WASHINGTON—Congress has passed a bipartisan bill reauthorizing the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, allocating $1.2 billion in state grants to fund vocational training at most levels of schooling.
Under the provisions of the bill, high schools, colleges and training centers may apply for grants to train teachers or fund specific programs for students.
The bill charges states to set their own vocational education goals, requires states to make "meaningful progress" toward meeting those goals and sets core standards to measure progress, including graduation rates and the percentage of students who go on to further training.
The bill was supported by both the Trump administration and by various business groups.
"We will continue to prepare students for today's constantly shifting job market, and we will help employers find the workers they need to compete," Trump said.
Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Auto Care Association, also praised Congress for passing the reauthorization bill.
"Recruiting and training young people to have the skills to work on today's highly complex, computer-driven vehicles is a major concern of the auto care industry," Hanvey said in a press release. "The future of our industry depends on joint efforts like this one that will ensure a larger pool of qualified job candidates."