Carl Perkins V

Perkins V
Strengthening Career and Technical Education
for the 21st Century Act

On Tuesday, President Trump signed H.R. 2353, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, ushering in a new Perkins law (Perkins V). While the president officially signed the bill in the morning, he held a ceremonial signing Tuesday evening at Tampa Bay Technical High School (TBT).

Declaring that he feels very strongly about "vocational education," the president went on to say that, "[w]hether you are a high school student or a late career worker, there has never been a better time to learn a trade, hone a skill, or pursue your dreams." The following is an excerpt of the president's remarks:

Just this morning I was very proud to sign a new and improved Perkins Career and Technical Education Act into law. That was a big deal. They've been trying to do it for many years, as I understand it. Many, many years… Now more than 11 million students will have greater access to better training and more jobs.

The president also called up two students, one current and one former. The former TBT student, David, is now a pipe welder, who touted his six-figure salary as a 23-year-old. The other student, Isabella, is an architecture and engineering student.

The provisions of the new law become effective on July 1, 2019. The first year of implementation will be considered a "transition year" and states will be able to submit a transition plan to cover requirements for the July 2019 - June 2020 program year. State four-year plans will likely be due in the spring of 2020 and will cover program years from July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2024. Over the coming months, the U.S. Department of Education should release guidance with more details on requirements for transition plans and full four-year plans, and states in turn will begin to provide more guidance to local recipients.

ACTE will also be providing a number of resources to help CTE stakeholders move toward implementation of the new law, which we are calling “Perkins V” for ease of reference. An initial summary is available here. A recorded webinar will also be available by the end of the week (live registration is full) and the link will be available on the ACTE website on our dedicated Perkins implementation webpage at https://www.acteonline.org/perkins-implementation/.  Over the next few weeks and months, more resources, including FAQs, a complete guide to the new law, and workshops will be announced. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please ask them via Twitter using the hashtag #AskPerkinsV. You can also tweet at us and follow the conversation on our new Perkins V Twitter account (@AskPerkinsV) dedicated solely to answering Perkins V questions.  Alternatively, you can email questions to publicpolicy@acteonline.org using the subject “Perkins V Question.”

As ACTE said in our joint press statement with Advance CTE, “While a new law always presents both opportunities and challenges, our organizations stand ready to work with our members and CTE’s stakeholders to ensure this law’s implementation is effective in advancing the great work already underway in states and local communities across this country.” We are looking forward to meeting your needs during the implementation process!