District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Education

Perkins IV State Plan for Career and Technical Education

Background

The federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act, known as Perkins IV, became law in August 2006, replacing the previous Perkins Act (Perkins III). The Perkins Act provides funding to states to strengthen secondary and postsecondary career and technical education programs. By providing students with a strong academic program coupled with applied learning experiences in their selected field, the goal is for students to graduate career and college ready.

Under Perkins IV, Massachusetts will receive a total of $20,231,840 for fiscal year 2009, which is similar to annual amounts received under Perkins III. In order to receive Perkins IV funding, we must submit a Five-Year State Plan by April 1, 2008. This plan will build on the One-Year Transition State Plan that we submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in May 2007 and which we are implementing this school year. At the October 2007 Board meeting, I provided information regarding the development of the Five-Year State Plan. We released the draft plan for public comment from October 15 - December 31, 2007 and received 29 written comments. We also held two public hearings on the plan in December 2007. About 50 people attended the hearings and 11 gave oral testimony. Department staff incorporated the comments into the plan, where appropriate. It should be noted that while the plan covers five years, it can be amended on an annual basis.

Perkins IV Funding

The $20.2 million is for Perkins IV Titles I and II. Of the $20.2 million, $18,583,628 is for Title I. The focus of Title I is strengthening programs so that the outcomes for students are enhanced. Of the $18,583,628, a minimum of 85% must be used for formula grants to school districts and public two-year colleges. The Department anticipates that there will be approximately 80 school districts, serving more than 61,800 students, and 17 public two-year colleges, with approximately 46,500 students (full and part time) enrolled in public two-year college career and technical education programs, that will receive formula grants in 2008-2009. A maximum of 5% may be used by the Department for state administration. A maximum of 10% may be used for state leadership activities such as technical assistance, statewide professional development initiatives, data collection and analysis, support for career and technical student organizations, and support for activities to increase the participation of students in programs that would prepare them for careers nontraditional for their gender.

Of the $20.2 million, $1,648,212 is for Title II, also known as Tech-Prep Education. The focus of Title II is on linking secondary and postsecondary career and technical education through articulation agreements, joint programs of study, professional development, and other activities and services. Of the $1,648,212, 95% is used for formula grants to consortia comprised of school districts and colleges. Five percent may be used for state administration. The Department anticipates that there will be 13 consortia in 2008-2009.

Perkins IV Five-Year State Plan for Career and Technical Education

Our State Plan addresses the major changes that Congress included in Perkins IV: alignment of federally funded career and technical education with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, and the establishment of 21 Performance Indicators for secondary, postsecondary, and tech-prep education (see Attachment A). Noteworthy is the fact Perkins IV, like NCLB, highlights students enrolled in high school career and technical education achieving proficiency on MCAS in English language arts and mathematics by 2014. Perkins IV emphasizes closing the achievement gap for students who are members of special populations. Perkins IV expects that the graduation rates for high school students enrolled in career and technical education meet or exceed the graduation rates for high school students not enrolled in such programs.

Perkins IV requires that school districts and public two-year colleges provide rigorous and challenging academic and technical courses that integrate academic and technical education. To support high quality instruction, Perkins IV requires that professional development be of high quality, sustainable, intensive, and focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on teaching and learning.

Our plan addresses these changes in Perkins IV, aligns the use of Perkins funds with NCLB, special education, and state programs, and incorporates recent Board policies and regulations such as MassCore, Educational Proficiency Plans, and graduation rates. Further, the plan stresses that the Department will collaborate with key stakeholders such as organizations representing business, labor, and industry.

On behalf of the agency, I will submit our plan by the April 1, 2008 due date. Once the plan has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education, it will be posted on our Web site. I look forward to an in-depth discussion with the Board on career and technical education at an upcoming Board meeting.

Enclosure: Attachment A: Federal Performance Indicators for Career and Technical Education