Recently, ACTE sent requests to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, which have jurisdiction over federal funding for education and workforce development programs, calling for $1.3 billion for Perkins Basic State Grants in the forthcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 appropriations bills. As we reported, the Perkins state grant program received a $75 million increase ($1.192 billion in total) as part of the FY 2018 omnibus funding measure that passed in March! This was an important victory as the federal investment in Perkins has declined by 13 percent over the past decade—nearly $170 million less in funding for local CTE programs. However, Congress must do more to restore those cuts and ensure that high schools, community colleges and tech centers nationwide have the resources they need to provide high-quality CTE programs for students.
Restoring federal funding for CTE by increasing the Perkins Basic State Grant to $1.3 billion will strengthen the capacity of CTE programs to deliver academically rigorous CTE content, ensure support for special populations, purchase the latest technology and equipment for the classroom, strengthen employer partnerships, provide college and career counseling services, and deliver educator professional development opportunities. Recently, 38 Senators echoed this request in a letter to congressional appropriators, while 170 members of the House of Representatives called for a strong investment in Perkins in FY 2019. Please take a few minutes to help in this effort by contacting your Members of Congress through our CTE Action Center!
Perkins funding is paramount to the education we are doing at on our CTE campus.
Posted by: Damian Powers | 06/12/2018 at 12:14 PM