U.S. Department of Education Approves Perkins State Plans

After an in depth review and negotiation process, the Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) has approved the five-year Perkins state plans of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam! While a few of these grants were approved with conditions, the approval allowed for the first installment of Perkins funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 to be distributed to states on July 1. States will in turn distribute funding to local school districts and postsecondary institutions as described in the Perkins Act and in each state plan.

The approval of state plans is an important step in the implementation of the 2006 Perkins Act and allows states to begin using Perkins resources to implement new programs and projects that they have included in their plans. However, before distributing the second installment of FY 2008 funds on October 1, OVAE will complete a more thorough review of the local funding application that each state is using to award local Perkins funds. This review will ensure that the application meets the requirements laid out in the 2006 Perkins Act.

Many draft state plans are available on their respective state agency Web sites, and ACTE will be including them on its Perkins Implementation Web page once final versions are released.

Appropriations Process Continues to Stall, Progression Unlikely

In late June, the House Appropriations Committee abruptly ended the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations “mark-up” when Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) proposed a “substitute” amendment that would have replaced the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill with the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. As the days pass, it is more unlikely that the Appropriations Committee will meet again before Congress adjourns for the year on September 26, 2008.

ACTE will be meeting with Chairman David Obey’s (D-WI) staff to discuss the fate of Rep. John Peterson’s (R-PA) amendment that would increase Perkins Basic State Grants by $20 million. The status of the amendment is uncertain due to the abrupt end of the “mark up” in June. ACTE is still encouraging members to contact their Congressional Representative to ask for his/her support for an increase in Perkins funds through the amendment sponsored by Rep. Peterson.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed their version of FY 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill; however, without a House companion bill it is unlikely that the Senate version will be addressed on to the floor of the Senate.

The Department of Education has released the full Senate Committee and House Subcommittee numbers that have been allocated. Career and Technical Education is on page 12. (Note: the House full Committee activity referenced in the first part of this article is not referenced in the Department of Education charts. This information only includes the status of House and Senate activity that has been formally approved to date.)

For more information, please visit ACTE’s budget and appropriations Web page.

ACTE Works to Get CTE on Presidential Candidates' Agenda

ACTE has partnered with the American Association for Community Colleges (AACC) and the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc) to address the lack of CTE discussion related to both Democrat and Republican Presidential candidates’ education platforms. Neither candidate mentions CTE on their campaign Web sites. ACTE is working to close this gap, get the campaigns excited about CTE, and show how it is useful when discussing issues such as a competitive economy, drop-out rates, and workforce shortages. 

The groups sent a joint letter to the offices of the presidential candidates requesting a meeting with the education policy staff member. ACTE has attended meetings where education representatives of the presidential candidates discuss the education priorities for each senator. For more information on Senator McCain’s and Senator Obama’s education and workforce platform please see ACTE’s Web site.