81R12897 JRJ-D
By: King of Taylor H.B. No. 3714
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to public school career and technology education program
curriculum and funding and to development of a list of high-demand
occupations for career and technology education students.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 28.002, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) Each time the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
revises the Internet database of the coordinating board's official
statewide inventory of workforce education courses, the State Board
of Education shall by rule revise the essential knowledge and
skills of any corresponding career and technology education
curriculum as provided by Subsection (c).
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.186 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.186. HIGH-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS LIST. (a) The Texas
Workforce Commission shall develop, in consultation with the Texas
Workforce Investment Council, a list of high-demand, high-wage,
high-skill occupations in this state that have industry
certifications. The Texas Workforce Commission shall provide the
research and technical support for developing the list under this
subsection.
(b) The Texas Workforce Investment Council shall consider
the list developed under Subsection (a) and approve a list for
submission to the commissioner. On approval of the list, the Texas
Workforce Investment Council shall deliver the list to the
commissioner.
(c) The commissioner of education, after consultation with
the commissioner of higher education, shall consider the list
delivered under Subsection (b) and approve a final list of
high-demand, high-wage, high-skill occupations in this state that
have industry certifications.
(d) The list of high-demand, high-wage, high-skill
occupations in this state that have industry certifications shall
be reviewed and approved under the process provided by this section
every four years.
SECTION 3. Sections 29.190(a) and (c), Education Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A student is entitled to a subsidy under this section
if:
(1) the student:
(A) [(1)] successfully completes the career and
technology program of a school district in which the student
receives training and instruction for employment in a high-demand,
high-wage, or high-skill [certain] trade or occupation, as
determined under Section 29.186; or
(B) the student is enrolled in a special
education program under Subchapter A; and
(2) passes a certification examination to qualify for
a license or certificate for the trade or occupation [; and
[(3) demonstrates financial need].
(c) On approval by the commissioner, the agency shall pay
each eligible student an amount equal to the cost paid by the
student for the certification examination. To obtain a subsidy
under this section, a student must:
(1) pay the fee for the examination; and
(2) submit to the commissioner a written application
on a form prescribed by the commissioner [demonstrating financial
need and] the amount of the fee paid by the student for the
certification examination.
SECTION 4. Section 42.154(a), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) For each full-time equivalent student in average daily
attendance in an approved career and technology education program
in grades nine through 12 or in career and technology education
programs for students with disabilities in grades seven through 12,
a district is entitled to:
(1) an annual allotment equal to the adjusted basic
allotment multiplied by a weight of 1.35; and
(2) $50, if the student is enrolled in:
(A) two or more advanced career and technology
education classes for a total of three or more credits; or
(B) an advanced course as part of a tech-prep
program under Subchapter T, Chapter 61.
SECTION 5. Section 54.0065(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A qualified student is eligible for a rebate of a
portion of the undergraduate tuition the student has paid if the
student:
(1) is awarded a baccalaureate degree from a general
academic teaching institution within the period prescribed by
Section 56.462(1)(A) or (B), as applicable, to qualify for
forgiveness of a Texas B-On-time loan; and
(2) has attempted no more than three hours in excess of
the minimum number of semester credit hours required to complete
the degree program:
(A) including:
(i) transfer credits; and
(ii) course credit earned exclusively by
examination, except that, for purposes of this subsection, only the
number of semester credit hours earned exclusively by examination
in excess of nine semester credit hours is treated as hours
attempted; and
(B) excluding course credit that is earned to
satisfy requirements for a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)
program or from a dual credit course for which the student received
credit toward a high school diploma but that is not required to
complete the degree program.
