Tech Prep is a federal education initiative described and funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006. Initially authorized in 1990, the Tech Prep Education Act was reauthorized in 1998, and in the following year the Texas state legislature passed HB 2401, which describes Tech Prep in Texas.

Tech Prep legislation calls for the development of secondary and post-secondary education and business and industry linkages that emphasize academic and technical proficiency that prepare students for high wage, high skill, high demand occupations.

The legislation is in response to advances in technology that have changed the workplace in a dramatic way. Students graduating from high school need highly technical skills to be competitive in the job market – and up to 85% of all jobs will require at least two years of education beyond high school.