Perkins V — formally the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act — is the federal law that funds career and technical education (CTE) programs across the US, including many trade and vocational school programs, through roughly $1.4 billion distributed annually via state formula grants. It was signed into law on July 31, 2018, replacing the previous Perkins IV framework, and it remains the primary federal funding mechanism most CTE programs rely on alongside state and local dollars.
What Is Perkins V, Exactly?
Perkins V is the most recent reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, first passed in 1984 and reauthorized several times since. Each version updates how federal CTE dollars are appropriated, distributed to states, and ultimately spent on program quality, equipment, and access. Perkins V’s core goal, per the U.S. Department of Education, is to expand opportunities for students to “explore, choose, and follow career and technical education programs of study and career pathways to earn credentials of value.”
How Much Perkins V Funding Is Available, and Where Does It Go?
Congress appropriates roughly $1.4 billion annually in Title I State Formula Grants under Perkins V. That total is distributed to states by formula, and each state then redistributes its allocation down to local eligible recipients under rules set by the law: states may reserve up to 10% of their allocation for state leadership activities and up to 5% for state administration, with the remaining 85% or more required to flow to local eligible recipients by formula. The scale varies enormously by state — Florida, for example, receives approximately $81 million per year through the program.
| Level | Role |
|---|---|
| Federal | Appropriates ~$1.4 billion annually in Title I State Formula Grants |
| State | Receives its formula allocation; may reserve up to 10% for state leadership, up to 5% for administration |
| Local eligible recipient | Receives the remaining 85%+ via the state’s own sub-allocation formula |
Who Is Eligible to Receive Perkins V Funds?
Eligibility runs through a state’s approved CTE plan, not directly from Washington. “Eligible recipients” typically include local educational agencies, area CTE centers, and postsecondary institutions — including many trade and vocational schools — that offer an approved CTE program of study meeting the standards set in the state’s Perkins plan. Being a legitimate, accredited trade school is not automatically the same as being a Perkins-eligible recipient: your specific program of study needs to be recognized under your state’s CTE plan, which is a separate qualification process from general school accreditation.
What Can Perkins V Funds Actually Be Used For?
Perkins V dollars are restricted to specific, program-improvement purposes rather than general operating costs. Common allowable uses include:
- Purchasing or upgrading equipment and lab/shop technology tied to the CTE program
- Professional development for CTE instructors
- Career guidance and academic counseling for students in CTE pathways
- Curriculum development aligned to industry-recognized credentials
- Recruitment and outreach activities specifically targeting underrepresented and non-traditional populations in a given trade
- Support services that improve completion rates for special populations, as defined under the law
What Perkins V funds are generally not designed to cover is broad-based enrollment marketing or paid advertising for the school as a whole — the recruitment and outreach allowance is narrower, aimed at closing participation gaps for specific populations rather than funding a general lead-generation budget.
How Does Perkins V Funding Affect Your CTE Program’s Budget Planning?
Funds flow annually, but the amount your program actually sees depends on your state’s approved plan, its internal sub-allocation formula, and how your specific program of study is prioritized within it — not a fixed number you can assume year over year. Because of that variability, most CTE programs treat Perkins V as a supplement to equipment and instructional quality rather than a dependable line item for growth initiatives like new campuses or expanded marketing. Budgeting conservatively around it, and building funding-independent channels like organic enrollment, keeps a program’s growth plans from being tied to a formula grant that’s set at the state level and can shift year to year.
Perkins V vs. Getting Listed on the Eligible Training Provider List: Two Separate Processes
Schools frequently conflate Perkins V eligibility with being listed on their state’s Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) — they’re related but distinct. Perkins V funds CTE program quality and equipment through your state’s education agency. ETPL status is what allows individual job seekers to use WIOA training funds — a different federal program, administered through your state’s workforce boards — to pay for enrollment in your program. A program can qualify for one without the other, and pursuing both widens the funding paths available to your prospective students.
Understanding your program’s real funding landscape is also part of building an enrollment strategy that doesn’t depend entirely on paid advertising — see how Scalenroll builds organic acquisition systems for trade and vocational schools that grow enrollment independently of any single funding cycle. Book your free enrollment audit to see where your program stands.
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