligns with the state’s overall vision for CTE - A Guide for Local Leaders: Maximizing Perkins V’s Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment & Local Application to Drive Equality in CTE (PDF)
This guide from ACTE provides an overview and and guidance for the comprehensive local needs assessment so that local leaders can utilize it as a tool for program improvement. - State Needs Assessment Crosswalk
This crosswalk tool, developed by Advance CTE with input from the Shared Solutions Workgroup on the CLNA, is designed to support state-level discussions about and the coordination of state- and federally required needs assessments, such as the required under Perkins V, the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. - Using Needs Assessments for School and District Improvement: A Tactical Guide (PDF)
This report from the Council of Chief State School Officers and the Center on School Turnaround guides state education agencies and local education agencies through developing needs assessments.
- Coordinating Across Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (PDF)
This guide from Advance CTE and the National Skills Coalition looks at six opportunities to promote coordination across Perkins V and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) as states develop and implement plans under Perkins V. - Raising the Bar: State Strategies for Developing and Approving High-quality Career Pathways (PDF)
This report from Advance CTE examines successes in Tennessee, New Jersey and Delaware to demonstrate how states can use the career pathways approval process to raise the level of quality across the board. The report examines common approaches and unpacks key policy levers available to states.
- Good Jobs for all Americans: 2018-2019 NGA Chair’s Initiative (PDF)
A summary of the National Governors Association Chair’s 2018-2019 Good Jobs for All Americans Initiative. - Aligning State Systems for a Talent-Driven Economy: A Road Map for States (PDF)
This report by the National Governors Association explores the skills gap, as well as guides governors in addressing this gap. - Sector Partnerships in Colorado
This brochure and website by the Colorado Workforce Development Council highlights Colorado’s growing sector partnerships. - Careers in Colorado (Website)
This website by the Colorado Workforce Development Council, Colorado Community College System, Colorado Department of Higher Education and CollegeInColorado.org uses career pathways to explore careers in growing Colorado industries. - Colorado talentFound (Website)
This website by the Colorado Workforce Development Council brings together businesses and individuals with the tools and resources of Colorado’s talent development network.
- Perkins Accountability Comparison (PDF)
This document compares the secondary and postsecondary indicators of performance in Perkins IV and Perkins V, as well as points out alignment with performance measures from ESSA and WIOA. - Driving Quality in Postsecondary CTE: Approval and Evaluation Policies (PDF)
This report from Advance CTE explores how states can leverage program approval and program evaluation policies and processes to ensure postsecondary CTE program quality. The report examines state examples from California, Florida and Wisconsin. - Putting Labor Market Information in the Right Hands: A Guide (PDF)
This guide from Advance CTE is designed to help states think through the process of disseminating labor market information. The guide highlights how Nevada, Kentucky and Washington disseminated data to various audiences and provides questions for states to consider for each. - Ensuring Career Pathway Quality: A Guide to Pathway Intervention (PDF)
This report from Advance CTE outlines the steps that state leaders can take when making decisions to transform or phase out pathways that do not have market relevance. - Policy Benchmark Tool: CTE Program of Study Approval (PDF)
This tool from Advance CTE lays out the non-negotiable elements of an effective policy for approving and evaluating CTE programs of study and offers an assessment rubric that state leaders can use to identify gaps in their current state policy and prioritize areas for improvement. - State Strategies for Financing Career and Technical Education (PDF)
The report, published by the U.S. Department of Education, uses survey data collected from State CTE Directors to examine how state CTE funding is distributed to local secondary and postsecondary programs.
- Draft State Plan Guide (PDF)
This guide from the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) contains the details about the requirements for the Perkins V one-year transition plan (due Spring 2019), the four-year state plan (due Spring 2020) and additional details about OCTAE’s interpretation of Perkins V. - Timeline & Plan Development (PDF)
This two-page color infographic displays the timeline for the submission of Perkins V state plans and outlines the state plan development process. - Putting Your CTE Vision into Action Through Perkins V Planning
This tool aims to help state leaders to think through where their system is working and where it needs to be pushed — and how Perkins V can help drive the changes necessary to achieve a statewide strategic vision for CTE. - Perkins V Leadership Levers
This one-pager highlights the leadership levers that states may choose to exercise to advance the state’s vision for CTE in Perkins V. - Perkins V Funding Levers
This tool from Advance CTE highlights the funding levers and questions to consider in Perkins V. - Sample Perkins V State Plan Development Timeline
This resource shows a sample timeline for Perkins V state plan development and was designed to be modified to help states create their own timeline. - Perkins V: Secondary “CTE Concentrator” Definition Background (PDF)
This resource by Advance CTE and ACTE provides context and additional information on the secondary CTE concentrator definition.
- Secondary and Postsecondary Split Chart (PDF)
This chart shows states’ split of funds across secondary and postsecondary in 2018. - Scaling College in High School (PDF)
This guide by College in High School Alliance explores ways to implement dual enrollment and early college designs under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
- Communicating About Perkins V
This tool aims to help state leaders think through their overall communications strategy throughout the process of developing and implementing your Perkins V state plan. - Career Readiness Stakeholder Engagement Tool (PDF)
This tool guides users through nine steps in planning effective interactions with specific stakeholders. - CCSSO Stakeholder Engagement Resources (PDF)
A summary of some of the tools and resources CCSSO has provided in support of states developing effective stakeholder engagement routines and policies. - Planning for Engagement: Identifying Key Stakeholders for Perkins V
This tool outlines the types of engagement required in Perkins V and was designed to help states begin the brainstorming process for their engagement efforts related to Perkins V. - Stakeholders and Perkins V: Meaningful Engagement for Student Success (PDF)
This guide contains specific strategies on how best to connect with, speak to and learn from stakeholders with a unique perspective. This tool provides detailed guidance on stakeholder engagement strategies; state examples of potential strategies; stakeholder-specific tactics; planning templates and tools; a breakdown of stakeholders with whom states are required to engage under different provisions of Perkins V; and lists of additional stakeholder engagement resources.
Find all Perkins V implementation resources in the Learning that Works Resource Center.
Perkins V Policy Resources
- Full text of Perkins V
Side-by-Side Analysis of Perkins IV and Perkins V (October 2018)
- This document displays the text of Perkins IV alongside the text of Perkins V and includes an analysis of the changes between the two laws
Perkins V Redline (August 2018)
- This document shows how the text of Perkins V compares to Perkins IV
Understanding Perkins V (November 2020)
- An overview of Perkins V including its purpose, how funds are distributed and why Perkins V is an investment that matters
Major Tenets of Perkins V (August 2018)
- A one-page overview of the major tenets of Perkins V
Summary and Analysis of Perkins V (August 2018)
- An overview of Perkins V, including state and local implications
Infographic: Perkins V Timeline & State Plan Development Process (October 2018)
- This two-page color infographic displays the timeline for the submission of Perkins V state plans and outlines the state plan development process.
Advance CTE and ACTE Joint Letter on Senate Passage of Perkins V Reauthorization (July 2018)
- A letter to the Senate in response to the Perkins V Reauthorization Bill that the Senate voted to pass on July 23, 2018
Additional Resources
Investing in CTE: An American Imperative (May 2021)
- Illustrates the need for an increased federal investment in CTE
FY2008-2023 Perkins Funding Levels (February 2023)
- An overview of federal appropriations to CTE
