Building CTE Programs with Unpredictable Funding

Career and Technical Educations (CTE) programs are an effective way to prepare secondary students for high-quality college and career opportunities. However, funding for the Perkins Act, the federal law that governs CTE programs, has been unpredictable, especially between 2007 and 2018.

States should be prepared to leverage other funding streams to support CTE. Possible methods for utilizing other existing funding streams include:

• Making use of ESSA Title IV, Part B funds by implementing CTE within the classroom
• Making use of IDEA funds by promoting CTE through transition services for students with disabilities
• Making use of WIOA Title II funds to support advanced training through CTE 

For additional resources on how to leverage various federal funding streams to create an aligned education-to-workforce pipeline, check out the CCRS Center’s Developing a College- and Career-Ready Workforce: An Analysis of ESSA, Perkins V, IDEA, and WIOA.