Perkins Implementation Resources

Perkins Official Guide

Perkins V: The Official Guide to the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (October 2018): This comprehensive book includes background and overview of the new law; highlights of changes that will have the greatest impact on your programs; a complete side-by-side showing key differences between IV and V; section-by-section summary and analysis; summary and relevant sections of other federal legislation referenced within Perkins V for clear crosswalking; the complete text of the new law; and an index for easy reference.

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Implementation Resources

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment & Accountability

• ACTE’s Quality CTE Program of Study Framework Self-evaluation: A Tool for the Perkins V Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (November 2021): This brief describes how the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework™ and its companion self-evaluation instrument can help local CTE leaders evaluate their programs and complete key portions of the CLNA.
• Lessons in Collaboration and Innovation: The Impact and Promise of the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment
  (January 2022): This report, developed with Advance CTE, describes state perspectives on successes and challenges during the first comprehensive local needs assessment and examples of CLNAs driving transformation on the local and regional levels.
• Maximizing Perkins V’s Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment & Local Application (March 2019): This tool provides an overview of how to get started on your local needs assessment and helps you translate the language in the law into concrete, actionable steps for conducting a rigorous local needs assessment that meets Perkins V requirements.
• Collecting and Analyzing Data for the Secondary Program Quality Indicators in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (December 2022): This publication, released by the Department of Education was produced through a contract with Manhattan Strategy Group and was part of a project on which ACTE consulted. It outlines key data considerations related to the three Perkins secondary program quality indicators.

Special Populations

• Maximizing Access & Success for Special Populations in CTE series (December 2023): This series of briefs and webinars, developed with Advance CTE, addresses how to support each of the nine Perkins V special populations and other underserved learner groups.
• Engaging Families and Communities to Support Special Populations in CTE (September 2021): This report describes strategies for communicating with, collaborating with and supporting CTE learners’ families and communities, particularly for learners and communities who have been historically underserved.
• With Learners, Not for Learners: A Toolkit for Elevating Learner Voice in CTE (August 2021): This toolkit, created with Advance CTE, provides CTE leaders with actionable resources, guidance and tools to ensure CTE learner voices are elevated and heard in order to improve CTE policies and practices.
• Special Populations Repository (March 2025): This repository provides practitioners with various resources, guides, and toolkits on how to best serve students in special population groups as defined by Perkins V. 

Teacher Pipeline

• Staffing Outside the Box: Strategies for Addressing CTE Teacher Shortages (August 2024): This report, sponsored by eDynamic Learning, explores considerations and provide examples for addressing CTE teacher shortages in the short and medium term through such methods as bringing industry experts into the classroom, sharing faculty across subject areas and institutions, and providing virtual learning opportunities.
• State and Local Strategies for Diversifying the CTE Educator Workforce and Recruiting Diverse Educators: A Database of Organizations Representing Underserved Populations (January 2024): This report, created in partnership with Advance CTE, presents common challenges to diversifying the CTE educator workforce, identifies promising practices to overcome these challenges, and provides actionable strategies and recommendations for local and state leaders. Read the full report or the executive summary and explore the companion database of organizations that CTE leaders can connect with to recruit educators from under-represented populations to teach in CTE.

Employer Engagement

• Cheat Sheet: Opportunities for Employer Involvement in CTE (October 2019): This brief, developed with Advance CTE and Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships, describes the many ways that employers can partner with education institutions.