Director of Membership Engagement and Professional Learning Dr. Stephanie Perkins shares Advance CTE’s progress in fully supporting members and elevating CTE in policy and practice in state and federal and policy.
Career Technical Education (CTE) continues to be a leading state and federal policy solution to both bridge and address transformations in learning and work. CTE’s next era requires maximizing its quality and innovation to remain a go-to experience that can reach and support every learner and community. As the oldest national association of State CTE Directors and related professionals, Advance CTE has continued to grow and adapt to meet the needs of our members and advance the work of CTE Without Limit for the CTE community.
Our newly released 2023 Annual Report highlights that progress and preparation for CTE’s Next Era for both our organization and our members.
Keep reading to see five ways Advance CTE continues to support our members while challenging the field by leading on equity, influencing federal policy, building community and knowledge, and providing impactful tools and resources.
Supporting CTE Leaders and Learners
As our members work to ensure that all learners have access to high-quality, equitable CTE, we strive to meet each state where they are in this journey. In 2023, our focus for supporting CTE leaders and learners focused on continuing our high-quality member experiences, building diverse
CTE leadership and workforce pipelines, and elevating learner voice. Our members continue to see value in their membership and look for a variety of ways to engage.
Engaging and Connecting Members
Bringing together our members in person and virtually provides the opportunity to share best practices and lessons learned to address common challenges and improve outcomes for CTE learners. In Spring of 2023 we gathered over 200 CTE leaders to discuss opportunities, challenges, and shared solutions around various topics of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V) in preparation for state plan revisions. Our members were very satisfied with the structure of these meetings, finding it a very useful space to work with their state teams on Perkins processes and gather ideas from their peers. In event evaluation, 100 percent of responding attendees reported that meetings were an “extremely valuable” or “valuable” use of their time.
Additionally, we provided direct support and engagement to 44 states through our technical assistance efforts and workgroups. These spaces allowed for innovations and resources that benefit the entire CTE community.
Leading National Conversations
In 2023, we continued to drive innovation in CTE policy and practice and position CTE as an essential strategy to meet education, workforce, and economic needs. Seventy-seven percent of Advance CTE’s recommendations for modernizing of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act reauthorization were reflected in a proposed reauthorization last fall. We also continued to build more CTE champions on Capitol Hill, where support for the CTE Month resolution has doubled since 2021.
Additional Resources
Advance CTE’s Annual Report is just one of the ways for our members to understand the impact this work has on the CTE community. We encourage you to continue to engage with us in various ways by staying up to date with future events found on the membership portal. Additionally, we have several tools for members to find resources through:
On behalf of the entire Advance CTE team, we look forward to engaging with you in the future!
Dr. Stephanie Perkins, Director of Membership Engagement and Professional Learning
As Advance CTE has 
Yesterday’s confirmation vote marks the first time that ETA, DOL’s subagency which administers and oversees the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), will have a Senate-confirmed leader in this position during the Biden administration. 
This week both the House and Senate were in session ahead of a new funding deadline and the President’s annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress last night. The President’s address to Congress featured a range of topics, including how recent federal bipartisan legislation focused on infrastructure and the nation’s advanced manufacturing capacity have helped to spur greater demand for skilled workers. Notably, the President highlighted the importance of Career Technical Education (CTE) noting that his administration is working to connect “…businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college.” 
Hello! My name is Jessica (Jessi) Maddox, and I am ecstatic to be a part of the Advance CTE team as a senior policy associate. In this role I will be working directly with the upcoming cohorts of the Opportunity Gap Analysis providing customized technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to participating states. I will also collaborate with team members to enhance Advance CTE’s state policy, equity, and data and research strategies by supporting state and local sites in designing and advancing high-quality and equitable career pathways.
States make significant contributions to CTE programs through non-categorical, line item appropriations. Programmatic funding is distributed through periodic, legislatively established authorizations that are contingent on the availability of funds. States often place conditions on how money should be spent or used to promote state priorities. Additionally, a programmatic line item appropriation can be a recurring or a one-time investment. This blog highlights appropriations in industry-recognized credentials, Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), career advisement, and educator preparation for fiscal year (FY) 2022. You can read more about categorical funding in the first blog in this series, 
Additional Resources
As explained in 
In October 2023, New Hampshire passed 
In March 2023, Virginia enacted 