This New federal Education Law Could Affect Your Child’s Education
A new federal education law states that career and technical education could become more prevalent in some states. This  due to a signing last summer of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21stCentury Act.  President Trump signed this law in July 2018, and it reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, according to EdWeek. The latter law was a $1.2 billion program that last saw revamping by the national legislature in 2006.
State’s Authority
This new federal education law gives states the ability to decide the aims for their career and technical education programs. They can do this without getting the national education secretary’s stamp of approval. Additionally, states must take action to reach the goals they set. This new federal education law encompasses other changes to how the federal government handles career and technical education law as well.
A Growing Concern
The importance of career and technical education is growing as an issue among business leaders, educators, and parents. However, current CTE programs must change and adapt the ever-evolving demands for labor. Some groups, such as the Association for Career and Technical Education and Advance CTE feel that the new federal education law is not all that it’s purported to be. They think that some states may not take goal-setting far enough and that there will be more of an administrative burden on school leaders.
Individual states are trying to figure out which types of programs are the best to develop for their current and future students. For instance, Tennessee, is in the process of attempting to discontinue programs that do not teach newer technology skills.
Some State’s Decision
Some states have entire school districts devoted to career and technical education, such as; Monmouth County Vocational School District, the Biotechnology High School, Communications High School, Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science, High Technology High School, and the Marine Academy of Science and Technology. Additionally, there is an Academy of Law and Public Safety.
Furthermore, some are concerned that CTE courses are closed to a limited group of students. Those enrolled are not as diverse as they should be, some argue. There is limited access to the courses for all students.
What type and the extent of career education offered in each state will vary. How each state and school district creates and develops its own CTE programs as the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21stCentury Act goes into effect will vary. With the many millions of jobs expected to be available to CTE graduates between 2012 and 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (such as the 7,575,300 in hospitality and tourism), there is no doubt that states will pay close attention to the best ways to develop their own CTE programs to prepare students for the future.
Education Staff Writer
