Career and Technical Education
Preparing Students for College and Careers in High Skill, High Wage, and/or High Demand
Occupations
Carl D. Perkins
Secondary Supplemental
Enhancement Grant
2026
RFP 818
Connecticut State
Department of Education
Due: April 10, 2026
Equal Opportunity Statement
Connecticut State Department of Education
Charlene M. Russell-Tucker
Commissioner of Education
The Connecticut State Department of Education is committed to a policy of equal opportunity/
affirmative action for all qualified persons. The Connecticut Department of Education does not
discriminate in any employment practice, education program, or educational activity on the basis of:
race; color; religious creed; age; sex; pregnancy; sexual orientation; workplace hazards to reproductive
systems; gender identity or expression; marital status; national origin; ancestry; retaliation for
previously opposed discrimination or coercion; intellectual disability; genetic information; learning
disability; physical disability (including, but not limited to, blindness); mental disability (past/present
history thereof); military or veteran status; status as a victim of domestic violence; or criminal record in
state employment, unless there is a bona fide occupational qualification excluding persons in any of the
aforementioned protected classes. Inquiries regarding the Connecticut State Department of Education’s
nondiscrimination policies should be directed to: Attorney Louis Todisco, Connecticut State Department
of Education, by mail (450 Columbus Boulevard, Suite 605, Hartford, CT 06103-1841; or by telephone
860-713-6594; or by email Louis.Todisco@ct.gov).
The Connecticut State Department of Education is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.
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Contents
Equal Opportunity Statement .....................................................................................................................................2
Career and Technical Education Supplemental Enhancement Grant Application......................................................4
I. Overview.............................................................................................................................................................4
II. Purpose of Perkins V .........................................................................................................................................4
III. Purpose of the Career and Technical Education Secondary Supplemental Enhancement Grant .....................4
IV. Grant Eligible Participants ...............................................................................................................................5
V. Available Competitive Funding .........................................................................................................................5
VI. Eligibility Requirements ..................................................................................................................................5
VII. Management Control of the Program and Grant Consultation Role of the State ...........................................6
VIII. Grant Awards .................................................................................................................................................7
IX. Grant Period .....................................................................................................................................................7
X. Technical Assistance by RESC..........................................................................................................................7
XI. Obligation of Grant Recipients ........................................................................................................................7
XII. End-of-Year Reports .......................................................................................................................................7
XIII. Application Submission Requirements .........................................................................................................7
Career and Technical Education Secondary Supplemental Enhancement Grant 2026 Application Packet ...............8
Career and Technical Education Secondary Supplemental Enhancement Grant 2026 Overview ..............................9
Program Title: ........................................................................................................................................................9
Program Area: ........................................................................................................................................................9
Funding Available: ...............................................................................................................................................10
Purpose:................................................................................................................................................................10
Career and Technical Education Secondary Supplemental Enhancement Grant Application Checklist ..................11
Carl D. Perkins – Secondary Supplemental Enhancement Grant Application .........................................................12
Local Plan Summary ............................................................................................................................................13
Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment Goal/Strategy.....................................................................................16
Secondary Supplemental Enhancement Grant Sustainability Plan ......................................................................18
Instructions for ED114 Budget Form...................................................................................................................20
ED114..................................................................................................................................................................21
Budget Narrative Instructions ..............................................................................................................................22
Budget Narrative ..................................................................................................................................................23
Standard Statement of Assurances for Grant Programs............................................................................................36
Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion – Lower Tier Covered
Transactions .............................................................................................................................................................. 41
Appendix A...............................................................................................................................................................42
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Career and Technical Education Supplemental Enhancement Grant
Application
I. Overview
The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, 20 U.S.C. § 2322
(Perkins V) was signed into law on July 31, 2018. Perkins V promotes reform, innovation, and
continuous improvement in career and technical education (CTE) to ensure that students acquire the
skills and knowledge they need to meet challenging state academic standards and industry-recognized
skill standards. It prepares students for postsecondary education, further learning, and a wide range
of opportunities in high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand industries and occupations.
