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After years of effort by Women Work! The National Network for Women's Employment and other advocates for career education, the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act was signed into law by President Bush on August 12, 2006. The new law takes positive steps to ensure that women in transition have greater access to the career and technical education system.

The new Perkins law requires local recipients of Perkins dollars to use funds for programs that help special populations, including: single parents and displaced homemakers who are enrolled in career and technical education programs, and individuals preparing for nontraditional fields as well as individuals with disabilities, low-income individuals, and individuals with limited English proficiency. Previously, local recipients could spend Perkins funding on programs for special populations, and many did -- but they weren't required to do so.

Frequently Asked Questions

Funding for Displaced Homemaker/Single Parent Programs:

How can my program or community take advantage of this new requirement?

Gender equity advocates will have to work to influence planning at the local level to ensure that this new provision results in actual dollars for programs that serve women in transition. You can start by sending Women Work!'s press release to allies in your community to create a "buzz" around the new requirement.  (Eventually, you will need to determine who is responsible for developing the local Perkins plan and how to influence this development.  Another step is to meet with your institution's administrator to make a case for using the funding for your program.) 

Stay tuned - on September 27th (3:00pm EST) Women Work! will host a teleconference to explain the changes in the new law in detail and share step-by-step strategies that you can use in advocating for new funding.

When will the new law go into effect?

Although the new law has technically already gone into effect, for all practical purposes, changes will not be put into place until the 2007 -2008 school year.  States will have until next spring to develop and submit transition plans describing how they will adjust their programs to meet the new requirements.

You will want to begin advocating for increased funds for your program or your community as soon as possible. It is important to be vocal and active at each stage of the decision making process.

Does the new law restore the statewide "gender equity set-asides" that were eliminated in 1998?

Unfortunately, the new law does not go so far as to reinstate the set-asides or provide a guaranteed funding stream for displaced homemakers and single parents.  Instead, it requires that each local secondary or post-secondary institution that receives Perkins funding spend some funds on programs that serve special populations. Special populations could include: displaced homemakers, single parents, single pregnant women, individuals preparing for nontraditional fields, individuals with disabilities, low-income individuals, and/or individuals with limited English proficiency.  Decisions about how much funding will be provided for special populations and which programs will receive the funding, will likely be at the discretion of each local recipient.