By: Lucio S.B. No. 1027
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to tech-prep education.
1-2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-3 SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-4 Subchapter T to read as follows:
1-5 SUBCHAPTER T. TECH-PREP EDUCATION
1-6 Sec. 61.851. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-7 (1) "Articulation agreement" means a written
1-8 commitment between the participants in a tech-prep consortium to a
1-9 program designed to provide students with a nonduplicative sequence
1-10 of progressive achievement leading to degrees or certificates in a
1-11 tech-prep education program.
1-12 (2) "Junior college" means an institution of higher
1-13 education that awards associate degrees as provided by Chapter 130.
1-14 (3) "Tech-prep consortium" means a regional
1-15 collaboration of school districts, institutions of higher
1-16 education, businesses, labor organizations, and other participants
1-17 to work together to effectively implement a regional tech-prep
1-18 program.
1-19 (4) "Technical college" means a campus of the Texas
1-20 State Technical College System established under Chapter 135.
1-21 Sec. 61.852. TECH-PREP PROGRAM. (a) A tech-prep program is
1-22 a program of study that:
1-23 (1) combines at least two years of secondary education
1-24 with at least two years of postsecondary education in a
2-1 nonduplicative, sequential course of study based on the recommended
2-2 high school program adopted by the State Board of Education under
2-3 Section 28.025(a);
2-4 (2) integrates academic instruction and vocational and
2-5 technical instruction;
2-6 (3) uses work-based and worksite learning where
2-7 available and appropriate;
2-8 (4) provides technical preparation in a career field
2-9 such as engineering technology, applied science, a mechanical,
2-10 industrial, or practical art or trade, agriculture, health
2-11 occupations, business, or applied economics;
2-12 (5) builds student competence in mathematics, science,
2-13 reading, writing, communications, economics, and workplace skills
2-14 through applied, contextual academics and integrated instruction in
2-15 a coherent sequence of courses;
2-16 (6) leads to an associate degree, a two-year
2-17 postsecondary certificate, or a postsecondary two-year
2-18 apprenticeship with a provision if applicable for the student to
2-19 continue toward the completion of a baccalaureate degree; and
2-20 (7) leads to placement in appropriate employment or to
2-21 further education.
2-22 (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(1), a tech-prep
2-23 consortium is encouraged to include four years of secondary
2-24 education in a tech-prep program.
2-25 Sec. 61.853. REGIONAL TECH-PREP CONSORTIA: GOVERNING BOARD;
2-26 DIRECTOR; FISCAL AGENT. (a) Each regional tech-prep consortium is
3-1 governed by a governing board composed of private sector and public
3-2 sector leaders in the ratio agreed to by the participants in the
3-3 consortium. A tech-prep consortium may, at the option of the
3-4 participants in the consortium, consolidate board members and staff
3-5 with an eligible local entity to achieve administrative
3-6 efficiencies and operational coordination, but the combined entity
3-7 must maintain proper segregation of funds and must otherwise comply
3-8 with all applicable legal requirements involving the use of the
3-9 segregated funds.
3-10 (b) The governing board shall determine the policies of the
3-11 tech-prep consortium in accordance with the consortium's written
3-12 bylaws. The bylaws should specify the major relationships,
3-13 decision-making and operational processes, and other significant
3-14 policies of the consortium, including the procedures for filling
3-15 vacancies on the governing board.
3-16 (c) According to the terms of a written agreement between a
3-17 governing board and the fiscal agent a consortium director shall be
3-18 selected.
3-19 (d) The governing board shall select a community college,
3-20 junior college, technical college, university, regional education
3-21 service center, independent school district, or other eligible
3-22 entity to act as the tech-prep consortium's fiscal agent and to
3-23 provide human resource and business office services for the
3-24 consortium. The fiscal agent serves under the terms of a written
3-25 agreement between the governing board and the fiscal agent.
3-26 Sec. 61.854. TECH-PREP CONSORTIUM ALLOTMENT. (a) In each
4-1 fiscal year, the board, as the agent of the Texas Education Agency,
4-2 shall allot the federal tech-prep implementation money this state
4-3 receives to the regional tech-prep consortia for regional
4-4 administration according to regionally developed plans designed to
4-5 meet federal, state, and regional goals. The board shall allot the
4-6 money to tech-prep consortia in accordance with a formula adopted
4-7 by the board after a public hearing and in consultation with
4-8 interested state entities and tech-prep consortia that addresses
4-9 the differing needs of consortia due to urban or rural populations,
4-10 special populations, number of tech-prep programs and students, and
4-11 other factors determined by the board.
