News

ACTION ALERT
June 13, 2025

Ask Your Members of Congress to Oppose Moving Perkins Funds to the Department of Labor

The Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) recently signed an Interagency Agreement (IAA) to transfer administration of career and technical education (CTE) funding through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act from ED to DOL. While the IAA is paused temporarily due to court injunctions related to operations of ED, if enacted, this agreement would have far-reaching negative impacts on CTE programs and learners across the country.

ACTE is strongly opposed to any efforts to move CTE administration away from ED and is concerned about the disruption this would cause to Perkins implementation and services provided to students nationwide.

ACTION NEEDED: Contact your Members of Congress and urge them to oppose any transfer of
Perkins funding to the Department of Labor!

Transferring Perkins funding from ED to Labor as outlined in the IAA would create significant administrative confusion and unnecessary layers of bureaucracy, increasing the risk of funding delays or disruptions in program delivery. Several states have already reported significant challenges in receiving timely funding allocations in recent weeks likely due to the IAA.

This effort would also shift the focus of Perkins and disrupt the critical connection between CTE and the broader education system, posing a threat to the development of programs of study, integration of rigorous academic standards, alignment with graduation requirements that are critical to CTE student success, and potentially disrupt connections between high school and postsecondary CTE—as called for in the President’s FY 2026 budget request. Protect your Perkins funding and the integrity of CTE by telling your Members of Congress to oppose this transfer!

Association for Career and Technical Education l 1410 King Street l Alexandria, VA 22314