Fund career education - not everyone needs to go to college
“There is more than one path to success in our country, and investing in career and technical education will help prepare Rhode Islanders for high-wage, in-demand jobs while providing businesses with the skilled workforce they need to grow and serve their communities,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02).
“I’m proud to be leading the charge in Congress to increase funding for CTE National Programs, and will continue fighting to expand opportunities for working people in Rhode Island and across the country.”
CTE Perkins National Programs identify, support, and rigorously evaluates evidence-based and innovative strategies and activities to improve and modernize CTE, and to ensure workforce skills taught in CTE programs align with labor market needs.
This funding will also support the Career-Connected High Schools initiative which provides students with hands-on learning, real-life work experience, and opportunities to earn college credits and make progress towards industry credentials before they graduate high school. Last year, the Department of Education received 161 eligible applications from 43 states and the District of Columbia totaling over $860 million, but was only able to award 19 grants with available funding.
Rep. Magaziner also requested robust funding for the Perkins V funding awarded on a noncompetitive basis via Basic State Grants (BSGs).
Rep. Magaziner is a member of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus. His funding request will help equip the next generation with the skills necessary to fill good-paying jobs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
Earlier this year, Rep. Magaziner introduced his bipartisan bill, the Clean Energy Workforce Act, which would create a grant program to fund career and technical education to connect Rhode Islanders to good-paying jobs in the growing clean energy economy.
The signatories of the letter include Reps. Seth Magaziner, Lisa Blunt Rochester; Suzanne Bonamici; André Carson; Sean Casten; Joaquin Castro; Joe Courtney; Angie Craig; Jasmine Crockett; Sharice Davids; Danny Davis; Suzan DelBene; Sylvia Garcia; Josh Gottheimer; Steven Horsford; Val Hoyle; Glenn Ivey; Andy Kim; Raja Krishnamoorthi; Summer Lee; Stephen Lynch; Lucy McBath; Eleanor Norton; Jimmy Panetta; Chris Pappas; Gregorio Sablan; Andrea Salinas; Kim Schrier; Mikie Sherrill; Eric Sorensen; Haley Stevens; and Rashida Tlaib.
Full text of the letter is below. A PDF copy of the letter is available here.
Dear Chairman Aderholt and Ranking Member DeLauro:
We write to respectfully request $64,400,000 for Career and Technical Education (CTE) National Programs in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. Within this funding request, we request $57,000,000 for the Career-Connected High Schools initiative program.
Though the vast majority of Perkins V funding is awarded on a noncompetitive basis via Basic State Grants and approved state plans, CTE National Programs support research, demonstration, and evaluation activities. The goal of National Programs is to identify and develop evidence-based, innovative strategies to modernize CTE programs, improve their quality and effectiveness, and ensure that they align with labor market needs.
The Career-Connected High Schools (CCHS) initiative program launched in fiscal year 2023 and supports building capacity among secondary education, postsecondary education, and workforce development systems to expand access to career-connected high school programs for more students. Competitive grants are awarded to partnerships of local educational agencies, institutions of higher education (particularly community colleges), and employers to increase integration and alignment of the last two years of high school and the first two years of postsecondary education to improve postsecondary and career outcomes for all students. These programs are built around four core strategies to unlocking career success: postsecondary education and career guidance and navigation systems, dual or concurrent enrollment, work-based learning, and industry-recognized credentials. To expand these opportunities for students to gain real-life work experience, we request the inclusion of the following language:
$57,000,000 shall be for competitive grants to consortia of local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and employers to pilot evidence-based strategies to increase the integration and alignment of the last two years of high school and the first two years of postsecondary education to improve postsecondary and career outcomes for all students.
The remaining funds will allow CTE National Programs to provide technical assistance, continue ongoing implementation of CTE State and local programs under the Perkins Act, and conduct mandated research and evaluation activities.
To ensure people from all backgrounds and all regions around the country can benefit from skills based learning–especially low-income, underserved, and rural communities–we respectfully urge your strong support of $64.4 million for CTE National Programs including $57 million for Career-Connected High Schools. Thank you for your consideration of this request.
