81R6670 JRJ-D
By: Shapiro, Harris S.B. No. 1313
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the quality and accessibility of public school career
and technical education programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 7.009, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 7.009. BEST PRACTICES; CLEARINGHOUSE. (a) In
coordination with the Legislative Budget Board, the agency shall
establish an online clearinghouse of information relating to best
practices of campuses, [and] school districts, and open-enrollment
charter schools. In addition to information required under
Subsection (e), the agency shall determine the appropriate topic
categories for which a campus, district, or charter school may
submit best [regarding instruction, dropout prevention, public
school finance, resource allocation, and business] practices. To
the extent practicable, the agency shall ensure that information
provided through the online clearinghouse is specific, actionable
information relating to the best practices of high-performing and
highly efficient campuses, [and school] districts, and
open-enrollment charter schools and of academically acceptable
campuses, districts, and open-enrollment charter schools that have
demonstrated significant improvement in student achievement rather
than general guidelines relating to campus, [and school] district,
and open-enrollment charter school operation. The information must
be accessible by campuses, school districts, open-enrollment
charter schools, and interested members of the public.
(b) The agency shall solicit and collect from the
Legislative Budget Board, centers for education research
established under Section 1.005, and [exemplary or recognized]
school districts, campuses, and open-enrollment charter schools[,
as rated under Section 39.072,] examples of best practices as
determined by the agency under Subsection (a) and as required under
Subsection (e) [relating to instruction, dropout prevention,
public school finance, resource allocation, and business
practices, including best practices relating to curriculum, scope
and sequence, compensation and incentive systems, bilingual
education and special language programs, compensatory education
programs, and the effective use of instructional technology,
including online courses].
(c) The agency shall contract for the services of one or
more third-party contractors to develop, implement, and maintain a
system of collecting and evaluating the best practices of campuses,
[and] school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools as
provided by this section. In addition to any other considerations
required by law, the agency must consider an applicant's
demonstrated competence and qualifications in analyzing campus,
[and] school district, and open-enrollment charter school
practices in awarding a contract under this subsection.
(d) The commissioner may purchase from available funds
curriculum and other instructional tools identified under this
section to provide for use by school districts and open-enrollment
charter schools.
(e) The clearinghouse shall collect and provide information
relating to best practices in career and technology education,
including:
(1) model programs that connect kindergarten through
grade 12 to postsecondary employment or higher education in a
seamless system that includes the use of quality internship
programs;
(2) courses that teach the required curriculum under
Section 28.002 in a manner that may be applied to employment skills;
(3) models of course scheduling that allow students to
participate in a coherent sequence of career and technology courses
while meeting the requirement adopted under Section 28.025 that
students complete four courses in each subject of the foundation
curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(1);
(4) counseling that:
(A) assists students in identifying high-demand,
high-wage occupations appropriate for the student;
(B) diagnoses the current skills of students and
determines the skills needed for those high-demand, high-wage
occupations;
(C) assists students in planning courses and
schedules to acquire needed skills; and
(D) connects students to employment
opportunities and to institutions of higher education; and
(5) the integration and use of Internet courses into
the career and technology education course sequences.
(f) This subsection expires January 31, 2011. Not later
than January 1, 2011, the agency shall report to the chair of each
standing committee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction
over public education recommendations regarding how to use the
clearinghouse established under this section as a dynamic technical
assistance and support tool. The recommendations must include
recommendations regarding:
(1) using the clearinghouse to provide classroom
teachers, school districts, and open-enrollment charter schools
with statewide access to high-quality curricula;
(2) consolidating similar state Internet web portals
into a central framework; and
(3) providing students access to Internet-based
academic and career counseling that includes cooperation among the
relevant state agencies for the purpose of transitioning students,
including students enrolled in a special education program under
Subchapter A, Chapter 29, from kindergarten through grade 12 to
postsecondary employment or higher education.
SECTION 2. 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 3. 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 4. 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 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 33, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.008. COUNSELING REGARDING CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION. (a) Each counselor at a middle or junior high school,
including an open-enrollment charter school offering those grades,
shall advise students and their parents or guardians regarding the
purposes of and available options for career and technology
education as part of any information provided to a student for
purposes of establishing a personal graduation plan.
(b) During the first school year a student is enrolled in a
high school or at the high school level in an open-enrollment
charter school, a counselor shall provide information about career
and technology education to the student and the student's parent or
guardian as part of any information provided to a student for
purposes of establishing a personal graduation plan. The career
and technology information provided must include information
regarding:
(1) obtaining an aptitude or interest assessment;
(2) available course and career options, including
projected future demand for particular careers;
(3) certification and licensing requirements,
including skills needed and coursework required to meet those
requirements; and
(4) postsecondary education and training
opportunities.