4-12 (b) An eligible tech-prep consortium that desires assistance
4-13 under this section must submit an application to the board on a
4-14 form prescribed by the board for that purpose. The form must
4-15 address the formula adopted by the board under Subsection (a).
4-16 (c) If a tech-prep consortium has a completed application on
4-17 file under Subsection (b), the board shall make a payment in the
4-18 amount of the consortium's allotment under Subsection (a) to the
4-19 consortium's fiscal agent.
4-20 Sec. 61.855. GRANTS FOR TECH-PREP EDUCATION. (a) From
4-21 amounts made available under Section 61.854, the board, in
4-22 accordance with this subchapter and with a formula adopted by the
4-23 board, shall award grants to tech-prep consortia for tech-prep
4-24 programs described by Subsection (d).
4-25 (b) To be eligible for a grant, a tech-prep consortium must
4-26 be composed of:
5-1 (1) a local educational agency, intermediate
5-2 educational agency, area vocational and technical education school
5-3 serving secondary school students, or a secondary school funded by
5-4 the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
5-5 (2) one of the following institutions of higher
5-6 education:
5-7 (A) a nonprofit institution of higher education
5-8 that offers:
5-9 (i) a two-year associate degree program or
5-10 a two-year certificate program and that is qualified as a junior
5-11 college or technical college to award associate degrees under
5-12 Chapter 130 or 135, including an institution receiving assistance
5-13 under the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of
5-14 1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1801 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments
5-15 as a tribally controlled postsecondary vocational or technical
5-16 institution; or
5-17 (ii) a two-year apprenticeship program
5-18 that follows secondary instruction, if the nonprofit institution of
5-19 higher education is not prohibited from receiving assistance under
5-20 Part B, Title IV, of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
5-21 Section 1071 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments as provided by
5-22 Section 435(a) of that Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1085(a)) and its
5-23 subsequent amendments; or
5-24 (B) a proprietary institution of higher
5-25 education that offers a two-year associate degree program and that:
5-26 (i) is qualified as an institution of
6-1 higher education under Section 102 of the Higher Education Act of
6-2 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1002) and its subsequent amendments; and
6-3 (ii) is not subject to a default
6-4 management agreement plan required by the United States Secretary
6-5 of Education.
6-6 (c) In addition to entities described by Subsection (b), a
6-7 tech-prep consortium may include:
6-8 (1) an institution of higher education that awards a
6-9 baccalaureate degree; and
6-10 (2) employers or labor organizations.
6-11 (d) A tech-prep program must:
6-12 (1) be implemented under an articulation agreement
6-13 between the participants in the tech-prep consortium;
6-14 (2) consist of two to four years of secondary school
6-15 preceding graduation and:
6-16 (A) two or more years of higher education; or
6-17 (B) two or more years of apprenticeship
6-18 following secondary instruction;
6-19 (3) have a common core of required proficiency based
6-20 on the recommended high school program adopted by the State Board
6-21 of Education under Section 28.025(a), with proficiencies in
6-22 mathematics, science, reading, writing, communications, and
6-23 technologies designed to lead to an associate degree or
6-24 postsecondary certificate in a specific career field;
6-25 (4) include the development of tech-prep program
6-26 curricula for both secondary and postsecondary participants in the
7-1 consortium that:
7-2 (A) meets academic standards developed by the
7-3 state;
7-4 (B) links secondary schools and two-year
7-5 postsecondary institutions, and, if practicable, four-year
7-6 institutions of higher education through nonduplicative sequences
7-7 of courses in career fields, including the investigation of
7-8 opportunities for tech-prep students to enroll concurrently in
7-9 secondary and postsecondary coursework;
7-10 (C) uses, if appropriate and available,
7-11 work-based or worksite learning in conjunction with business and
7-12 all aspects of an industry; and
7-13 (D) uses educational technology and distance
7-14 learning, as appropriate, to involve each consortium participant
7-15 more fully in the development and operation of programs;
7-16 (5) include in-service training for teachers that:
7-17 (A) is designed to train vocational and
7-18 technical teachers to effectively implement tech-prep programs;
7-19 (B) provides for joint training for teachers in
7-20 the tech-prep consortium;
7-21 (C) is designed to ensure that teachers and
7-22 administrators stay current with the needs, expectations, and
7-23 methods of business and of all aspects of an industry;
7-24 (D) focuses on training postsecondary education
7-25 faculty in the use of contextual and applied curricula and
7-26 instruction; and
8-1 (E) provides training in the use and application
8-2 of technology;
8-3 (6) include training programs for counselors designed
8-4 to enable counselors to more effectively:
8-5 (A) provide information to students regarding
8-6 tech-prep programs;
8-7 (B) support student progress in completing
8-8 tech-prep programs;
8-9 (C) provide information on related employment
8-10 opportunities;
8-11 (D) ensure that tech-prep students are placed in
8-12 appropriate employment; and
8-13 (E) stay current with the needs, expectations,
8-14 and methods of business and of all aspects of an industry;
8-15 (7) provide equal access to the full range of
8-16 tech-prep programs for individuals who are members of special
8-17 populations, including by the development of tech-prep program
8-18 services appropriate to the needs of special programs; and
8-19 (8) provide for preparatory services that assist
8-20 participants in tech-prep programs.
