H.B. No. 1703
AN ACT
relating to the workforce development evaluation system
administered by the Texas Workforce Commission, including the
establishment of a workforce development career education and
training evaluation pilot program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 302.001, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
follows:
(1) "Career education and training program" has the
meaning assigned by Section 2308A.001, Government Code.
(1-a) "Director" means the director of the division.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 302.0201 to read as follows:
Sec. 302.0201. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CAREER EDUCATION AND
TRAINING EVALUATION PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The commission shall
establish and administer a pilot program in the Borderplex
workforce development area under which the local workforce
development board serving that area is required to collect and
evaluate cross-sectional data and longitudinal supplemental data
regarding career education and training programs administered in
that area for the purposes of identifying:
(1) successful program components; and
(2) any gaps in data used to follow up on career
education and training program participants following program
completion maintained by the commission, the Texas Education
Agency, or the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board under the
Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative established under Chapter 2308A,
Government Code.
(b) Under the pilot program, the commission shall ensure
that the local workforce development board serving the workforce
development area maintains the following information for each
career education and training program participant following
program completion, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, income,
and location:
(1) the evaluation data described by Section
302.082(b); and
(2) data regarding the attainment of employment paying
a self-sufficient wage, as determined under Section 2308A.012,
Government Code.
(c) On completion of the pilot program, the local workforce
development board serving the workforce development area, in
coordination with the commission, shall issue an analysis, by
occupation and by provider, of the job placement performance of
each career education and training program. The analysis must
include:
(1) an analysis of the attainment of employment paying
a self-sufficient wage, as determined under Section 2308A.012,
Government Code, following program completion; and
(2) detailed information on the services provided with
each offered program.
(d) The commission may share individual-level outcome
information resulting from the pilot program with state agencies
represented on the council through secure means that may be
accessed only by authorized employees of those agencies.
(e) Not later than December 1, 2028, the commission shall
submit to the legislature a written report on the results of the
pilot program. The report must include the commission's
recommendation on whether the pilot program should be continued on
a statewide basis.
(f) This section expires September 1, 2029.
SECTION 3. Section 302.082, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read
as follows:
(b) Evaluation data in the system must include the following
information disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, income, and
location:
(1) placement rates;
(2) wages paid;
(3) retention in employment statistics;
(4) the number of education and training-related
placements; and
(5) other appropriate factors, including public
welfare dependency and the pursuit of additional education.
(c) The commission may develop a method for collecting
occupational information to supplement wage record information
collected by the commission under Section 204.0025. The commission
may request employers, providers, and other appropriate sources to
provide placement, employment, and earnings information to the
commission.
(d) The commission shall ensure that:
(1) the system includes with the evaluation data a
hyperlink to an Internet website where self-sufficient wage data as
determined under Section 2308A.012, Government Code, is posted; and
(2) following any modernization of the evaluation
system by the commission on or after September 1, 2023, the
evaluation data in the system includes a comparison of
self-sufficient wage data with program earnings outcomes at the
first, third, and fifth anniversary of the date of program
completion.
SECTION 4. Section 302.083, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) Following any modernization of the evaluation system
by the commission on or after September 1, 2023, an analysis issued
under Subsection (a) must include:
(1) an analysis regarding the attainment of employment
paying a self-sufficient wage, as determined under Section
2308A.012, Government Code, following completion of a career
education and training program; and
(2) detailed information on the services provided with
each offered program.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1703 was passed by the House on May 4,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 109, Nays 36, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1703 was passed by the Senate on May
21, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 5.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor