The reauthorized Perkins Act would expand access to career and technical education to open up more job opportunities for young people.
"Here's something we don't say often enough: College is crucial, but a four-year degree should not be the only path to a good job. We're going to help more people learn a skill or practice a trade and make a good living doing it."
– Hillary Clinton, in her acceptance speech at the Democratic convention this summer.
"In the modern economy, careers in innovative and in-demand fields are opening up to professionals with the right skill sets, and for many, career and technical education is the stepping stone to opportunity and success."
– House Speaker Paul Ryan, announcing his "A Better Way" anti-poverty blueprint this summer.
Across the political spectrum, there is wide agreement that strengthening career and technical education is key to improving economic and social mobility. Still, in these polarized, hyperpartisan times, it seems far-fetched that Congress could pass a thoughtful, bipartisan piece of legislation that would help young people place their feet on the ladder to economic prosperity. But as Congress returns from recess next week just such a bill is awaiting a vote.
“The best, most secure jobs of the 21st century will require some sort of post-secondary degree or industry-recognized credential. But that doesn't mean that every student need go directly from high school to a four-year college.”
The legislation, titled the "Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act," modernizes and reforms the Carl D. Perkins Act, which has funded career and technical education programs since 1984. It emerged from the House Education Committee via a unanimous 37 to 0 vote in June.
Like the recent reauthorization of the federal government's main education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Perkins reauthorization gives more discretion to the states. It doesn't seek to micromanage policy but rather requires states to measure and report certain targeted outcomes. The new law also incentivizes stronger engagement with employers, the utilization of "work-based learning" and programs that lead to attainment of "recognized postsecondary credentials."
While the legislation doesn't increase the dollars spent – funding starts at $1.13 billion in 2017 and increases to $1.21 billion in 2022 – it does offer states increased flexibility on how to spend their Perkins dollars. While most Perkins funds are distributed to schools on a formulaic basis...
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Charles Sahm is the director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.
This piece originally appeared in U.S. News and World Report