# 119-hr-5531: Career and Technical Education Access Act

119-hr-5531, Career and Technical Education Access Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] (D-WA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5531
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5531
- Congress: 119
- Title: Career and Technical Education Access Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-19
- Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] (D-WA)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**A new federal competitive grant program to expand career and technical education (CTE).** It funds states to build or upgrade CTE high schools and regional career centers, create career-aligned coursework, and link training to local employer needs while adding a CTE Pell Grants program to help secondary students with financial need cover tuition and attendance costs. - Students and families: Secondary students with financial need can get CTE Pell Grants for tuition or attendance costs tied to apprenticeships, dual enrollment, credential programs, or pre-apprenticeships; funds may be paid to the student or the program. - State education agencies: States must apply with a 5-year CTE implementation plan and can receive grants that run up to 5 years. The federal share of project costs is set between 50% and 75% and nonfederal contributions can include in-kind support. - Employers and underserved areas: Grants support employer and community college partnerships, internships, apprenticeships, multi-craft construction training, virtual or hybrid programs for rural areas, and purchases of equipment and educator training. Each grantee must complete a workforce needs assessment within 1 year of award and every 3 years after.

## Provisions PRIA read

- CTE Pell grants for public high schoolers: benefit, medium. This bill would create CTE Pell Grants for public high school students. Grants could help pay tuition or other costs for CTE classes, credential programs, apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and dual-enrollment technical courses. You would need to be enrolled in a public secondary school, plan to…
- State grants to expand career training: benefit, medium. This bill would set up a competitive grant program for states within 1 year. Grants would typically last 5 years, with the federal share covering 50% to 75% of project costs; states could count in-kind support for their share. Money could fund CTE school buildings, updated classes, internships and…
- CTE credits would transfer to colleges: benefit, low. If enacted, students who complete qualifying CTE programs would have automatic options to transfer credits to participating colleges. This could save time and money by avoiding repeated classes. The bill would also define CTE high schools, regional career centers, and "opportunity youth" for use in…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-hr-3838: Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5531 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5531)

## Related
- [119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8800)
- [119-hr-3838: Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defe…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3838)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5531 (as of 2026-04-21).