On May 21, 2025, Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe announced that to help ensure every Pennsylvania student has the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed the Shapiro Administration’s investments in career and technical education (CTE) have increased funding for CTE and apprenticeships by more than 50 percent since taking office – a nearly $65 million increase. In addition, the Governor’s 2025-26 budget proposal includes an additional increase of $5.5 million for CTE.

According to Dr. Rowe, “By investing in CTE in Pennsylvania, we are equipping students with valuable skills that can be used throughout their lives, promoting lifelong learning and adaptability, and creating pathways to further education, apprenticeships, and advanced training.”

Career and technical education provides students with practical skills and knowledge directly applicable to specific, in-demand careers – increasing their employability and preparing them for the future. It also gives students the opportunity to explore different career paths while still in high school, helping them make informed decisions about their future education and goals, whether it’s pursuing postsecondary education, joining the military, or entering directly into the workforce.

Currently, there are more than 200 school districts, charter schools, and career and technical centers across the Commonwealth offering nearly 2,000 PDE-approved CTE programs providing education and training to thousands of students.

On May 12, 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced that $2 million is available to enable Pennsylvania residents to take a high school equivalency exam free of charge when they test at non-restricted public testing sites or take the exam via online proctoring. The funding will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma (CSSD) is a high school equivalency credential available to Pennsylvania residents at least 18 years of age who do not possess a high school diploma and who have met additional specified criteria.

Currently, Pennsylvania test takers can expect to pay between $120-$144 to take the full battery of GED® tests or HiSET® exams. The GED® test has four subtests: Mathematics, Reading/Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. The HiSET® exam has five subtests: Mathematics, Reading, Science, Social Studies, and Writing.

Test takers can use a promo code, found with instructions on test vendor websites, to register to complete the exams at no charge. New test takers will need to register for accounts to use the promo code. For the GED® test, register here and enter the promo code PAFreeGED in the Voucher/Promotion Code field on the payment page during checkout. For the HiSET® exam, register here and enter the promo code PAFreeHiSET in the Coupon or Voucher Code field on the payment page during checkout. Test takers who already have a GED® or HiSET® account will schedule the tests through their existing accounts and enter the appropriate promo code during checkout.

Individuals who passed some subtests of the GED® test or HiSET® exam but have not passed a whole battery and earned their high school equivalency credential can complete the testing using previous scores from January 2014 to present. Test takers with test scores prior to 2014 must retake those subject subtests.

Additionally, individuals who have previously taken either the GED® test or HiSET® exam in Pennsylvania can check their progress toward test completion in DiplomaSender, the company that maintains the Commonwealth’s high school equivalency records.

In Pennsylvania, approximately 650,000 adults—or about 9.4% of Pennsylvania residents aged 25 to 65—do not have a high school diploma. Obtaining a CSSD has many benefits, including increased access to postsecondary education, more employment opportunities, and a higher salary. The GED® test and HiSET® exam provide a flexible option for individuals aspiring to attain a credential, advance their education, or switch careers. In his 2025-26 budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro has reiterated his commitment to helping learners of all ages chart their own course and have the opportunity to succeed. Through a proposed $6.4 million increase for Adult and Family Literacy programs, more Pennsylvanians will be able to earn secondary diplomas and join the workforce.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is continuing the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to further build up the teaching workforce pipeline in Pennsylvania, today launching the newly refreshed Teach in PA website—a resource for individuals interested in obtaining a career in education. The revamped site includes a user-friendly navigation feature that allows individuals to more easily find relevant job opportunities. The Teach in PA website includes a comprehensive job listing board that highlights available jobs by school and location.

The website is set up to enable visitors to “choose their own adventure”, beginning with a choice between “I want to teach” or “I’m interested in other education careers.” From there, selection criteria will guide users through a series of questions to provide tailored results, including whether users have a degree or career credentials, if they’re currently certified to teach in Pennsylvania, and where they are on their educational journey, among other selections to customize their search. The site also features a comprehensive, sortable list of education career opportunities throughout the Commonwealth that can be filtered by geographic location.

The relaunched Teach in PA website builds on the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to recruit and retain teachers by working collaboratively with leaders in the education field to ensure there is a robust pipeline of educators in place to provide a high-quality education to learners of all ages across the Commonwealth. Some of those efforts include reducing teacher certification processing times by more than ten weeks, making intern certificates free to aspiring educators, creating a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) program in Education for high school students, developing accelerated certification programming to prospective special educators, and creating and expanding the Student Teacher Support Program to provide a stipend to student teachers.

In his 2025-26 budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro has requested a $20 million increase for the Student Teacher Support Program, administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA); a $2.5 million increase for teacher professional development; and $55 million to provide funds to licensed Child Care Centers for teacher recruitment and retention, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). As of the 2023-2024 school year, Pennsylvania’s teacher workforce stands at 123,190, with the largest shortages in Grades 4-8, Special Education PK-12, Mathematics 7-12, Life & Physical Sciences 7-12, and Career and Technical Education 7-12. The United States Department of Education has designated these areas as critical shortages. Since the 2021-22 school year, 1,524 new educators have been certified in the Commonwealth.