SECTION 6. Section 61.0595(d), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The following are not counted for purposes of
determining whether the student has previously earned the number of
semester credit hours specified by Subsection (a):
(1) semester credit hours earned by the student before
receiving a baccalaureate degree that has previously been awarded
to the student;
(2) semester credit hours earned by the student by
examination or under any other procedure by which credit is earned
without registering for a course for which tuition is charged;
(3) credit for a remedial education course, a
technical course, a workforce education course funded according to
contact hours, a dual credit course for which the student received
credit toward a high school diploma, or another course that does not
count toward the student's specific [a] degree program [at the
institution]; and
(4) semester credit hours earned by the student at a
private institution or an out-of-state institution.
SECTION 7. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter T-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER T-1. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Sec. 61.861. DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE COURSES
FOR HIGH-DEMAND OCCUPATIONS. (a) The commissioner of higher
education, in consultation with the comptroller and the Texas
Workforce Commission, may award a grant in an amount not to exceed
$1 million to an institution of higher education to develop
advanced mathematics and science courses to prepare high school
students for employment in a high-demand occupation. The
commissioner of higher education, the comptroller, and the Texas
Workforce Commission shall jointly determine what is considered a
high-demand occupation for purposes of this subchapter.
(b) An institution of higher education shall work in
partnership with at least one independent school district and a
business entity in developing a course for purposes of this
section.
(c) A course developed for purposes of this section must:
(1) provide content that enables a student to develop
the relevant and critical skills needed to be prepared for
employment or additional training in a high-demand occupation;
(2) incorporate college and career readiness skills as
part of the curriculum;
(3) be offered for dual credit; and
(4) satisfy a mathematics or science requirement under
the recommended or advanced high school program as determined under
Section 28.025.
(d) An institution of higher education shall periodically
review and revise the curriculum for a course developed for
purposes of this section to accommodate changes in industry
standards for the high-demand occupation.
Sec. 61.862. GRANT APPLICATION CRITERIA. The commissioner
of higher education, in consultation with the comptroller and the
Texas Workforce Commission, shall establish application criteria
for a grant under this subchapter and in making an award, shall give
priority to courses that:
(1) will prepare students for high-demand, high-wage,
and high-skill occupations;
(2) may be transferred as college credit to multiple
institutions of higher education; and
(3) are developed as part of a sequence of courses that
includes statewide availability of the instructional materials and
training for the courses at a nominal cost to public educational
institutions in this state.
Sec. 61.863. USE OF FUNDS. An institution of higher
education may use funds awarded under this section to develop, in
connection with a course described by Subsection (a):
(1) curriculum;
(2) assessments; or
(3) instructional materials, including
technology-based supplemental materials.
Sec. 61.864. REVIEW OF COURSES. Courses developed for
which a grant is awarded under this subchapter shall be reviewed by
the commissioner of higher education, in consultation with the
comptroller and the Texas Workforce Commission, once every four
years to determine whether the course:
(1) is being used by public educational institutions
in this state; and
(2) prepares high school students with the skills
necessary for employment in the high-demand occupation.
Sec. 61.865. MATCHING CONTRIBUTION REQUIRED. An
institution of higher education awarded a grant under this
subchapter must obtain from one or more business entities in the
industry for which students taking courses developed under Section
61.861 are training, in a total amount equal to the amount of the
state grant:
(1) gifts, grants, or donations of funds; or
(2) contributions of property that may be used in
providing the courses.
Sec. 61.866. LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF GRANTS. In any
state fiscal biennium, the total amount of grants awarded under
this subchapter may not exceed $10 million.
Sec. 61.867. FUNDING OF GRANTS. The commissioner of higher
education shall administer this subchapter using available
appropriations and gifts, grants, and donations made for the
purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 8. Section 29.190(b), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act to Section
54.0065(a), Education Code, applies to a tuition rebate regardless
of the date a student enters a general academic teaching
institution as a first-time freshman.
SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act to Section
61.0595, Education Code, applies beginning with the funding
recommendations made under Section 61.059, Education Code, for the
2011-2012 academic year.
SECTION 11. Sections 3 and 4 of this Act apply beginning
with the 2009-2010 school year.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.