Supports in Career-Technical Education

A primary focus of the Ohio Perkins V State Plan is improving access, enrollment, engagement and performance for all students, with an intentional focus on students in special populations and subgroups. 

Perkins V Special Populations

  • Students from economically disadvantaged families
  • Students with disabilities
  • Students preparing for nontraditional fields
  • English learners
  • Students experiencing homelessness
  • Youth who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system
  • Youth with a parent in the armed forces and on active duty
  • Single parents, including single pregnant women
  • Out-of-workforce individuals (postsecondary only)

School Year 2026 E4E Competitive Grant 

The E4E Grant application will be available online now. Applying for the grant will include a document upload in the One Funding Application. The original submission date of May 15, 2025, has been extended to May 30, 2025. For technical assistance please contact Chris Moscato.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce designates the Perkins V reserve fund for the E4E competitive grant. This competitive grant assists recipients and the Department in identifying and promoting promising practices for improving career-technical education delivery for students in special population groups and subgroups. 

The grant prioritizes applications that:

  • emphasize collaboration between secondary and postsecondary schools, with,
  • seek to employ strategies that focus promotion or expansion of programs of study aligned with state-identified high-skill, high-wage or in-demand occupations, and/or,
  • seek to implement strategies for improving access to Work-Based Learning or postsecondary apprentice/internships, and/or
  • seek to implement strategies to attract and retain competent teachers and promote policies to ensure the addition of program staff who reflect the population of the school or district.

Grants range from $25,000 to $200,000 and must be used towards improving data-identified “equity gaps” in local enrollment, engagement, performance and outcomes for students in special populations as defined in Perkins V legislation.

Awards from previous grants have been used towards:

  • establishing support positions for transitioning economically disadvantaged pathway students from secondary to postsecondary education. 
  • adding aide positions to support students with disabilities in career-technical education.
  • new support staff and equipment for increasing enrollment of students with disabilities into a workforce development pathway;
  • development of new supports and resources as a bridge to postsecondary education to increase engagement of English learner students;
  • establishing recruitment and enrollment supports to increase enrollment and participation from nontraditional students in an engineering pathway and industry-recognized credential program; and,
  • expansion of lab capacity and providing additional supports to increase enrollment of economically disadvantaged students into a health care pathway.
The E4E Grant application is available online now. Applying for the grant will include a document upload in the One Funding Application

A soft launch of the One Funding Application is planned only for entities that intend on applying for the FY2026 Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grant or the E4E Grant.
Interested E4E applicants are required to attend one of the  One Funding Application Soft Launch and Training sessions. 
 
FY2026 E4E Competitive Grant Application
 

Recruiting Special Populations into CTE Toolkit

Students representing special population groups must have access to additional supports that could increase the enrollment and success in CTE programs. This toolkit supports the education community in implementing strategies that recruit and support special populations into programs that lead to high-wage, in-demand jobs. 

Special Populations Toolkit

Supports 

Last Modified: 5/15/2025 9:51:59 AM