Joint Recommendations for Perkins State Plans

The economic success of the country depends on having a qualified, skilled, and diverse workforce. To meet this demand, it is incumbent upon the nation to ensure that all students have access to high-quality career and technical education (CTE) that prepares them for the jobs that exist in the twenty-first century.

With this goal in mind, All4Ed, the Center for American Progress, Center for Assessment, Jobs for the Future, Learning Policy Institute, Linked Learning Alliance, and NAF developed joint recommendations in four critical areas for the U.S. Department of Education on the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act draft State Plan Guide.

1. Require each eligible agency to describe how the state’s overarching vision for education and student learning aligns with the goals and priorities identified within the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.
2. Require eligible agencies to specifically describe how they will take into account the performance of historically underserved subgroups when developing state determined levels of performance for Core Indicators of Performance.
3. Encourage states to support the creation and sustainability of promising and evidence-based college and career pathways initiatives at the local level through the use of reserve funds.
4. Require each eligible agency to describe any changes made to their state determined levels of performance in the state plan as result of stakeholder feedback