How Schools Can Fund NIL and Career Readiness Programs With Perkins V

Q: How much Perkins funding does a district receive?

It varies by state and district size, since allocations flow through a federal formula to states and then a state formula to local recipients based on population and poverty data. Your district's grants coordinator or CTE director can provide the actual figure. At least 85% of each state's Title I Perkins funds must reach local recipients.

By NIL Deal Finder Pro Editorial Team

Published: February 14, 2026 · Last updated: August 2026

Quick Answer: Perkins V is the main federal funding stream for career and technical education, appropriated at roughly $1.4 billion a year. At least 85% of each state's Title I funds must pass through to local districts and schools. For a school wanting to teach NIL, personal branding, or opportunity-creation skills, this usually means the money already exists — the question is whether the program fits an existing CTE pathway, not whether new budget can be found.

Most athletic directors who want to run an NIL education program start by asking where the budget would come from, and stop there. In many districts the honest answer is that the budget already exists and is being spent on something else, because nobody connected the program to the funding stream it qualifies for.

This page explains how that stream works and how to find out whether your program fits.

What is Perkins V?

Perkins V is the federal law that funds career and technical education in American schools and colleges. Its full name is the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, signed in July 2018, and it reauthorized a federal CTE funding structure that has existed in some form since 1984.

Congress appropriates roughly $1.4 billion annually in state formula grants for the development and implementation of career and technical education programs. A Senate appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026 maintained that level of funding.

It's the largest federal investment dedicated specifically to CTE, and unlike a competitive grant, it arrives every year by formula.

How does Perkins money actually reach a school?

It moves in three steps, and the third is where most schools stop paying attention.

1. Congress to the states. Allocations are driven by each state's share of the national population in two age bands — 15-to-19-year-olds for secondary CTE, and older bands for postsecondary — with every state receiving a minimum floor of the total appropriation. California, Texas and New York receive the largest allocations.

2. States to local recipients. This is the provision that matters most. Each state must distribute not less than 85% of its Perkins Title I funds by formula to local education agencies, area career and technical schools, community colleges, and other institutions offering CTE programs. The state cannot retain the bulk of it.

3. Local recipients to programs. Districts and schools decide what to spend it on, within the statute's limits and tied to their needs assessment. This is the step where an athletic director or CTE director actually has influence.

The practical takeaway: the money is already appropriated and already flowing to your district. The question is what it's currently funding and whether your program has a better claim.

What is the CLNA and why does it decide everything?

The Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment is the document that determines what your district can spend Perkins funds on. Every local recipient must complete a CLNA connecting its spending plan to labor market data and student performance.

Three consequences worth understanding:

Spending has to trace back to the CLNA. A program that doesn't appear in it is a much harder purchase, regardless of merit.
It's built on labor market data. Programs that connect to demonstrable workforce needs and employability skills argue well here.
It's on a cycle. The window to influence what goes into the next assessment closes long before the money is spent.

If you're serious about funding a program, the highest-leverage move isn't a budget request. It's finding out who runs your district's CLNA and when the next one is being written.

Can Perkins funds pay for NIL or personal branding curriculum?

It depends on how the program is classified, and that's a question for your district's CTE director — not something a vendor can answer for you.

Perkins funds CTE programs and programs of study, with statutory emphasis on academic knowledge, technical skills, and employability skills. A program framed narrowly as sports marketing may fit a pathway. A program framed as helping athletes earn money likely doesn't.

What tends to matter in that classification:

Alignment to an existing state-approved CTE pathway — business, marketing, entrepreneurship, communications
Employability skills — negotiation, professional communication, contracts, self-employment basics
Credentials or artifacts students finish with
Labor market connection documented in the CLNA
Whether it serves all students or only athletes

That last point is the one most programs get wrong. A curriculum only available to athletes is a narrower proposition than one teaching outreach, negotiation, and self-employment skills to any student — and the broader version is both easier to fund and more defensible.

For what belongs in the program itself, see NIL education.

Who should you actually talk to?

Rarely the athletic director alone, and rarely the principal first.

The people who matter:

District CTE director or coordinator — owns pathway classification and usually the Perkins allocation
Grants coordinator or federal programs director — knows what's committed and what's uncommitted
Whoever runs the CLNA — often the same person, sometimes not
Work-based learning coordinator, where the district has one — these roles are frequently receptive to programs producing student portfolios and employer contact
Curriculum and instruction leadership, for anything touching instructional minutes

The athletic director is often the person who wants the program and rarely the person who can fund it. Expect to be routed.

What questions should you ask before proposing anything?

Which state-approved CTE pathways do we currently run?
When was our last CLNA completed, and when is the next one?
What is our current Perkins allocation, and what is it committed to?
Do we have uncommitted funds this fiscal year?
Who signs off on a new program within an existing pathway?
What's our purchasing timeline and fiscal year calendar?

That last one is more consequential than it sounds. Federal fiscal-year funds become available July 1, which means district purchasing conversations often need to happen in spring for money that arrives in summer. A proposal delivered in October may be waiting until the following July regardless of how good it is.

Key takeaways

Perkins V puts roughly $1.4 billion a year into CTE, by formula, every year.
At least 85% must pass through to local districts and schools.
The CLNA determines what the money can fund — influence it before the spend.
Classification into an existing pathway matters more than program quality.
Programs serving all students are easier to fund than athlete-only programs.
Talk to the CTE director and grants coordinator, not just the AD.
Federal fiscal-year funds land July 1, so buying conversations happen in spring.

Frequently asked questions

How much Perkins funding does a district receive? It varies enormously by state and district size, since allocations flow through a federal formula to states and then a state formula to local recipients based on population and poverty data. Your district's grants coordinator or CTE director can give you the actual figure. What's consistent nationally is that at least 85% of each state's Title I Perkins funds must reach local recipients rather than being retained at the state level.

Can Perkins funds pay for an NIL curriculum? Only if the program fits an approved CTE pathway and connects to the district's needs assessment — that determination belongs to your district's CTE director, not to a vendor. Programs framed around employability skills like negotiation, professional communication, and self-employment basics generally argue better than programs framed around athletes earning money.

What is a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment? The CLNA is the required document connecting a local recipient's Perkins spending plan to labor market data and student performance. Every local recipient must complete one, and spending needs to trace back to it. Because it's completed on a cycle, the opportunity to influence what a district funds usually comes well before any purchasing conversation.

When do schools actually spend Perkins money? Federal fiscal-year funds become available July 1, and districts typically plan purchases in the preceding spring against the coming year's allocation. A program proposed mid-year often waits for the next cycle. If you're trying to get something funded, understanding your district's specific budget calendar matters as much as the proposal itself.

Does Perkins funding require the program to serve all students? Perkins serves students enrolled in CTE programs and programs of study, with statutory attention to special populations and equitable access. A program restricted to a narrow group of students is a harder case to make than one available broadly within a pathway. Discuss the specifics with your district's CTE director, since state plans add requirements beyond the federal statute.

Educational information only. Not legal, financial, or grants-compliance advice. Perkins requirements are governed by federal statute, state plans, and local policy — confirm specifics with your state CTE agency and district grants office.