House passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act
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At the National Opportunity Summit on Saturday, September 10, we released a policy plan entitled, “Our Opportunity Nation: A Plan to Fulfill America’s Dream as an Opportunity Nation,” to close the opportunity gap that is evidence-based, bipartisan and cross-sector. The plan was developed and supported by the Opportunity Nation Coalition — more than 120 organizations signed and contributed to the plan — and draws on great ideas from many leaders, practitioners, institutions, bipartisan plans, and the perspectives and initiatives of young people, particularly those who have experienced barriers to achieving the American Dream.
We are pleased to see progress on one of the recommendations in the report.
Today, the House passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, which reauthorizes and updates the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act. This new legislation will ensure that needs of both students and employers are met by aligning CTE programs to the needs of the regional, state, and local labor market and by increasing student participation in work-based learning opportunities, in addition to other improvements.
Today’s action follows the House Committee on Education and Workforce unanimously passing a bipartisan bill this past July. We hope the Senate will take up this important legislation soon to expand and improve high quality career and technical education for all students.
Melanie Anderson
Melanie Anderson is the Director of Government and External Affairs at Opportunity Nation. She directs the campaign’s government relations and policy efforts. Read Melanie's bio.
