If you work in a school district and you've heard the phrase "Perkins funding" in the context of career and technical education, here's what you need to know — in plain English.
What Perkins V Is
The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act is the primary federal law governing Career and Technical Education (CTE) in the United States. The current version — Perkins V — was reauthorized in 2018 and distributes approximately $1.3 billion annually to states, which then distribute funds to local education agencies (LEAs) and community colleges.
The money funds CTE programs — courses, equipment, professional development, and student support services in areas like healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and business.
What Districts Have to Demonstrate to Receive Funding
Perkins V shifted the focus from inputs (what programs exist) to outcomes (what happens to students). Districts receiving Perkins funds must demonstrate performance against a set of core indicators including:
- Postsecondary enrollment or employment — what percentage of CTE concentrators enroll in college or get jobs after graduation?
- Attainment of recognized credentials — are students earning industry certifications?
- Program alignment with labor market demand — do the CTE programs offered match what the local economy actually needs?
The third indicator is where most districts struggle. Demonstrating alignment between programs and labor market demand requires data — and most districts don't have good data on what their students actually intend to pursue.
The Data Gap Perkins V Exposes
Perkins V asks districts to demonstrate that their CTE programs align with student career interests and local labor market needs. Most districts can produce labor market data — regional employment projections are publicly available. What they struggle to produce is student career intent data — what do the students in this specific district actually want to do after graduation?
This is the gap PathMagnet closes. As students complete career assessments, districts accumulate real-time data on student career interests — which career clusters are most popular, how interests vary by school, and where program offerings don't match student demand.
That data is directly applicable to Perkins V reporting and to grant applications that require evidence of program alignment.
Practical Implications for District Leaders
If your district is writing a Perkins V application or a state CTE grant, the application will likely ask you to demonstrate:
- Evidence of student career interest in the programs you're proposing or maintaining
- Alignment between those interests and regional labor market demand
- A plan for using data to continuously improve program alignment
PathMagnet can generate the student career interest component of this evidence automatically — at no cost to the district.