SECTION 6. 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 7. 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 8. 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 9. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.0663 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0663. ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY. (a) To assess the
economic benefits and preparation for employment provided by public
institutions of higher education, the board shall identify students
enrolled in the public education system and collect data on which
postsecondary program, if any, the students enroll in and the type
of employment the students obtain following completion of high
school or the program, as applicable.
(b) The board, in consultation with the Texas Education
Agency, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the comptroller, shall
use the education and employment data collected under Subsection
(a), and any additional relevant data, to assess the economic
impact of secondary and postsecondary training and education. The
information must be produced in a manner that:
(1) demonstrates patterns of postsecondary enrollment
and employment placement;
(2) provides an assessment of the economic benefits of
institutions of higher education and programs at those institutions
to students and the state; and
(3) provides an assessment of the economic benefit of
public education programs that prepare students who transition
directly to postsecondary employment.
(c) The information produced under this section must be
capable of electronic dissemination and made available to the
public in a format that assists students in making decisions
regarding education and career choices.
(d) This section does not authorize the disclosure of
student information that may not be disclosed under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Section
1232g). The board, in conjunction with the commissioner of
education, the comptroller, and the Texas Workforce Commission,
shall adopt rules to protect the confidentiality of student
information.
SECTION 10. Section 61.0762, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.0762. PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE STUDENT SUCCESS. (a) To
implement the college readiness and success strategic action plan
adopted under Section 61.0761 and to enhance the success of
students at institutions of higher education, the board by rule
shall develop:
(1) summer higher education bridge programs in the
subject areas of mathematics, science, and English language arts;
(2) incentive programs for institutions of higher
education that implement research-based, innovative developmental
education initiatives;
(3) financial assistance programs for educationally
disadvantaged students, as defined by Section 5.001, who take
college entrance and college readiness assessment instruments;
(4) professional development programs for faculty of
institutions of higher education on college readiness standards and
the implications of such standards on instruction; and
(5) other programs as determined by the board that
support the participation and success goals in "Closing the Gaps,"
the state's master plan for higher education.
(b) As one of the programs adopted under Subsection (a)(5),
the board shall establish education resource centers to create
within school communities interest in and information concerning
attendance at institutions of higher education. Each center must
attempt to coordinate among students, parents, school counselors,
and institutions of higher education in providing access to
resources helpful in preparation for attendance at and admission to
institutions of higher education. One or more persons associated
with each center shall be trained and able to assist the families of
high school students complete the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Each center shall provide information
concerning career and technical education, including certification
and licensing requirements and available course and career options
and degree programs. A center under this subsection may be located
on a high school or middle school campus or at a site within a
community that is conveniently located to many students, such as a
public library or local workforce or community center, or may be a
mobile center that visits schools or other places where students
are likely to gather.
(c) The board shall conduct ongoing evaluations of programs
developed under Subsection (a) and any other programs developed to
provide information concerning postsecondary educational or
employment opportunities to determine the effectiveness of the
programs in meeting the goals of "Closing the Gaps," the state's
master plan for higher education.
(d) In conjunction with the comptroller, the board shall
develop an Internet website for the purpose of providing
information to the public about postsecondary educational and
employment opportunities. The website shall provide information in
English and Spanish concerning:
(1) career and technical education programs that
integrate academic, technical, and career skills that lead to a
license, certificate, or postsecondary degree;
(2) available employment opportunities and the
educational requirements needed for employment at entry and
advanced levels;
(3) which occupations are considered high-demand
under Section 29.186;
(4) the skills needed and the available avenues for
obtaining employment in a high-demand occupation; and
(5) how to obtain financial aid and what forms of
financial aid are available to students entering certain
occupations.
(e) For the purpose of developing the Internet website under
Subsection (d), the board may require the Texas Education Agency to
provide information on educational programs and outcomes and the
Texas Workforce Commission to provide information on workforce
programs and outcomes.
(f) As one of the programs adopted under Subsection (a)(5),
the board, in conjunction with the comptroller and the Texas
Workforce Commission, shall establish mobile career centers that
visit schools or other places where students are likely to gather.
The mobile career centers shall provide students information on
various occupations including:
(1) the potential future employment demand for the
occupation;
(2) the earning potential for a person employed in the
occupation;
(3) the skills and training needed for employment in
the occupation;
(4) a list of courses applicable to the occupation,
including courses offered in high school, for dual credit, on the
Internet, and at institutions of higher education, and the extent
to which those courses are available to the student; and
(5) information concerning post entry-level
employment opportunities in the occupation and, to the extent
feasible, information concerning the education required to access
those future opportunities.
SECTION 11. 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 section using available
appropriations and gifts, grants, and donations made for the
purposes of this subchapter.
SECTION 12. Section 29.190(b), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 13. 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 14. 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 15. Sections 4, 5, and 6 of this Act apply beginning
with the 2009-2010 school year.
SECTION 16. 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.