This week a Senate committee passed the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which will now have to be considered by the full Senate and conferenced with a House-passed bill from last year. A top priority of AGC’s has been reforming and reauthorizing the Perkins Act, as it helps offset the cost of career and technical education (CTE) programs. Ahead of the Senate considering the bill, AGC joined with over 500 national, state and local organizations in a letter to Senate leaders urging swift, bipartisan action on Perkins reauthorization.
AGC would like the bill to include reforms such as better aligning education with local needs, promoting work-based learning, spurring industry-recognized credentials and providing funding increases to the program. The bill largely satisfies those priorities and AGC will work with Senate leaders to ensure programs funded by the bill lead to students passing credentialing tests and becoming more workforce ready.
For more information, contact Jim Young at [email protected] or (202) 547-0133.