Article 3: Where has Vocational Education Gone?: The Impact of Federal Legislation on the Expectations, Design, and Function of Vocational Education as Reflected in the Reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006

Federal legislation has played a major role in shaping vocational education, now referred to as career and technical education. The political, societal, and economic conditions which informed debate and later the form and substance of each piece of federal vocational education legislation are reflected in the evolution of American career and technical education. This paper will briefly trace the federal legislation that has shaped American career and technical education, beginning with the Smith Hughes Act of 1917, PL 65-347, which granted funding for vocational education, to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act of 2006, PL 109-270 (Perkins IV). The Vocational Education Act of 1963 and its amendments of 1968 and 1976, and the transitions from the Perkins Acts of 1984, 1990 and 1998 to the 2006 legislation will be described. The four versions of the Carl D. Perkins Act will be compared, highlighting how they reflect increased demands for serving special needs students, preparing a globally competent workforce, an increasing emphasis on academics as well as technical knowledge and skills, and accountability.