Unlocking Opportunities: Supporting English Learners’ Equitable Access to Career and Technical Education
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Highlights
In 2019–20, English Learners enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) at similar rates as native English-speaking peers but faced scheduling, language, and status barriers to deeper participation.
- English Learners (ELs) made up 6.7 percent of U.S. high school students in 2019–20 and enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) at roughly comparable rates, though limited data obscure local differences.
- Overcrowded academic schedules—filled with English language development and remedial courses—are a leading barrier keeping ELs from completing full CTE course sequences.
- Many CTE instructors, often recruited from industry, have little preparation to teach ELs. Co-teaching models that pair them with EL specialists have shown promise.
- States can promote equitable access by disaggregating CTE data by EL subgroup, protecting EL participation through policy, expanding counseling support, and allowing more flexible scheduling.
Once considered a less-rigorous high school pathway, career and technical education (CTE) has experienced a renaissance since the 1990s, as more high-skilled and white-collar professions have been included in these elective course options. Research indicates that participation in CTE—especially taking more than one course in a single occupational area—is correlated with benefits in graduation rates and earnings as an adult.
As CTE’s scope and audience have grown, educators and advocates have brought attention to the need to ensure equitable access for historically marginalized student groups. For high school English Learners (ELs), who often face challenges to college and career readiness, CTE can play an important role in helping them stay engaged in school, graduate, and get on a path to a career providing a family-sustaining wage.
This report explores policies and practices that can support ELs’ participation in CTE courses. It includes an overview of how CTE has changed over time, state-level data on EL participation rates, and a close look at the opportunities and barriers to EL enrollment and participation, drawing in part on interviews with state and district CTE and EL administrators. The report concludes with recommendations for state and local educators seeking to further strengthen policy and practice.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Evolution of CTE
3 Federal Support through the Perkins Act
4 Participation of ELs in CTE
5 Opportunities and Barriers
A. EL Access to CTE Instruction
B. Fitting CTE into a Course of Study
C. Teachers and Professional Development
D. Student Recruitment
E. Connections across Administrative Offices
F. Challenges Combining Work and School
6 Conclusions and Recommendations
About the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy
The Center is a national hub connecting policymakers, educators, community leaders, and service providers with evidence-informed policy research, technical assistance, and data to advance effective immigrant integration at U.S., state, and local levels.
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