Title II - Tech Prep Education
Perkins IV is the department's largest formula grant program for secondary and postsecondary career and technical education, providing approximately $1.1 billion annually to states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Palau, and the Virgin Islands (collectively referred to as "states"). States receive Perkins IV funds under Title I and Title II.
Allowable Uses of Title II Funds by States
- Providing in-service professional development for teachers, faculty, administrators, and counselors;
- Establishing articulation agreements between and among secondary agencies, postsecondary institutions, businesses, and labor organizations, especially with regard to the use of distance learning and educational technology to deliver programs and services;
- Improving career guidance and academic counseling for participating students;
- Developing curriculum that supports effective transitions between secondary and postsecondary career and technical education programs; and
- Purchasing tech prep program equipment and instructional materials.
Distribution
Title II grants are allotted to states through the same formula that is used to fund Title I grant to states. The formula is based on the states' populations in certain age groups and per capita income. States distribute their Title II funds by formula or competitive process to local consortia comprising local education agencies and institutions of higher education, as defined in the legislation. Local consortia also may include employers, business intermediaries, or labor organizations.
Tech Prep Programs
Tech prep programs are described in the legislation as a "program of study" that combine a minimum of two years of secondary education (as determined by state law) with a minimum of two years of postsecondary education in a non-duplicative, sequential course of study.
Tech prep programs:
- Integrate academic, career, and technical education;
- Utilize work-based learning experiences;
- Provide technical preparation in high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand occupations;
- Use applied, contextualized, or integrated instruction;
- Lead to a technical skill proficiency, an industry-recognized credential, certificate, or degree; and
- Lead to placement in high-skill or high-wage employment or further education.
A new provision under Perkins IV provides the option for each state to consolidate all, or a portion of, its Title II funds with its Title I funds and to use those consolidated funds for purposes described under Title I of the legislation. About 1/3 of all states have opted to do so.