Efforts by the Trump administration to move responsibility for career and technical education (CTE) from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) are being met with resistance from CTE advocates and Democratic lawmakers who claim that it is “fragmented” and “illegal.” The criticism follows last month’s signing of an interagency agreement to “promote innovation and process improvements in pursuit of better employment and earnings outcomes for program participants.” Thus far, the agreement, has been paused due to legal challenges.
The planned transfer of CTE responsibilities out of the USDE is another step towards dismantling that agency.
The CTE interagency agreement ”lays out a confusing and fragmented division of roles and responsibilities” between DOL’s Employment and Training Administration and the USDE’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, said Advance CTE, an organization of state CTE directors and related professionals, in a June 13 statement.
Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education, a CTE advocacy organization, said in a June 11 joint statement that the agreement would have “far-reaching negative impacts on CTE programs and learners across the country.” That’s because the agreement “directly circumvents existing statutory requirements” under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, the groups said.
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