Career and technical education (CTE) is one of the most popular education policy issues today, both across the states and at the federal level. In 2017, gubernatorial candidates mentioned CTE more than any other education issue in their campaigns. And in 2018, in “State of the State” addresses, more governors mentioned CTE than any other education issues. (Twenty-four of 46 speeches mentioned CTE.)
State legislatures passed 85 CTE-related bills, only five of which were vetoed, in 2018—more than any other education issue besides teaching. That is up from 42 CTE bills in 2016 and 61 in 2017. Federal legislators are also on board, and in late summer 2018, Congress reauthorized the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act via voice vote, a sure indicator of bipartisan support in this political environment.
CTE’s popularity across states and across the aisle might not have been possible 10—and certainly not 20—years ago. What we now know as CTE was once thought of as “vocational education,” a term that not only carried substantial social stigma but also was associated with a general lack of egalitarianism and a specific role in tracking students by race and class. Running directly against the dominant grain of “college for all,” vocational education was often viewed as a step backward for students, pushing them (especially low-performing students) toward the dead-end jobs of yesteryear rather than the careers of the future through the promise of postsecondary education.