Voc. Ed. Pinched by State Budgets, Federal Policies

By Sean Cavanagh

Vocational education programs are feeling the pressure from all sides.

Administrators and teachers in career and technical programs say that the trickle-down effect of tighter state budgets, coupled with district-level cuts, are leading school officials to trim elective courses that fall outside the scope of core academic requirements.

Some school districts, as a result, are being forced to pare down vocational education programs—or modify their schedules, to save them...