89R6304 RAL-D
By: Parker S.B. No. 2059
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the recognition of career and technology education
programs by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Occupations Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter K to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER K. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Sec. 51.551. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Career and technology education program" means:
(A) a career and technology education program
under Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code; or
(B) a program determined by the department to be
similar to that described by Paragraph (A) and offered by:
(i) an institution of higher education; or
(ii) a private school, as defined by
Section 5.001, Education Code.
(2) "Institution of higher education" means an
institution of higher education or a private or independent
institution of higher education, as those terms are defined by
Section 61.003, Education Code.
Sec. 51.552. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM
RECOGNITION. The commission shall adopt rules providing for the
recognition of career and technology education programs for
programs regulated by the department. The rules must:
(1) specify how completion of a career and technology
education program will be credited toward licensing for the
applicable program;
(2) establish who is eligible to provide instruction
in a career and technology education program for purposes of this
section; and
(3) establish standards for the essential knowledge
and skills of a career and technology education program, subject to
the approval of the State Board of Education if the courses are to
be offered in a high school, that include:
(A) requiring the program to consist of an
appropriate number of hours of classroom instruction and a
practical component;
(B) providing for crediting appropriate
on-the-job training toward meeting the requirements of the
practical component; and
(C) prohibiting a career and technology
education program offered by an institution of higher education
from being more stringent than a program offered by a public high
school.
SECTION 2. In developing the initial standards for a career
and technology education program under Section 51.552, Occupations
Code, as added by this Act, the Texas Commission of Licensing and
Regulation shall consult with the Texas State Technical College and
relevant interest groups.
SECTION 3. 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, 2025.