The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education (ODCTE, commonly known and branded as CareerTech) is an agency of the state of Oklahoma located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. CareerTech oversees a statewide system of career and technology education. The system comprises 29 technology center districts and 390 comprehensive school districts. CareerTech also has skills centers that serve state correctional facilities and a juvenile detention facility. The State Board of Career and Technology Education is the governing body of the department, composed of the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction and eight members appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate. The board appoints the director of Career and Technology Education, who serves as the chief executive officer of the department and serves as a non-voting member of the state board. On February 1, 2015, Dr. Marcie Mack became the system's eighth state director. Together with the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the department forms the core of Oklahoma's public education system. History The Oklahoma CareerTech System began with the passing of the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 by President Woodrow Wilson. This act made available federal money for the promotion of vocational education. In 1929, the Division of Vocational Education was established as part of the State Department of Education. The department moved from Oklahoma City to Stillwater in 1932, and in 1941, the state legislature established the position of state director of vocational education. J.B Perky was the first director. In 1966, Oklahoma technology center school districts were formed, and in 1967, Tri County Tech became the state's first area vocational-technical school. On July 1, 1968, the Oklahoma State Board of Vocational and Technical Education was established as a separate entity from the State Department of Education. In 1971, the first delivery of training to inmates in a Skills Center at the Ouachita facility took place. On May 19, 2000, Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating signed House Bill 2128, which officially and immediately changed its name to the Department of Career and Technology Education. Economic Impact Recent Census Bureau survey data indicate that Oklahoma workers who have completed the equivalent of a two-year program with a vocational or occupational emphasis earned 20 percent more than workers with only high school diplomas the past two decades. These income gains can in turn contribute significantly to the overall level of