The complete Perkins V application toolkit

What is Perkins V?

Perkins V — formally the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act — is the primary federal investment in career and technical education. Signed into law in July 2018, it provides approximately $1.4 billion annually to support CTE programs at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Funds flow from Congress through state education agencies to eligible local recipients — districts, consortia, and postsecondary institutions — who apply based on a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment.

Perkins V placed greater emphasis on program quality, equity of access for special populations, labor-market alignment, and evidence-based improvement. In 2026, “quality” under Section 134 is increasingly defined by third-party validation — auditors and state agencies look for credentials of value, not just participation numbers.

How funding works

Districts must receive at least $15,000 in Perkins funding to get a direct allocation; smaller districts form consortia to meet the threshold. Critically, Perkins funds must supplement, not supplant existing local and state CTE investment.

The four core requirements

• Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) — a data-driven review of the CTE ecosystem, updated at least every two years.
• Local application — an annual application where every budget line traces back to a specific CLNA finding.
• Size, scope, and quality — programs must be large, comprehensive, and high-quality enough to qualify, documented as high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand.
• Maintenance of effort — states and locals must sustain their own CTE investment; federal funds supplement it.

The five required CLNA elements

• 1. Student performance data review — analyze CTE concentrator performance on each Perkins V indicator, including graduation rate, academic proficiency, postsecondary placement, nontraditional enrollment, WBL participation, and credential attainment.
• 2. Labor-market alignment — describe how programs align with state, regional, and local labor needs using BLS data, state labor-market information, workforce-board reports, and employer input.
• 3. Program size, scope, and quality — evaluate whether each program of study meets state criteria.
• 4. Progress toward improving equity — review access and outcomes for special populations and the strategies in place to close gaps.
• 5. Educator recruitment, retention, and training — describe strategies for staffing and developing CTE professionals.

The most common application mistakes

• Treating the CLNA as a compliance exercise rather than a genuine strategic-planning tool.
• Disconnecting the budget from CLNA needs — every line item should trace to a finding.
• Inadequate stakeholder engagement — include employers, postsecondary partners, students, families, and special-population representatives.
• Ignoring performance gaps — disaggregate data and address gaps with measurable strategies.
• Supplanting instead of supplementing — use funds for enhancements, not basic operating costs.
• Waiting until the deadline — start early and build in review time.

How Pathful supports Perkins V goals

Pathful's Career Readiness & Development platform connects K–12 students with 45,000+ professionals across 5,000+ companies through virtual job shadows, live industry sessions, skills assessments, and work-based learning management tools. It supports multiple Perkins V allowable-use categories and performance indicators: career-exploration tools support postsecondary-placement alignment (3S1), and WBL management supports program-quality indicators (5S1/5S2). Its four-phase framework — Awareness, Exploration, Preparation, and Placement — maps to the progression Perkins V expects from high-quality CTE programs. Districts using Pathful to support Perkins V goals include Sarasota County Schools (FL), Seattle Public Schools (WA), Broken Arrow Public Schools (OK), and Metro Nashville Public Schools (TN), along with statewide partnerships in Nevada, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Frequently asked questions

How often is the CLNA required? At least once every two years. All Perkins V spending must connect to needs identified in the CLNA.

What is the minimum direct allocation? Districts must receive at least $15,000; those below typically form consortia.

Can Perkins V funds buy career-exploration platforms? Yes — career-exploration and assessment tools are allowable expenditures, provided they address a need identified in the CLNA.