8-21 (e) A tech-prep consortium that receives a grant under this
8-22 section must use the money awarded to develop and operate a
8-23 tech-prep program described in Subsection (d).
8-24 (f) A tech-prep program may:
8-25 (1) provide for the acquisition of tech-prep program
8-26 equipment;
9-1 (2) acquire technical assistance from state or local
9-2 entities that have designed, established, and operated tech-prep
9-3 programs that have effectively used educational technology and
9-4 distance learning to deliver curricula and services and to develop
9-5 an articulation agreement; and
9-6 (3) establish articulation agreements with
9-7 institutions of higher education, labor organizations, or
9-8 businesses located in or out of the region served by the tech-prep
9-9 consortium, especially with regard to using distance learning and
9-10 educational technology to provide for the delivery of services and
9-11 programs.
9-12 Sec. 61.856. GRANT APPLICATION. (a) Each regional
9-13 tech-prep consortium that desires to obtain a grant under this
9-14 subchapter must submit an application to the board at the time and
9-15 in the manner the board prescribes.
9-16 (b) An application under this section must:
9-17 (1) contain a five-year plan for the development and
9-18 implementation of tech-prep programs;
9-19 (2) show that the application has been approved by the
9-20 tech-prep consortium's governing board; and
9-21 (3) show that the entity selected as the consortium's
9-22 fiscal agent has agreed to serve in that capacity.
9-23 (c) The board shall approve the application if the
9-24 application meets the requirements of this section and Section
9-25 61.854(b).
9-26 (d) The board shall give special consideration to an
10-1 application for a tech-prep program that:
10-2 (1) provides for effective employment placement
10-3 activities for students or for the transfer of students to
10-4 baccalaureate degree programs;
10-5 (2) is developed in consultation with business,
10-6 industry, institutions of higher education, and labor
10-7 organizations;
10-8 (3) effectively addresses the issues of school dropout
10-9 prevention, returning to school after dropping out, and the needs
10-10 of special populations;
10-11 (4) provides education and training in areas or skills
10-12 in which there are significant workforce shortages, including the
10-13 information technology industry; and
10-14 (5) demonstrates how tech-prep programs may help
10-15 students achieve high academic and employability competencies.
10-16 (e) In awarding grants under this subchapter, the board
10-17 shall ensure an equitable distribution of assistance between urban
10-18 and regional consortium participants.
10-19 Sec. 61.857. REPORT; REVIEW OF FIVE-YEAR PLAN. (a) Each
10-20 regional tech-prep consortium that receives a grant under this
10-21 subchapter shall annually prepare and submit to the board a written
10-22 report on the effectiveness of the tech-prep programs for which the
10-23 consortium received assistance. The report must include a
10-24 description of the manner in which the consortium awarded any
10-25 subgrants in the region served by the consortium.
10-26 (b) After the second year of the five-year plan required
11-1 under Section 61.856(b)(1), the consortium shall review the plan
11-2 and make any changes necessary.
11-3 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
11-4 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
11-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
11-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
11-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
11-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.