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House Bill 3767 |
House Author: Murphy et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-21 |
Senate Sponsor: Bettencourt et al. |
House Bill 3767, the Texas Education and Workforce Alignment Act, amends the Government Code to establish the Tri‑Agency Workforce Initiative. Under the initiative, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) coordinate and improve information and other resources as necessary to ensure that the use of state and federal education and workforce funds is efficiently aligned to achieve state workforce development goals, align career education and training programs to workforce demands, and enable local and state policy makers to identify the workforce outcomes of participants in career education and training programs and progress toward the state workforce development goals. Among other provisions regarding the initiative, the bill provides for the following:
· interagency agreements entered into by TEA, the THECB, and the TWC;
· the development of a strategic plan for the operation of a unified repository for education and workforce data;
· the development and update of state workforce development goals and coordinated interagency strategies for achieving those goals, including an opportunity for comment on the proposed goals or strategies;
· the establishment of a publicly accessible web‑based library of credentials;
· the establishment of Internet‑based resources for the initiative; and
· student success reporting with respect to students previously enrolled in a career education and training program offered by a school or institution.
Implementation of the bill provisions requiring a strategic plan for the operation of a unified workforce data repository and requiring student success reporting is mandatory only if a specific appropriation is made for that purpose or the agencies receive gifts, grants, or donations for that purpose.
House Bill 3767 amends the Labor Code to establish that it is the intent of the legislature that the TWC work with employers to enhance the reporting of employment and earnings data by employers to the TWC as part of the employer's routine wage filings under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act or TWC rule and consistent with federal law and regulations. However, implementation of this provision is mandatory only if a specific appropriation is made for that purpose.