1-1     By:  Keffer (Senate Sponsor - Ellis)                 H.C.R. No. 117
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 1999;
 1-3     May 5, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Education; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, It is generally accepted that a four-year college
 1-8     education guarantees a successful career, but experience has shown
 1-9     that many students choose not to attend a four-year institution
1-10     directly out of high school; many students choose instead to attend
1-11     a technical school or pursue a two-year associate's degree from a
1-12     junior college; and
1-13           WHEREAS, Society is, for the most part, ignoring these
1-14     students and their academic needs for furthering their education to
1-15     develop marketable workplace skills, which are far different from
1-16     what the current secondary and baccalaureate education system
1-17     provides; and
1-18           WHEREAS, While the Texas Education Code allows for career and
1-19     technology education enrichment curricula to be offered, there are
1-20     far too many school districts that have opted not to make these
1-21     curricula available, either for financial reasons or due to the
1-22     perception that they are a student "dumping ground"; and
1-23           WHEREAS, If organized correctly by using area-specific data
1-24     from the Texas Workforce Commission, voluntary career and
1-25     technology academics will not become a student "dumping ground" but
1-26     rather a bonus to the high school diploma, and upon graduation,
1-27     students with parental guidance can focus on a college degree or
1-28     have the ability to further expand their career and technology
1-29     academics through a technical college, internship, or
1-30     apprenticeship; and
1-31           WHEREAS, In conjunction with a rigorous academic program,
1-32     voluntary career and technology education programs in Texas high
1-33     schools maximize students' productivity, provide leadership skills,
1-34     and better prepare graduates to take advantage of the many
1-35     employment opportunities that are being created in today's
1-36     demanding and increasingly technology-based marketplace; and
1-37           WHEREAS, Voluntary career and technology education programs
1-38     benefit not only graduates of these programs but also the technical
1-39     schools and community colleges that provide high-level,
1-40     job-specific, technical training and the businesses and industries
1-41     on the leading edge of the state's economic growth that are
1-42     increasingly reliant on a well-educated, highly skilled, and
1-43     technologically sophisticated workforce; now, therefore, be it
1-44           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-45     hereby support and encourage the future development and expansion
1-46     of voluntary career and technology academic programs throughout our
1-47     Texas high schools; and, be it further
1-48           RESOLVED, That the legislature encourage cooperative
1-49     partnership arrangements among Texas high schools, local community
1-50     colleges and universities, economic development councils, and
1-51     business leaders to accept the challenge for the productive future
1-52     and economic well-being of Texas.
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