Lee Burket, Director of the PA Bureau of Career and Technical Education, sent a PennLink to all LEAs titled 2022-2023 Career and Technical Education Information System (CATS) Secondary Program Approval File – OPEN PENN*LINK. Here is the text of the message:

Dear Partner in Education:
I urge you to share this information pertaining to the re-approval of the Career and Technical Education Information System (CATS) program with high school principals, career and technical education (CTE) supervisors, curriculum coordinators, applicable department chairs, business managers, school counselors, CTE instructional staff, and school support personnel.
A new system for submitting your CATS program for PDE approval will be in place starting the 2022-23 school year. The new system will open May 16, 2022. New programs seeking PDE approval must be entered into the new system by June 30, 2022. School Districts with PDE approved programs will be required to enter data in the new CATS system for the re-approval process by July 15, 2022. Career and Technical Centers with PDE approved programs will be required to enter data in the new CATS system by December 31, 2022.
The information to be submitted will be similar but the input could be different. In some instances, some documentation will need to be uploaded into the new portal. Uploads will include task grids and a course title crosswalk, articulation agreements, letters of support from businesses, Career & Technical Student Organization rosters, and agendas and meeting minutes from advisory committees.
You should be able to prepare documents ahead of time in preparation for uploading into the new portal.
2022-23 CATS Secondary Program Initial Approval
The 2022-23 CATS Secondary Program Approval file is now open for new secondary CTE program approval requests. The CATS file is a series of individual pages containing data elements pertaining to various aspects of approved CTE programs.
BCTE recommends seeking approval for Programs of Study (POS) for which a POS exists. Programs for which a POS have not been developed, must be apply for a Career and Technical Education approval. All industry certifications must be entered for the teacher and students.
Previous POS now recognized as CTE delivery include the following CIPs:
01.8301 Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant (51.0808) 46.9999 Construction Trades, Other
47.0699 Vehicle Maintenance Technology, Other

48.0703 Cabinetmaking & Millwork
The deadline for seeking new program approval is June 30, 2022. CATS can be accessed at the login on PDE’s homepage.
The Career Pathway Option is a radial button in CATS to connect two or more Classification of Instructional Programs (CIPs) that are POS approved programs and offer the same foundational technical curriculum the first year. This pathway allows students to experience several related CIPs in a POS Pathway and requires specific elements for pathway approval. 
Any secondary school may submit a request for POS approval. Currently, there are 38 POS available on PDE’s website. CTE delivery include the following CIPs:
The competency/task grid for each POS is the foundational curriculum framework for the CIP. Therefore, all competencies/tasks must be addressed in the approved program.
POS competency/task grids have been revised and are posted on the PDE website. Local Education Agencies must use the most recent list available. Additional competencies should be added as recommended by your Occupational Advisory Committee. Each course in the scope and sequence must be cross walked to the task grid and aligned to the course where the tasks are taught in the specific information tab in block 2.
Training for the new FRCPP CATS Portal was held in January, February, and March, 2022 and can also be viewed as a pre-recorded session at https://www.careertechpa.org/approved-program-resources/ .
Your approved POS will provide the benefit of the articulated credits indicated by the statewide group of postsecondary institutions on CollegeTransfer.net.

CATS Program Re-Approval
For the 2022-23 school year, the Pennsylvania Department of Education/Bureau of Career and Technical Education (PDE/BCTE) in accordance with Chapter 339.4(a)(2), will begin to review all existing secondary approved programs currently being offered at school districts across the commonwealth. This Penn Link will serve as notification of a new CATS system in the Future Ready Comprehensive Planning Portal which is accessed through “My PDE Suite.”
The CATS file is a series of individual pages containing data elements pertaining to various aspects of approved programs. All school entities with approved programs must ensure that all data element information in CATS is accurate. Failure to comply may result in programs no longer being approved. Professional staff from the PDE/BCTE will be contacting all school districts to assist with the re-approval process in the new CATS system.
School districts have until July 15, 2022, to enter the data elements for re-approval in the new CATS system. CATS can be accessed at the login on PDE’s homepage.
If you have any questions, please contact Tammy Keisling, at (717)783-6996 or email [email protected].