On Tuesday, June 28, the House Education and the Workforce Committee released the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, a bill to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The legislation, sponsored by House CTE Caucus co-chair Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Katherine Clark (D-MA), marks the first step in the Perkins reauthorization process.
ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson and Advance CTE Executive Director Kimberly Green released a joint statement Tuesday applauding the bipartisan approach taken in drafting the legislation, as well as the progress to reauthorize this critical law.
Several other education and workforce stakeholder organizations responded to the bill’s introduction as well:
- The American Federation of Teachers called the bill “an important display of bipartisanship,” and said “CTE programs offer a way for schools and businesses to coordinate to provide well-trained future employees with good middle-class jobs.”
- The National Governors Association said the legislation “builds on states’ efforts to prepare students for high-tech, in-demand jobs.” They went on to note the importance of alignment between Perkins, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act.
- The National Skills Coalition published a blog outlining the bill’s major changes.
In addition to published statements, several policy-focused media outlets have carried the story forward. POLITICO included a summary of the action in its daily rundown, Morning Education, and Education Week published a full story on the new bill on its Politics K-12 blog.
To learn more about the bill’s text and major changes, click here to read our previous coverage. ACTE will remain engaged on this important issue and continue to report on the process on the Policy Watch Blog.
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