Law & Courts

Full Senate, House Panel OK Perkins Reauthorization

By Sean Cavanagh — March 15, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The full Senate and the House education committee approved separate bills last week to reauthorize the federal career and technical education program, showing no apparent appetite for President Bush’s proposal to eliminate its funding.

The Senate and House education committees unanimously approved legislation to renew the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act on March 9. A day later, the Senate approved its bill, 99-0. The measure has not yet reached the floor of the House.

Just weeks earlier, the Bush administration proposed eliminating the entire $1.3 billion program from the federal budget in fiscal 2006, and redirecting the money to the president’s $1.5 billion High School Initiative.

The proposal to scrap funding for the Perkins program has drawn broad opposition from vocational education advocates and a bipartisan cross-section of Congress.

Before voting to approve the reauthorization bill, which does not set the amount that will actually be appropriated for the program, several Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee jabbed the president’s proposed cuts.

After listening to several Democratic rebukes of the administration’s proposal, Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, the chairman of the committee, retorted that such criticism amounted to needless partisanship considering the bipartisan support for the reauthorization bill.

“This underlying bill is a very clear signal for the intentions of Congress,” he said.

Department is Opposed

After the two committees’ actions, the Department of Education released letters sent by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to Rep. Boehner and Sen. Michael B. Enzi, R-Wyo., the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, expressing her “strong opposition” to both pieces of legislation.

The legislation to reauthorize the Perkins program “does little to address the current challenge that has been highlighted by President Bush and the nation’s governors to reform our nation’s high schools,” wrote Ms. Spellings. She added: “The Perkins Act requires fundamental changes to its mission and focus.”

A version of this article appeared in the March 16, 2005 edition of Education Week as Full Senate, House Panel OK Perkins Reauthorization

Events

Student Achievement Webinar What Effective Tutoring Should Look Like—and Achieve
Join this webinar to learn how to sustain effective tutoring programs that help improve students' performance in reading and math.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Engaging Every Learner: Strategies to Boost Math Motivation
Math Motivation Boost! Research & real tips to engage learners.
Content provided by Prodigy Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
The Ripple Effect: Mental Health & Student Outcomes
Learn how student mental health impacts outcomes—and how to use that data to support your school’s IEP funding strategy.
Content provided by Huddle Up

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Law & Courts Retired Justice Souter, Advocate for Civics and Church-State Split, Dies at 85
Retired Justice David Souter, who wrote Supreme Court opinions on student strip searches and government aid to religion, has died.
4 min read
Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter smiles during a new lecture series titled, "Constitutionally Speaking" on Sept. 14, 2012 in Concord, N.H. Souter spoke to more than 1,300 who packed a small theater to hear him.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter, pictured participating a Sept. 14, 2012, lecture series on the U.S. Constitution in Concord, N.H., died May 8, 2025.
Jim Cole/AP
Law & Courts Trump Admin. Ends a Decades-Old School Desegregation Order—And Expects to End Others
Officials suggested that other desegregation orders dating to the Civil Rights Movement should be reconsidered.
5 min read
Students from Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C., ride a bus together, May 15, 1972.
Students from Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C., ride a bus together on May 15, 1972.
Harold L. Valentine/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Appears Open to Religious Charter School
The U.S. Supreme Court grappled with whether charter schools are public schools and whether the Constitution permits a religious charter.
7 min read
Supporters of charter schools rally outside of the Supreme Court on April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Supporters of religious charter schools rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 30, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Poised to Back Student in Key Disability-Rights Case
The U.S. Supreme Court considered what liability standard should apply for cases brought by students under two key federal disability laws.
6 min read
The Tharpe family, pictured outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, on April 28, 2025.
Gina and Aaron Tharpe appear outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 28 with their daughter Ava, who has a severe form of epilepsy. The court is weighing what liability standard should apply to the suit for damages they filed against their school district.
Mark Walsh/Education Week