Helping Americans succeed in today’s workforce is a leading priority for members on the Education and the Workforce Committee, and the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587) is an important part of that effort. The legislation will help individuals—particularly younger individuals—obtain the knowledge and skills they need to compete for good-paying jobs.
That’s why the committee is continuing its work to advance this bipartisan bill, which is gaining broad support from groups representing students, schools, and employers:
“By promoting flexibility in state and local uses of funds and streamlining the application process for receiving federal funding, the legislation will allow state and local leaders to align federal, state, and local workforce programs to deliver world-class career educational opportunities for students.” – Council of Chief State School Officers
“We appreciate your commitment to career and technical education and applaud the fresh thinking embodied in [H.R. 5587], particularly its innovative approach to federalism: combining transparency with targeted reporting requirements to give states flexibility while also holding them accountable for the ways in which they choose to spend federal funding.” – Opportunity America
“[H.R. 5587] focuses on areas where improvements can be made to current law, building upon its past successes and enhancing aspects of the Perkins CTE Act, which will help to better serve both workers and employers.” – Perkins Coalition, representing more than 200 businesses and organizations
“This legislation reminds all of us that preparing America’s students with the skills to succeed in promising, high-wage careers is a priority that transcends partisan politics. There is no issue more connected to U.S. competitiveness than equipping our nation’s youth with the academic and workplace skills needed for 21st century jobs.” – IBM
“[We support] reforming and reinvigorating the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and H.R. 5587 provides those needed reforms through better alignment, better reporting, increased work-based learning, promotion of industry recognized credentials and increased federal investment.” – The Associated General Contractors of America
“Opportunity Nation supports updates to CTE that will increase alignment, collaboration and coordination among programs of study and various providers; target programming to those most in need; and include innovative strategies and activities to help ensure more students enter the workforce with the skills they need to compete for 21st century jobs.” – Opportunity Nation
“[H.R. 5587]’s focus on sustainable relationships among education, businesses, and other community stakeholders—including local industry or sector partnerships for continuous alignment of programs of study with skills in demand in each state, region, or local economy—will help address [the] ‘skills gap.’” – National School Boards Association
“While [H.R. 5587] takes important steps to build on current law and strengthen programs of study, it also maintains the flexibility of states and local recipients to develop and implement the programs of study model that best suits their needs and available resources—another critical priority.” – Association for Career and Technical Education
“From the beginning of the reauthorization process, our associations have stressed the need for Perkins Act funding to be used to support programs closely aligned with the needs of business and industry. We are pleased that H.R. 5587 reflects this priority.” – American Association of Community Colleges
“Building upon the decades-long legacy of Perkins, H.R. 5587 goes a long way in supporting the full spectrum of a student’s educational needs—beginning with career awareness and exploration all the way to career preparation—while balancing those with the current and future needs of the economy.” – Advance CTE
“As a major U.S. employer with over 50 partnerships with community colleges and other schools across the country, we know more can be done to help educational institutions better prepare young people for today’s jobs … [H.R. 5587] focuses on areas where improvements can be made to current law, building upon its past successes and enhancing aspects of current law.” – Toyota
“We are so pleased to see that as part of the development of a local plan, districts would conduct a biennial needs assessment that provides business/industry and higher education partners, as well as other key stakeholders, an opportunity to provide input into the local plan to ensure the district is directing its limited resources towards relevant, well-aligned programs of study.” – AASA, The School Superintendents Association
“The importance of CTE has never been higher, and we believe that this bill creates clear pathways for students eager to pursue employment in career and technical fields.” – Rebuilding America’s Middle Class
These are just some of the positive reviews of this bipartisan bill that will help more Americans acquire the tools they need to achieve a lifetime of success.
