College and Career Funding: A Guide for CA School Counseling Leaders
California and the federal government invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually in Career Technical Education (CTE), dual enrollment, apprenticeship development, and college access initiatives. These funding streams present significant opportunities for districts to expand school counseling services, strengthen career advising, and build industry-aligned pathways.
Many districts, however, are unaware of the full scope of available funding or lack the internal capacity to pursue and coordinate these opportunities effectively. With intentional planning, these funds can support:
School counselor positions tied to pathway expansion
Specialized college and career advising roles
Dual enrollment and apprenticeship coordination
Professional development aligned to high-growth industry sectors
This guide distinguishes between funding types, outlines estimated award ranges, and highlights strategic considerations to help districts leverage these opportunities effectively.
In This Article:
K-12 Funding Opportunities
California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (CTEIG) SACS Resource Code 6387
California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant (CTEIG) provides funding for both school counselor positions and professional development, provided these costs directly support Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.
CTEIG funds can be used for pupil support services, which explicitly include school counseling. School counselors funded by CTEIG must provide career exploration and guidance to help students transition to employment or postsecondary education. Salary expenditures for school counselors must be clearly documented and justified in the grant application as essential for the CTE pathway. Funding must be used to enhance or expand current guidance services, not to replace local funding for existing school counselors. Therefore, these funds cannot be used to supplant existing positions.
CTEIG mandates professional development for quality CTE programs, explicitly allowing training and planning meetings for district CTE staff, including school counselors.
CTEIG requires a 2:1 local match ($2 local for every $1 grant). Staff, including teachers and school counselors, must hold appropriate credentials for the career pathway being funded, and applicants must demonstrate a plan for how the program and these funded positions will be sustained after the grant funds have expired. See CTE Incentive Grant for more information.
Grants Funded in Prior Cycles
Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP) SACS Resource Code 6383
Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP): Approximately $50 million was allocated for 2025–26 specifically for implementation grants to transition planning grant recipients into full pathways in high-wage, high-skill, and high-growth sectors. Recipients must use GSPP funds for activities that promote seamless transitions from high school to postsecondary education and the workforce, including:
Integrated Support Services: Providing additional personnel for career guidance, counseling, and addressing students' social, emotional, and academic needs.
Staffing & Professional Development: Salaries for additional school counseling personnel and training for educators to meet program objectives.
The Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP) has different end dates depending on your specific grant type. The expenditure deadlines for the original GSPP grants are:
Planning Grants: All funds must be expended by June 30, 2026.
Implementation & Consortium Grants: All funds must be expended by June 30, 2029.
College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) Grant SACS Resource Code 7339
The College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) Grant is a small, one-time competitive state initiative designed to establish or expand dual enrollment partnerships between K–12 local educational agencies (LEAs) and California community colleges. The grant application was due March 31, 2025, and the grant period began July 1, 2025 and ends June 30, 2027.
CCAP specifically lists several school counselor focused expenditures as allowable:
School Counselor Planning & Collaboration: Stipends and planning time for high school and college counselors to develop shared resources and collaboration processes.
Effective Practice Training: Professional development in culturally relevant instruction and student support strategies for advisors, school counselors, and administrators.
Student Support Redesign: Funding for "college specialists" and school counselors to design academic interventions and embedded supports for dual enrollment students.
Grants Available to LEAs through the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO)
K-12 Strong Workforce Program (K12 SWP) SACS Resource Code: 6388
The K-12 Strong Workforce Program (K12 SWP) is a competitive California state grant focused on building a K-12 to community college "pipeline." This program is designed to prepare students for high-paying, high-demand careers by achieving Economic Alignment. This means ensuring that Career Technical Education (CTE) instruction directly matches the specific skills local businesses require. K12 SWP also aims to promote equity by increasing access to quality career pathways for underserved students and ensuring smooth transitions from high school to community college and, ultimately, to living-wage jobs.
The program operates through a Regional Structure distributing funds through eight regional consortia, and requires applicants to meet local economic needs. Collaboration is mandatory, as K-12 LEAs must partner with at least one community college to link curriculum. Finally, much like CTEIG, it uses a 2:1 matching requirement, meaning for every $1 the state provides, the local school must commit $2 toward the program.
The K-12 Strong Workforce Program (K12 SWP) can fund school counselor positions, but only if the role is dedicated to Career Technical Education (CTE) and serves the specific goals of the grant-funded pathway. See K-12 Strong Workforce Program (K12 SWP) for more information.
California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) SACS Resource 9010
The California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) is a grant program managed by the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) designed to create, innovate, and scale registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. The initiative aims to reach the state's goal of 500,000 apprentices by 2029 by fostering collaborative, comprehensive training among employers, LEAs, and Community Colleges. The grant program offers three levels of funding: Implementation grants of up to $1,500,000 for launching new programs, Expansion grants of up to $1,000,000 for scaling existing programs, and Planning grants of up to $120,000 for program design and partnership development.
CAI funding supports school counselors through student support (salaries, PD for career guidance), program design (staff time for pathway development), and curriculum mapping (PD for aligning skills with certifications and instruction). See The California Apprenticeship Initiative (CAI) for more information.
California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) Grant SACS Resource 9010
The California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) Grant is a state-funded initiative administered by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) to expand pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship pathways designed to increase the participation of "opportunity youth"—young people aged 16 to 24 who face significant barriers to education and employment—in high-paying career pathways. LEAs can apply for $500,000 to $2,000,000 for a 2.5-year period.
