You asked about the relationship between federal Perkins vocational education funding and the Pell Grant. You wanted to know if (1) there is a plan to move Perkins funding from the U. S. Department of Education to the U. S. Department of Labor and (2) career and technical education would be harmed by putting them under the Workforce Investment Act.

Several education advocacy groups are circulating rumors that the federal government is considering eliminating funding for the Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act to pay for a Pell Grant shortfall. The administration has neither confirmed nor denied such plans, and the fate of Perkins funding will not be known until the President issues his budget proposal for federal fiscal year 2003-04 early next year. Educators are also concerned about possible plans to move career and technical education from the U. S. Department of Education to the U. S. Department of Labor, where they would likely merge with job training activities under the Workforce Investment Act. According to some education advocates, this could harm career and technical education because the Labor Department (1) focuses on short-term job training to transition people to work, rather than on career education and (2) is already suffering from insufficient funding.

JG: ts