Perkins

Overview

Summary of Perkins V federal law, California's state plans for Career Technical Education, and information on how to apply for funding through PGMS.

General Information

Perkins V is administered in California as a reimbursement grant. This means Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and other eligible recipients spend funds on approved CTE activities first, then submit claims to the California Department of Education (CDE) to be reimbursed for those expenditures. Funds are not advanced; recipients must have the fiscal capacity to cover costs before reimbursement is issued.

To receive Perkins V funds, eligible agencies must submit an Application for Funding through the Program Grant Management System (PGMS) each year. New or returning applicants must also submit an Intent to Apply (PDF) prior to the January 31 deadline to be considered for funding beginning the following July. Once approved, recipients use PGMS to manage ongoing grant tasks, including quarterly reimbursement claims, budget revisions, capital outlay requests, and updates to coordinator or fiscal contact information.

California's implementation of Perkins V is guided by two key planning documents:

• The Federal Perkins V State Plan (DOCX), required by federal law and submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), describing how California will improve, enhance, and expand high-quality CTE programs statewide.
• The California State Plan for CTE (PDF), a state-level strategic plan that provides guidance to CTE interest holders on strengthening, aligning, and innovating CTE efforts across California.

Together, these plans and the PGMS application process form the foundation of how Perkins V funding flows to eligible recipients in California.

Program Grant Management System (PGMS) –

Application for Funding - Due annually on June 1.

Note: New or returning (after an absence) Local Educational Agencies wanting to apply for Perkins funding must submit a completed Intent to Apply (PDF) form prior to January 31st to apply for funds beginning the following July.

PGMS - Application for Funding Logon - Electronic method to complete Perkins V Application for Funding, as well as various tasks related to the grant.

Accountability

The California Department of Education (CDE) is required by federal and state laws to monitor implementation of Perkins V grant programs by local educational agencies (LEAs). LEAs are responsible for creating and maintaining programs which meet minimum fiscal and programmatic requirements.

Perkins V and State Fiscal Compliance

Perkins V is the federal law that provides funding for CTE. The rules for how these federal funds must be spent, tracked, and reported come from the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR). The California School Accounting Manual (CSAM) explains how schools must record and account for these funds. Together, EDGAR outlines the federal requirements, and CSAM specifies how to apply them in California’s accounting system. The CTE pathway definitions and coding guidance reflect both state and federal regulations.

• EDGAR
• CSAM (PDF)

Compliance Monitoring

Compliance Monitoring
General information on federal and state laws that require the CDE to monitor implementation of categorical programs operated by LEAs. Monitoring tools, selection criteria, training, and other resources can be found here.

• LEAs selected for Reviews 2026–27 school year
  • 2026–27 LEAs Selected for Cycle A Onsite Review
  • 2026–27 LEAs Selected for Cycle C Online Review

Supporting Federal Program Monitoring Instrument

The Perkins V Self-Assessment Guidance and Self-Assessment Tool (DOCX) is to develop best practices for utilizing Perkins funds in Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. This site is in alignment with the FPM CTE Instrument organized into statutory core items and supporting items arranged under four general CDE categories. During monitoring reviews, the CTE program instrument is used to determine whether an LEA meets the requirements of program items during the CDE Federal Program Monitoring (FPM) process.

Fiscal

Allocation formulas, allowable and non-allowable use of funds, and waiver information for Perkins V recipients.

Perkins Allocations by Fiscal Year

• Fiscal year 2026-2027 final allocations
• Fiscal year 2025-2026 final allocations
• Fiscal year 2024-2025 final allocations
• Fiscal year 2023-2024 final allocations
• Fiscal year 2022-2023 final allocations
• Fiscal year 2021-2022 final allocations
• Fiscal year 2020-2021 final allocations

California receives its annual Perkins V allocation from the U.S. Department of Education based on a federal formula that accounts for the state's population and per capita income. Once California receives its state allocation, the state distributes funds to eligible recipients using formulas set in federal statute.

Secondary allocations (Section 131) are calculated using 70 percent low-income students ages 5 through 17 and 30 percent total enrollment of students ages 5 through 17. This formula applies across the board to all secondary recipients. Each grantee must be awarded a minimum of $15,000 to receive funding directly. Grantees that do not meet this threshold must either join a consortium or submit a Federal Waiver Request, which is available only for rural and charter schools.

Postsecondary allocations (Section 132) are calculated using 100 percent of the number of CTE students who are low-income. Postsecondary recipients must be awarded a minimum of $50,000 to receive funding directly. Recipients below this threshold must join a consortium, as there is no waiver option available to postsecondary recipients under the law.

Allowable/non-allowable costs

Specific examples of Perkins allowable and non-allowable expenditures organized by object code are available to view.

Perkins V funds must be used to supplement, not supplant, state and local funds already being spent on career and technical education.  Every expenditure of Perkins funds must be directly tied to an approved CTE program or program of study as outlined in the local Perkins application plan. LEAs are responsible for documenting how each expenditure meets both the supplement-not-supplant requirement and the CTE-program-alignment requirement.

Resources

Required forms and key deadlines for Perkins V application, reporting, and grant management activities.

Forms

The forms and files page contains links to a variety of forms and resources to assist with specific tasks related to the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V).

Timeline

The Perkins timeline shows important due dates for local educational agency submissions of funding notices, applications, claims, and reports.

Additional Resources

Perkins V information and useful resources for career technical education administrators, instructors and students

Special Populations

Special populations defined by the federal Perkins V..

Data Reporting

California’s Perkins V Data Reporting process supports federal accountability for Career Technical Education (CTE) programs by collecting information on student participation, completion, and outcomes. LEAs that operate CTE programs are required to report postsecondary outcomes for CTE pathway completers through California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS).

Information about reporting requirements are available on the Postsecondary Status Data of CTE Completers web page along with Definitions and Coding Guidance for data reporting. Please refer to the Perkins Timeline and the CALPADS Calendar for important submission dates.

Legislative Reports

The legislative report web page contains historical information on annual carryover funds for the Carl D. Perkins Career Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (Perkins) grant award.

Contacts and Mailing List

Regional assignments and contact information for fiscal, data reporting, and general Perkins V questions.

Subscribe to the Perkins Mailing List

Join the Perkins Mailing List to be notified via e-mail when new or updated information on Perkins V is available.

To subscribe to the Perkins listserv, send a "blank" message to join-perkins@mlist.cde.ca.gov.

To unsubscribe from the Perkins listserv, send a "blank" message to unsubscribe-perkins@mlist.cde.ca.gov.