Career and technical education (CTE) refers to organized educational activities that offer a sequence of courses that provides individuals with coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions. CTE also provides technical skill proficiency or a recognized postsecondary credential such as an industry-recognized credential, a certificate, or an associate degree. CTE includes competency-based, work-based, or other applied learning. CTE supports the development of academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning, problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of an industry, including entrepreneurship. 

Career and technical student organizations (CTSOs) are organizations that provide activities and competitive events for individuals enrolled in a career and technical education program. CTSOs are not-for-profit organizations that enhance student learning through contextual instruction, leadership and personal development, applied learning, and real-world application. CTSOs help guide students in developing a career path and provide opportunities in gaining the skills and abilities needed to be successful in those paths.

The comprehensive local needs assessment (CLNA) is a process conducted at the local level that is required by Perkins V to receive federal CTE funding. The needs assessment identifies, reports, and addresses the local and regional need for CTE and related programming and its effectiveness at responding to local occupational needs. The results are the foundation of the local application for federal funding, and drive planning and programming. The CLNA must be updated every two years.

A CTE concentrator is the primary unit of analysis for Perkins V’s accountability requirements. At the secondary level, concentrator refers to a student served by an eligible recipient who has completed at least two courses in a single career and technical education program or program of study. At the postsecondary level, it means students enrolled in an eligible recipient who has: (1) earned at least 12 credits within a CTE program or program of study; or (2) completed such a program if the program encompasses fewer than 12 credits or the equivalent in total.

A dual or concurrent enrollment program is a program offered by a partnership between at least one institution of higher education and at least one local educational agency through which a student at the secondary level who has not graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma is able to enroll in one or more postsecondary courses and earn postsecondary credit that: (1) is transferrable to the institutions of higher education in the partnership; and (2) applies toward the completion of a degree or recognized educational credential as described in the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Employability skills are personal and interpersonal skills that are important to career readiness. The skills include applied academic skills, critical thinking skills, communication skills, and others. Employability skills are also referred to as soft skills, 21st century skills, and durable skills, among other terms.

An in-demand industry sector or occupation is (1) an industry sector that has a substantial current or potential impact (including through jobs that lead to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement) on the state, regional or local economy, as appropriate, and that contributes to the growth or stability of other supporting businesses, or the growth of other industry sectors; or (2) an occupation that currently has or is projected to have a number of positions (including positions that lead to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement) in an industry sector so as to have a significant impact on the state, regional or local economy, as appropriate.

An industry-recognized credential is a credential that (1) is sought or accepted by employers within the industry or sector involved as a recognized, preferred, or required credential for recruitment, screening, hiring, retention or advancement purposes; and, (2) where appropriate, is endorsed by a nationally recognized trade association or organization representing a significant part of the industry or sector.

Labor market information refers to statistical data from survey and projection programs and data from administrative reporting systems that, taken together, enumerate, estimate, and project employment opportunities and conditions at national, state, and local levels in a timely manner, as well as other statistical data related to labor market dynamics.

Leadership funds refer to a specific portion of the Perkins V funds that are allotted to each state each fiscal year (section 124 of Perkins V). Of their total Perkins allotment, states are to set aside not more than 10 percent to carry out state leadership activities as described in Perkins V.

A local education agency is a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a state for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a state, or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a state as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

Nontraditional fields refer to occupations or fields of work, such as careers in computer science, technology, and other current and emerging high skill occupations, for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25% of the individuals employed in each such occupation or field of work.

Out-of-workforce individual refers to an individual who is a displaced homemaker, or who has worked primarily without remuneration to care for a home and family, and for that reason has diminished marketable skills; or a parent whose youngest dependent child will become ineligible to receive assistance (under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act); or a person who is unemployed or underemployed and is having trouble in obtaining or upgrading employment.

Pre-apprenticeship is a program or set of strategies designed to prepare individuals for entry into an apprenticeship or Registered Apprenticeship program. Instruction may include basic skills training, academic skills remediation, or an introduction to the industry. Completers may be accorded preferential consideration for entry into an apprenticeship program and/or apply time served or credits earned toward fulfilling program requirements. In some instances, state apprenticeship agencies have created a process to recognize pre-apprenticeship programs. At this time, there is no federal registration process for pre-apprenticeships, but the U.S. Department of Labor has provided guidance on the quality components of pre-apprenticeship programs.

A program is a sequence of courses at the secondary and/or postsecondary level that provides students with the academic and technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions.

A program of study (POS) is a coordinated, nonduplicative sequence of academic and technical content at the secondary and postsecondary level that (1) incorporates challenging state academic standards, including those adopted by a state under section 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (2) addresses both academic and technical knowledge and skills, including employability skills; (3) is aligned with the needs of industries in the economy of the state, region, Tribal community, or local area; (4) progresses in specificity (beginning with all aspects of an industry or career cluster and leading to more occupation-specific instruction); (5) has multiple entry and exit points that incorporate credentialing; and (6) culminates in the attainment of a recognized postsecondary credential.

Program quality indicators are performance indicators for secondary-level CTE that are new to Perkins V. In consultation with stakeholders, the eligible agency must select at least one of three indicators, which are (1) the percentage of CTE concentrators graduating from high school having attained a recognized postsecondary credential; (2) the percentage of CTE concentrators graduating from high school having attained postsecondary credits in the relevant career and technical education program or program of study earned through a dual or concurrent enrollment program or another credit transfer agreement; and (3) the percentage of CTE concentrators graduating from high school having participated in work-based learning.

A recognized postsecondary credential is a credential consisting of an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a certificate of completion of an apprenticeship, a license recognized by the state involved or federal government, or an associate or baccalaureate degree.

Reserve funds refer to a portion of the Perkins V funds allotted to states that can be reserved to address specific needs of the state (section 112(c) of Perkins V). From states’ local formula distribution amounts, they may set aside up to 15% for a reserve fund and distribute those funds to eligible local recipients according to particular areas of need or to spur innovation.

To receive federal funding, Perkins V requires that local eligible recipients demonstrate that their career and technical education programs are sufficient in size, scope, and quality to meet the needs of all students served by that eligible recipient. Each state sets definitions for size, scope, and quality; the definitions provide guidelines for eligible recipients’ proposed programming.

Special populations refer to the following student groups: students (1) with disabilities; (2) from economically disadvantaged families (including low-income youth and adults); (3) preparing for nontraditional fields; (4) single parents, including single pregnant women; (5) who are out of the workforce; (6) classified as English learners; (7) who are homeless; (8) who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system; (9) with a parent who is a member of the armed forces or on active duty; and (10) who are migrants. States are to ensure that these groups are served and that their achievement is documented.

A state-developed POS is a program of study developed by the state that meets the requirements of a program of study as outlined under Perkins V and associated state regulations.

A state workforce agency is a state agency that delivers training, employment, career, business and wage and hour services, in addition to administering the unemployment insurance, veteran reemployment and labor market information programs.

A state workforce development board is established by a state’s governor to help in aligning workforce development programs in the state to support a comprehensive and streamlined workforce development system. These boards are established under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Work-based learning refers to sustained interactions with industry or community professionals in real workplace settings, to the extent practicable, or simulated environments at an educational institution that foster in-depth, firsthand engagement with the tasks required in a given career field, that are aligned to curriculum and instruction.

Youth apprenticeship is a program designed specifically for individuals aged 16–18 that is registered with the Department of Labor (or a federally recognized state apprenticeship agency). Youth Apprenticeship programs must also include and demonstrate the five components of a Registered Apprenticeship (direct business involvement, on-the-job training, related instruction, rewards for skill gains, and completion resulting in a national occupation credential).