DC CTE State Plan

State CTE funding is provided from the federal government by the “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century” Act—also known as Perkins V. Each state participating in the Perkins program must submit a four-year plan outlining the state’s approach to implementation of the Act. The DC CTE’s Perkins Four-Year State Plan was signed by the U.S. Department of Education in July of 2024. Read it below.

The DC CTE Perkins V State Plan provides the four-year strategic vision and framework for secondary and postsecondary CTE programming, funding, and accountability for schools throughout the District of Columbia. It defines how we will ensure all DC youth (including special populations) have equal opportunity to access the education and skills needed to enter the workforce with an in-demand, high-skill, high-wage occupation.

• By the 2027-28 school year, DC CTE will reduce the Perkins Secondary Performance Indicator outcomes gaps between CTE English learners and students with disabilities and their CTE peers by 25 percent across all secondary performance indicators (see Table 3 on page 74 for a list of the secondary performance indicators).
• By the 2027-28 school year, CTE English learners and students with disabilities will persist from level one to level three courses at an equal rate or within 5 percentage points of their CTE peers, based on data from the 2022-23 school year.
• By the 2027-28 school year, 10 percent of CTE concentrators will participate in pre-apprenticeships annually, and 10 percent of CTE concentrator graduates will participate in a registered apprenticeship within six months of graduating from high school.
• By the 2025-26 school year, OSSE will institute a CTE teacher licensure policy requirement that includes multiple pathways to licensure for current educators and professionals transitioning from the industry.
• By the 2025-26 school year, 100 percent of CTE state course standards will include employability skills, digital literacy, and workforce-aligned industry-recognized credentials (IRCs).
• By the 2027-28 school year, DC CTE will increase the percentage of under-represented gender concentrators in non-traditional postsecondary CTE pathways by 43 percent, which is equal to 6 percentage points.
• By the 2027-28 school year, DC CTE will increase the rate of CTE participants advancing to the concentrator level by 20 percentage points.
• By the 2025-26 school year, launch a new data system, streamlining the data collection process and improving data accessibility for subgrantees. The system will track students earning college credit as a result of an articulation agreement or dual enrollment partnership. Data will capture at least 80 percent of institution of higher education (IHE) partners with an established Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
• By the 2027-28 school year, CTE teacher retention levels will equal the average secondary teacher retention rate or increase by 10 percentage points to 71 percent.
• By the 2027-28 school year, the ATC will have been expanded to serve at least 300 students a year and offer more programming to students from across the District.