The California Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) grant can support both additional school counseling positions and professional development for counselors, provided these expenses directly align with the grant's goal of serving opportunity youth (ages 16–24) in registered apprenticeship pathways.
See theCalifornia Opportunity Youth Apprenticeship (COYA) Grant for more details.
Federal Funding Opportunities
YouthBuild 2025
The YouthBuild 2025 federal grant (FOA-ETA-26-38) is a $98 million pre-apprenticeship program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). An active and ongoing federal grant, its primary purpose is to provide education, job training, and leadership development to "opportunity youth"—disadvantaged young adults ages 16–24 who are neither in school nor employed.
The grants offered in this funding cycle range from $1 million to $2 million per project, and applicants must secure a 25% non-federal match to cover the total project costs. However, the application deadline for this cycle has passed, as it was on March 2, 2026. Interested LEAs and non-profits must submit their applications electronically via Grants.gov.
The YouthBuild 2025 federal grant is a potential resource for school counseling positions and professional development. The grant can fund staff who offer career counseling, academic guidance, and mental health support, as long as these roles directly serve the program's "opportunity youth" participants. School counseling is considered a critical, "wrap-around" support component integrated into the YouthBuild model's academic instruction. See YouthBuild 2025 for additional information.
Career & Technical Education (Perkins V) SACS Resource 3550
The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) is a major federal law that provides approximately $1.4 billion annually to support career and technical education (CTE) programs across the United States. In California, these funds are administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO), providing over $110 million each year to local schools and colleges for California's career pathways.
Returning Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) typically must submit their Perkins Grant application via the Perkins Grant Management System (PGMS) by June 1st annually, while new applicants wishing to apply for the first time for the July 2027 cycle must submit an Intent to Apply by January 31, 2027. All LEAs should use SACS Resource 3550 for Vocational Education Basic Grants. See Career & Technical Education (Perkins V) for more information.
Perkins V funds can cover school counselor salaries, but only if the counselor primarily informs students in qualified CTE programs about postsecondary and career options. Funding must supplement, not supplant, existing state or local funds, meaning it must introduce new services ("something extra"). For counselors serving both CTE and non-CTE students, funding must be proportional to the time spent on CTE-specific activities.
Required professional development (Section 135) must train personnel, including counselors, to advance skills in industry standards and technology, develop student career exploration and decision-making frameworks, and better integrate academic and technical standards into CTE curriculum.
Perkins V in 5th grade
Under the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V), federal funds can now be used for students as young as fifth grade. This represents a significant change from the previous version of the law (Perkins IV), which generally limited funding to students in the "middle grades" (defined as starting in seventh grade) and above.
Federal law permits Perkins V funds for career exploration and technical education starting in 5th grade, though states set their own grade-level limits. Around 90% of states allow these funds for middle grades (5-8), with about half (49%) specifically starting at grade 5. Funds primarily support career exploration for younger students. The official resource for state plans is the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN), managed by the U.S. Department of Education.
Special Note to District Leaders
In the context of Career Technical Education (CTE) and associated grant funding (such as Perkins V, CTEIG, or K12 SWP), it is essential to distinguish between the two primary roles of high school counselors, as this distinction affects allowable costs.
The Two Counselor Roles in CTE:
Career Guidance Counselors: This role is nearly always an allowable grant expense because it directly supports the "Career" component of CTE.
Focus: Future-focused experts connecting student interests to local job market needs.
Key Tasks: Career exploration, organizing industry connections (internships/shadowing), helping students earn certifications, and providing labor market advice (e.g., jobs hiring in the Central Valley).
Academic Counselors:This role is typically only an allowable expense if the counselor's work is specifically dedicated to CTE students
Focus: Pathway-focused experts ensuring students meet academic requirements and transition smoothly to the next educational level.
Key Tasks: Tracking graduation requirements, ensuring A-G compliance for CTE courses, managing dual enrollment, and coordinating with community colleges. Grants generally cannot be used to fund "General" school counselors who serve the entire student body.
Splitting Counselor Salaries (Time and Effort Reporting):
To split a counselor's salary across multiple funding sources (like Perkins V, CTEIG, K12 SWP), strict rules must be followed:
Establish the "Proportion of Effort": The salary split must be based on the actual time spent on specific CTE students or pathways (e.g., if 40% of time is spent on a K12 SWP-funded pathway, only 40% of salary can be charged to that grant).
Use Required Documentation: Federal and state laws require Personnel Activity Reports (PARs) monthly for split-funded employees, accounting for 100% of compensated time, or semi-annual certifications for employees working 100% on a single grant.
Leverage Matching Rules: A counselor's salary paid by local funds (like LCFF) can often be used as a required local match for grants like K12 SWP, but rules on which grants can match others (e.g., CTEIG cannot match K12 SWP) must be followed.
For a high school counselor in California, the primary resources for determining a salary split between CTE grants are the California School Accounting Manual (CSAM) Procedure 905 and the Federal Fiscal Guidance on Time and Effort.
Additional Resources:
Grant Terms - Grants are generally categorized by how they are awarded and how specific their purpose is. For Local Education Agencies (LEAs), understanding these distinctions is key to identifying which funds require an intensive application versus those that are guaranteed based on student demographics.
Grant Essentials - To align your program coordinators and business office, this document defines terms and provides essential advice to avoid issues that often cause audit findings or repayment demands if misunderstood.
Compiled by Paul Meyers, VP Business, Hatching Results. Contact him at: paul@hatchingresults.com.
