One of the primary pieces of federal legislation governing technical and vocational education, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, is currently being considered for "reauthorization", the process by which a federal program is continued and its funding ceiling is set. Originally established in 1984, the Perkins program is the main source of federal grants for states' vocational and technical programs at both the secondary and post-secondary levels. Wisconsin receives approximately $27 million from the Perkins program each year, about $14 million of which is retained by the WTCS.

Fortunately, the versions the reauthorization bill currently being considered by both the House and Senate do not contain many of the significant policy shifts proposed earlier in 2004. However, several items of concern remain. Under the reauthorization bill passed earlier this month by the House Education and Workforce Committee (H.R. 4496), states would be allowed to hold only 2% of their grant money for administrative activities, down from 5%. The 60% cut in resources available for administrative activities would have a major impact on the WTCS State Office, which relies on the administrative set-aside to fund many of its staff positions.

Also of concern are changes to the so-called "Maintenance of Effort" clause. This portion of the Act requires a state to continue funding vocational and technical education programs at a certain level in order to receive full Perkins funding. Language in the reauthorization bill reduces the Maintenance of Effort level, providing cash-strapped states like Wisconsin the temptation to reduce the state funding levels and still receiving their full federal Perkins grant.

Finally, the House's reauthorization bill proposes a major structural change to the Perkins program. The current Perkins program consists of two primary funding streams:

• Tech Prep, which supports the integration of secondary and post-secondary vocational education in areas such as engineering, applied science, health care, etc.
  
  
• Basic State Grant, which provides resources to states that then allocate funding to local secondary and post-secondary institutions.

The House's reauthorization bill eliminated the Tech Prep program, merging its funding into the Basic State Grant. The loss of the Tech Prep program could result in an overall loss of funding.

The full House and Senate should vote on the Perkins on versions of the reauthorization bill in the coming weeks.

In addition to Perkins reauthorization, both the House and Senate are in the process of setting Fiscal Year 2005 funding levels for the program. Fortunately, a House Appropriations subcommittee has rejected the Bush Administration's proposed 25% cut in the program, instead voting to increase funding by $20 million to $1.215 billion, a 1.6% increase over the FY 2004 appropriation.