Career and Technical Education (CTE)
HETAC Resources
Supporting Access to Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathways for Students Experiencing Homelessness (archived webinar)
This March 2025 HETAC webinar provides a brief overview of the McKinney-Vento homeless education and career and technical education programs and the related statutory footprints under each program, makes a compelling case for the value of CTE pathways for students experiencing homelessness using new CTE access and success data, and explores possible barriers to CTE access and success for students experiencing homelessness and potential strategies to remove these barriers.
Other Resources
Advance CTE: About CTE webpage
Advance CTE is the longest-standing national non-profit that represents State CTE Directors and state leaders responsible for secondary, postsecondary, and adult Career Technical Education CTE across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Advance CTE's About CTE webpage links to a variety of informative resources to help educators and partners understand CTE career pathways and CTE education options in their state.
Developing communications that align with the unique needs and experiences of key learner audiences can increase enrollment, retention, and learner success in CTE programs. This Advance CTE webpage tool provides a flexible step-by-step process for state and local CTE leaders to create more effective CTE recruitment and program communications for all learners. This self-paced tool consists of seven short videos and an accompanying workbook where users engage with and create communications for key audiences, increase partner engagement, and develop ongoing cycles to assess the effectiveness of communications and recruitment processes and adjust accordingly. A special focus is included on engaging CTE special populations, including learners experiencing homelessness.
This Advance CTE webpage links to informational and practical resources related to supporting CTE access and success for special student populations, including learners in foster care and learners experiencing homelessness.
Association for Career and Technical Education website
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) mission is to provide educational leadership in developing a competitive workforce and to empower educators to deliver high-quality CTE programs that ensure all students are positioned for career success. The ACTE website links to a variety of informative resources, including its CTE Basics webpage (with links to basic CTE fact sheets and infographics) and its State Facts webpage (with links to state-specific fact sheets and profiles).
The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) expanded the definition of special populations to include individuals experiencing homelessness, paving the way for state and local CTE and homeless education leaders to partner in support of CTE access and success for learners experiencing homelessness. This brief, co-authored by Advance CTE and the National Center for Homeless Education, explores CTE barriers for learners experiencing homelessness and recommends strategies for addressing these barriers.
Perkins Collaborative Resource Network: CTE Performance Profiles
The U.S. Department of Education's Perkins Collaborative Resource Network CTE Performance Profiles provide national and state data on CTE access and success for all learners and disaggregated by special population, including "homeless individuals". Users can "drill down" into national and state CTE data using the dropdown menus at the top of the webpage. Data on learners experiencing homelessness can be viewed in disaggregate by selecting the desired data indicator and then clicking on the "Special Populations" button.
Career-connected learning combines high-quality academic instruction, skill-based learning, and real-world experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and skills that they need to pursue their career goals. Career-connected learning can be delivered in a variety of ways, including in core content classes, through career and technical education (CTE) programs, in partnership with community and technical colleges, and through work-based learning experiences like internships, pre-apprenticeships, and registered apprenticeship programs. This playbook recommends strategies for schools and action steps for students and parents to increase access to career-connected learning for highly mobile students, including those experiencing homelessness.
U.S. Department of Education: Making Progress Together Role-Specific Toolkits
This U.S. Department of Education webpage links to role-specific toolkits with recommendations for tangible ways each stakeholder group can "blur the lines" between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce, providing students with accelerated and innovative opportunities to earn college credits and gain real-world career experiences. Toolkits for the following role groups are included: Students and families, teachers, counselors, CTE directors and work-based learning (WBL) coordinators, principals, superintendents, higher education, state education agencies, labor and workforce boards, mayors, governors, business and industry, and community-based organizations.