Vocational education has been a lifesaver for countless students, but a change in the funding eligibility for such programs will destroy whatever hope they have for their future (“City schools struggling to keep vocational programs afloat after abrupt funding cut,” New York Daily News, Jan. 13).
The new version of the federal Perkins law restricted funding to approved programs, which meant that teachers had to have proper licenses and that the schools offered end-of-course exams approved by the state. But in New York State, that has meant closing down new programs in technology that have yet cleared the hurdle.
The irony is that funding continues to go to programs that leave students unprepared for the world after graduation. But vocational programs that show a direct positive connection to the real world are in jeopardy.
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