WASHINGTON, DC—This afternoon, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) is scheduled to consider a bill to rewrite the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) supports the bill and released the following statement from All4Ed President Bob Wise:
“School is out for summer, but it is great to see senators from both sides of the aisle continuing to work to improve educational opportunities for students. This legislation shows that bipartisanship can lead to better policy.
“By emphasizing quality and equity, this legislation provides state and district leaders with an important array of tools to ensure students graduate from high school ready for college and a career.
“Across the country, states and districts are providing students with the chance to achieve their full potential through pathways that integrate career and technical education (CTE) and academics, work-based learning, and opportunities to earn credit toward a college degree. In California, for example, 300,000 students attend high schools that offer Linked Learning, which has been found to increase high school graduation rates and prepare students for college. This legislation will support these and similar efforts nationwide by placing a greater emphasis on the quality of students’ CTE experience and prioritizing work-based learning and dual enrollment.
“Just as important, the legislation targets high-quality opportunities toward historically underserved students by specifically including their performance in state systems of accountability and improvement. This comes at a critical time, when students of color comprise a majority of students enrolled in public school, and two-thirds of the nation’s jobs require a postsecondary credential.
“No legislation is perfect, and I look forward to working with members of Congress on both sides to strengthen the bill.”
# # #
The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring all students, particularly those underperforming and those historically underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. www.all4ed.org
