Under the Law: CTE: A checkered legal history

Abstract

Career and technical education (also known as vocational education) has been in existence since at least the 19th century as a means of preparing students for employment. However, for much of the 20th century, it also has served to segregate students, even after such segregation was deemed illegal. Robert Kim describes the legal history of career and technical education (CTE). Although many of today’s CTE programs show positive outcomes for students of historically marginalized backgrounds, policy makers and education leaders must understand how CTE programs differ across communities and be prepared to apply new understandings of equity to these programs.