September 15, 2020

Dear Colleagues:

The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), Division of Academic and Technical Education (DATE) invites States and federal discretionary grantees to apply for customized technical assistance (TA) in FY 2020-21. The TA supports high-quality accountability and data reporting systems through services provided by our contractors at RTI International.

States are invited to apply for TA on implementing the accountability requirements of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), such as data collection on special populations, implementing program quality indicators, and conducting local needs assessments. In addition, States can apply for TA on topics related to improving the quality of accountability data and the use of data for program approval, improvement, and stakeholder outreach.

TA is intended to supplement, not supplant, State or local efforts to improve career and technical education (CTE) accountability systems. Projects should build on information and data currently available and be of manageable size and scope. To ensure that the TA meets State’s needs, recipients will need to commit to monthly meetings with the TA team and provide access to relevant documentation, State experts, and stakeholders.

TA projects will culminate in summary reports with recommendations that will be designed to have value for other states and discretionary grantees addressing similar issues. Products and reports from past TA projects can be seen on OCTAE’s Perkins Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN).

To be considered for TA in FY 2020-21:

Please submit a brief description (maximum of one page) of your TA needs via e-mail to Sandra Staklis at sstaklis@rti.org. If you have questions about the application process, contact Sandra by email or phone at (503) 428-5676. DATE staff for this project is Allison Hill, Education Program Specialist, at allison.hill@ed.gov or (202) 245-7775.

Requests must be received by Friday, October 2, 2020 to be considered.

While we strive to accommodate each request, resource constraints may prevent us from funding all projects. Consequently, we will assign the highest priority to States and discretionary grantees that have not yet received assistance and to projects with the greatest relevance to the field. We will also prioritize projects that can be completed by April 2021.

We look forward to working with you as you undertake efforts to improve your state’s CTE accountability system.

Best –

Sharon Lee Miller
Director, Division of Academic and Technical Education