Congress Renews Perkins ‘Career Education’ Law

Congress has approved a long-awaited renewal of the federal vocational education law, providing a new name for the career-oriented classes the law supports but keeping the core structure of the politically popular program largely intact.

The bipartisan legislation was approved by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate on July 26, and the House of Representatives approved it after midnight on July 29 by a vote of 399-1. The measure would extend the federal vocational program, currently known as the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, through 2012. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., cast the lone House vote against the measure.

The law governs the flow of about $1.3 billion annually in federal funds to states and school districts for work-related classes, programs, equipment, and training. The legislation approved by Congress would change the law’s references to “vocational” education—a term many supporters of the program believe is outdated and derogatory—to...