July 26, 2004

On July 21, the House Education and Workforce Committee marked up, approved, and reported out the reauthorization legislation of the nation's primary vocational and technical education programs (1998 Carl Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act — P.L.105-332). The bill entitled the Vocational and Technical Education Act for the Future Act (H.R. 4496) provides the main source of grants for state vocational programs. The companion Senate bill (S. 2686) is expected to be marked up after the summer recess.

The House measure sponsored by Michael Castle (DE) would require states to impose new academic standards and accountability measures for courses taken by vocational and technical students. States would have to ensure that courses lead to a degree and that schools offer challenging academic work in a coordinated curriculum. The House bill also merges funding for Perkins state grants and the Tech-Prep program, which provides specialized courses in math, science and technology to make it easier for students to transfer to vocational school or community college, and ultimately into a job. The concern is that Tech-Prep will be eroded if merged into the larger grant program.

One major amendment that failed was concerned with a job-training program for high-tech manufacturing that could be utilized by workers who lost their jobs to outsourcing. However, Chairman John Boehner (OH) had an amendment adopted that included "advanced manufacturing" as a career field covered under the new bill.