Career Technical Education (CTE) programs prepare students to be college and career ready by providing academic, technical and job-specific skills required in today’s 21st century workforce. By participating in CTE programs, students are able to find connections between their core academic work and career aspirations making high school a more relevant, and engaging experience. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, these students graduate at higher rates and are more likely to go on to postsecondary education.

As career fields continue to evolve, there is a growing demand for CTE pathways such as biomedicine, advanced manufacturing/engineering, and environmental sciences. Of course, introducing such pathways requires proper facilities and supporting features to make them successful. These can be new structures designed for specific pathways or preexisting spaces that have been reimagined. Regardless of the route you take to house your pathways, funding is still an integral part of the process to make your programs come to life.

CDE Application.png — Next Funding Cycle

The 4th CTE Funding Cycle ($125 million) closed in February 2018. Over 300 applications were received by CDE with only 176 applications receiving passing scores. The 5th funding cycle is now open with applications due to CDE by October 19, 2018.

Application

The Career Technical Education Facility Program (CTEFP) provides funding to school districts and joint powers authorities (JPA) for the construction of new CTE facilities, modernization of existing CTE facilities, and/or purchase of equipment for CTE programs. This program was established in 2006 and has successfully funded three separate CTEFP funding cycles totaling $500 million before the fund was exhausted. Recognizing the importance of these facilities, voters passed Proposition 51 in 2016 which allocated an additional $500 million for the CTEFP.

"I believe a CTE Facility design should be driven by curriculum to meet the educational needs of the chosen pathway. When applying for CTEFP funding, get started as early as possible. Talk with teachers and industry partners, and visit other facilities offering the same pathway. Demonstrate to CDE that you are creating a facility specific to the pathway and the potential impact it can have on enhancing a student’s learning experience."

-Jessica Manson, Facilities Services, Planning

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

In order receive funding, you must meet the following criteria:

Local Education Agencies operating a comprehensive high school
Must have an active career technical advisory committee
A JPA operating a CTE program as of May 20, 2006 (for modernization only)
Districts do not need to have new construction or modernization eligibility to apply for CTEFP grants

GRANT AMOUNTS:

New Construction: $3,000,000 per project*, per school site, inclusive of equipment
Modernization: $1,500,000 per project*, per school site, inclusive of equipment

CTEFP is a 50/50 program for both New Construction and Modernization projects. A local dollar contribution equal to the state contribution is required for any CTEFP project. Funds from state or federal programs (i.e. Perkins Funds or CTE Incentive Grants) are not eligible to be used as a matching share. The District may request a loan for all or part of the 50% match. As districts repay their loans, the money is deposited back in to the CTEFP fund.

*An applicant may apply for funds for one or more projects per site. Each project must be associated with only one of the fifteen CTE industry sectors recognized by the California Department of Education (CDE).

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (CDE) APPLICATION:

Applications for funding occur in two phases. The first step in obtaining CTEFP funding is to submit an application to CDE to be reviewed and scored. This application will detail the applicant’s CTE plan. Other than a well-developed schematic floor plan, detailed architectural drawings are not required at this time. The scoring structure is based on elements such as the CTE plan cost, number of students attending, accountability for student outcomes, curriculum, participation of industry partners, and various other factors. Projects must receive a minimum score of 105 out 141 points to be considered for funding. Applications are then sorted by highest score and locale (i.e. urban, rural or suburban) and funds are apportioned to the highest ranked project in each locale. Note: given this prioritization, not all qualifying scores are guaranteed to receive funding. See ranking example below.

RANKING EXAMPLE:

“I am a huge believer in lessons learned, best practices, and continuous improvement. The CTEFP is a competitive grant, so it is essential to have a thorough and complete application. For me, a huge resource in this process is holding debriefs with CDE to review scoring and determine what areas could have been stronger in past applications. I use this insight to strengthen future applications which results in higher scores and increased chances for funding.”

— Jessica Manson, Facilities Services, Planning

Here are a few tips to help you develop high scoring application(s):

Get your grant writer involved early
Get input from CTE teachers (in and outside of your district if possible), industry partners and industry professionals
Know how your program is going to fit into your District’s goals
Identify similar CTE programs in the area and explain how yours is different
Highlight community partnerships
Request a debrief and copy of the application scoring from CDE so you can review and identify areas of improvement

OFFICE OF PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION (OPSC) FUNDING APPLICATION

If the district receives a qualifying score, they will move on to the second phase which requires submission of a CTE funding application to OPSC (Form SAB 50-10).

View Application

here are two options when submitting this application:

Reservation of Funds: If a district does not have District of the State Architect (DSA) and CDE (California Department of Education) plan approval, they can request a reservation of funds. The District will have 12 months from the date of apportionment to obtain these approvals.
Full Apportionment: If a district has DSA and CDE approved plans, they can request full project funding.

FACILITIES PLANNING SERVICES

Our facilities planning team has extensive experience working with school districts in planning, prioritizing, and identifying funding solutions that work for the project. They have been instrumental in assisting districts secure millions of dollars from several funding sources including the CTEFP. They serve our clients as planning and approval agency liaisons and funding application specialists that have built solid relationships with agency representatives at all levels. We believe that proper planning is integral to all successful projects and have developed facilities planning services as a basic component of our comprehensive service offering.

The facilities planning team assisted with the development of the following CTEFP applications that all received qualifying scores:

1st - 3rd Funding Cycles (170 point maximum)