On September 22, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (S. 2686) to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (P.L. 105-332). The House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved its version of the reauthorization bill (H.R. 4496) on July 21 (see The Source, 7/23/04).
Sponsored by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act would update the term “vocational and technical education” with “career and technical education” throughout the law. The bill would authorize such sums as necessary through FY2010 for career and technical education programs. Unlike the House bill, S. 2686 would not fold the Tech-Prep program, which provides courses in math, science, and technology, into the Perkins state grants program.
Under the bill, not more than 15 percent of funding may be spent on state leadership activities, and of that amount, not less than $60,000 shall be available for services that prepare individuals for nontraditional employment. State leadership activities should expose students to high-skill, high-wage occupations and nontraditional fields, and should provide support for career and technical student organizations, in particular to increase the participation of students who are members of special populations.
S. 2826 would require the use of local funds to prepare special populations, including single parents and displaced homemakers, for high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand occupations that lead to self-sufficiency.
In a press release announcing committee passage of the bill, Sen. Enzi said that this legislation “will help provide more benefits to people who need jobs or want better jobs by creating better pathways for academic and vocational skills enhancement. The HELP Committee under Chairman Gregg’s leadership is doing its part to ensure the continued support for career and technical training. I hope the rest of the Senate will soon follow suit.”
