On April 22, Stand for Children IL’s Government Affairs Director, Aimee Galvin, gave budget testimony at the Illinois General Assembly. Read an excerpt from her testimony advocating for increased funding for Career & Technical Education (CTE):

Last year, the General Assembly appropriated $58 million for secondary CTE.  The $58M reflects a $10M increase last year and two smaller increases in 2020 and 2022.  Before these increases, the state CTE appropriate had been stagnant for decades, all while CTE enrollment has been steadily increasing.  The state’s much-needed investments have helped maintain high-quality, industry-aligned CTE programing but it does not leave much for the expansion of either programs or CTE students. 

Last year, 285k students, or 48% of Illinois’ total high school student population, took at least one CTE course.  And it’s worth mentioning here that while the statewide graduation rate is 87.7%, for CTE concentrators, that is students who take at least 2 CTE courses in a sequence, were 10 points more likely to graduate and that boost applied across all student subgroups.  So, an investment in CTE not only supports career-connected learning but can even help more students graduate on time.  So as more Illinois students explore CTE pathways, something I’m sure we can all agree is positive, it also means that without significant increases in funding everyone’s slice of the pie is getting a little smaller.

If CTE funding had kept up with inflation, the state appropriation would be well over $80M.  Illinois has been investing in CTE in other ways however, the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act (PWR Act) established a blueprint for aligned, regionally relevant, industry-informed, CTE that ensures students gradate college and career ready with a clear path to what’s next after graduation.  But without additional funding districts have been asked to do more with less and must make hard choices between maintaining existing programing and developing new ones in response to new policy and labor market demands.  Increased state investment will help districts maintain current programing while freeing up to develop new programs to engage more students in CTE.

The Educator Career Pathway Grant is an excellent example of what is possible with targeted funds.  A total of $7.2M has been awarded 53 implementing high schools and in an analysis of CTE concentrators we found districts that were awarded the Educator Pathway Grant had stronger CTE concentrator rates and led the state in the number of Latina concentrators compared to other pathways.  These grants, while relatively small, have helped schools start critically needed educator pathways that have been successful in enrolling students traditionally under-represented in CTE courses.

On page 1 of your materials, you can see the state CTE appropriation funding flow chart.  We put this together in response to some of the questions from the Committee to prior CTE speakers and to provide some background information on how different CTE funds flow throughout the state.  On page one, you can see 99% of the state appropriated $58M flows directly to Education For Employment Systems, or EFEs.  EFEs are regional consortia of local districts, schools, and Area Career Centers that support and deliver high-quality CTE to students within their systems. To qualify for federal Perkins funding (which we’ll talk about in more depth shortly), recipients must qualify for a minimum grant of $15,000 based on a formula driven by population and poverty. But since some school districts were too small to qualify for the minimum grant, EFEs were created to ensure all schools received some federal funds.

But in an analysis of the state’s EFE districts we found that some EFEs receive nearly $700 per CTE participant in state funds while others are left with $62 per CTE participant.  ISBE’s new CTE funding formula seeks to ensure these funds flow more equitably by accounting for student enrollment, districts’ EBF adequacy target, and number of CTE concentrators, among other factors, but this formula is being incrementally rolled out so only a quarter of state CTE funds were distributed through the formula this year. Next year 50% of state funds will flow through the new formula and it is scheduled to be fully implemented by FY28, however this roll out is being threatened by insufficient funds to ensure that no EFE would receive lower investments than previous years.

In addition to the state secondary CTE appropriation, EFEs also receive federally appropriated Perkins funds.  In FY24 the state received $50M from the federal Perkins grant to support both secondary and postsecondary CTE programs.  On page two of your written materials, you can see how that $50M is split between secondary and postsecondary funds.  85% of the Perkins secondary funds are then distributed to the 56 EFEs across the state. 

These federal funds amount to about 50% of all available CTE funds for EFEs and they cannot be used for facility construction or renovation or to purchase facilities.  Unlike traditional classrooms, many CTE pathways require access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. To defray costs, districts often rely on Area Career Centers or Community Colleges to maintain these facilities, but even with pooled resources, the rate of new technologies and commitment to teaching industry-aligned standards can create significant financial burdens on secondary and postsecondary programs alike.

To receive Perkins grants the state must contribute a Maintenance of Effort in state funds.  ISBE’s target Maintenance of Effort is $45 million.  Given this provision, any increase in state CTE funds should be done incrementally to preserve funding stability across Illinois’ CTE system. However, some funds are exempt from the MOE and growing those investments with one-time infusions would assist districts in meeting the needs and challenges of a 21^st Century CTE system. Capital funds are one such investment, as are competitive grants like the $5M education career pathway grant.

We are requesting a $42M increase to the state’s secondary CTE appropriation, which would bring the state’s total investment in secondary CTE to $100M, but if you want to preserve future flexibility, an idea could be to appropriate funding in seven competitive grants aligned to each of the seven CTE endorsement areas.  You can see the list of endorsement areas on page 6 of your packet.  This would help districts meet growing student demand and develop new CTE programming responsive to 21^st century labor demands without increasing the state’s Perkins maintenance of effort.

Additionally, the General Assembly should charge ISBE and ICCB to conduct a joint study to determine how the current CTE facilities are meeting the needs of districts looking to scale up pathways, what kind of updates would be necessary to expand access to college and career endorsement pathways, particularly in under-resourced districts, and places for collaboration across the many regional CTE actors such as Regional Offices of Education, Education for Employment districts, high school districts, and community college districts. The recommendations should focus on capital improvements that guarantee access to college and career endorsement pathways in all regions of the state, address logistical challenges like transportation, stress collaboration and shared resources across actors, and prioritize the needs of districts furthest from adequate funding. Such an analysis is a critical first step in a campaign to secure more CTE capital funding which will help grow CTE access while maximizing federal investments.