II. Purpose of Perkins V
The purpose of Perkins V is to develop more fully the academic, technical, and employability skills of
secondary and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in CTE programs and programs of
study. Perkins V:
• builds on the efforts of states and localities to develop challenging academic and technical
standards and to assist students in meeting such standards, including preparation for high skill,
high wage, or in-demand occupations in current or emerging professions;
• promotes the development of services and activities that integrate rigorous and challenging
academic and career and technical instruction, and that link secondary education
and postsecondary education for participating career and technical education students;
• increases state and local flexibility in providing services and activities designed to develop,
implement, and improve career and technical education;
• conducts and disseminates national research and information on best practices that improve career
and technical education programs and programs of study, services, and activities;
• provides technical assistance that promotes leadership, initial preparation, and professional
development at the state and local levels and improves the quality of career and technical
education teachers, faculty, administrators, and counselors;
• supports partnerships among secondary schools, postsecondary institutions, baccalaureate degree
granting institutions, area career and technical education schools, local workforce investment
boards, business and industry, and intermediaries;
• provides individuals with opportunities throughout their lifetimes to develop, in conjunction with
other education and training programs, the knowledge and skills needed to keep the
United States competitive; and
• increases the employment opportunities for populations who are chronically unemployed or
underemployed, including individuals with disabilities, individuals from economically
disadvantaged families, out-of-workforce individuals, youth who are in, or have aged out of, the
foster care system, and homeless individuals.
III. Purpose of the Career and Technical Education Secondary
Supplemental Enhancement Grant
Perkins V legislation allows states to distribute a portion of the local funds to foster innovation through
the identification and promotion of promising and proven CTE programs, practices, and strategies. The
supplemental enhancement concept was created to assist Perkins V secondary recipients in offering
programs, practices, and strategies that prepare individuals for nontraditional fields and/or promote the
development, implementation, and adoption of programs of study or career pathways aligned with
State-identified high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations or industries.
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IV. Grant Eligible Participants
Only those districts having received Perkins V funds during the 2025–2026 school year may apply
for the Career and Technical Education Secondary Supplemental Enhancement Grant.
Eligible participants must reside in a rural area (see table below) or have a high percentage and high
number of career and technical students (at least 40 percent, unduplicated CTE enrollment for the
2025–2026 school year). This funding source should assist in the advancement of goals established
by the Connecticut State Board of Education and Perkins V legislation.
Table of Rural Towns in Connecticut*
Andover
East Granby
Ashford
East Haddam
Barkhamsted
Eastford
Bethany
Easton
Bethlehem
Franklin
Bolton
Goshen
Bozrah
Haddam
Bridgewater
Hampton
Brooklyn
Hartland
Burlington
Harwinton
Canaan
Hebron
Canterbury
Kent
Chaplin
Killingly
Chester
Killingworth
Colebrook
Lebanon
Columbia
Lisbon
Cornwall
Litchfield
Coventry
Lyme
Deep River
Mansfield
Durham
Marlborough
Middlebury
Middlefield
Morris
New Hartford
Norfolk
North Canaan
North Stonington
Old Lyme
Plainfield
Pomfret
Portland
Preston
Putnam
Redding
Roxbury
Salem
Salisbury
Scotland
Sharon
Sherman
Sprague
Stafford
Sterling
Suffield
Thompson
Torrington
Union
Voluntown
Warren
Washington
Westbrook
Willington
Winchester
Windham
Windsor Locks
Woodbridge
Woodbury
Woodstock
*(February 2025). Retrieved October 22, 2025, from http://www.ruralhealthct.org/towns.htm.
V. Available Competitive Funding
Selected districts will be awarded a minimum of $25,000 up to a maximum of $50,000 to be
encumbered by September 30, 2026. See obligation and liquidation dates on page 7, Section IX. This
funding will be made available contingent upon the availability of Perkins V grant funding from the
U.S. Department of Education. A sustainability plan must be developed and submitted with the grant
application showing how grant initiatives will continue with local funding. Also, please note that
funding can be used for students participating in CTE courses in Grades 6–12 only.
VI. Eligibility Requirements
This is a competitive grant and is not an entitlement. The following must be met in order for a district
to be eligible to apply for funding:
• size, scope and quality consistent with the approved local five-year Perkins Secondary Plan must be
adhered to and administered under all projects funded by the Supplemental Enhancement Grant;
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This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.