Almost seventy years passed before vocational education was recognized in 1977 as a state function in North Carolina's public secondary schools, community colleges/technical institutes, and teacher education programs. Although the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act initiated vocational education, North Carolina education was primarily a local matter until the 1930s. In 1933, during the depression, laws were passed giving the state public education responsibilities. The state lacked an overall vocational education policy; programs were essentially "federal programs". Events, such as the 1937 George-Deen Act, the 1946 George-Barden Act, and establishment in 1950 of Industrial Education Centers, helped change the status quo. Significantly, in 1963 the federal Vocational Education Act and the State Community College Act were passed. The federal act encouraged the state to develop a vocational education policy. As a funding prerequisite, the 1968 Vocational Education Amendments required a state advisory council. In 1976 the council recommended a state program with federal assistance. In the same year the federal Vocational Education Act was passed. In 1977 the state passed a State Vocational Education Law including vocational education as an integral part of the educational process to be administered by the state board of vocational education. The board of governors also recognized vocational education's importance in their long range (1977-82) plans. (CSS)