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Senate Bill 1142 |
Senate Author: Duncan et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
House Sponsor: Davis, John et al. |
Senate Bill 1142 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of education to establish an adult high school diploma and industry certification charter school pilot program for adults 19 to 50 years of age as a strategy for meeting industry needs for a sufficiently trained workforce within the state. The bill requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to adopt and administer a standardized secondary exit-level test appropriate for assessing participants who successfully complete high school curriculum requirements under the pilot program and requires the commissioner to determine the level of test performance considered to be satisfactory for receipt of a high school diploma. The bill authorizes a charter under the pilot program, in addition to the limited number of charters for open-enrollment charter schools otherwise permitted, to be granted to a single qualified nonprofit entity to provide an adult education program for up to 150 individuals to successfully complete a high school diploma program and career and technology education courses leading to industry certification.
Senate Bill 1142 sets out qualifications and conditions for a nonprofit entity to be granted a program charter and eligibility criteria for an individual to enroll in the adult education pilot program. The bill funds an adult education program operated under a pilot program from both general revenue and the Foundation School Program (FSP) on a per-person basis, taking into account a person's eligibility for FSP benefits, and requires TEA to prepare and deliver a biennial report that evaluates any such program and makes recommendations regarding the program's abolition, continuation, or expansion.