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78R4108 JSA-D
By: Solis H.B. No. 2791
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the administration of the Texas Tech-Prep Program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.851, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
is amended by adding Subdivisions (5) and (6) to read as follows:
(5) "Tech-prep high school graduate" means a student
who has:
(A) completed the curriculum requirements
established under Section 28.025 for the recommended or advanced
high school program;
(B) met all state and local high school
graduation requirements; and
(C) completed two or more college-level career or
technology courses for at least three semester credit hours'
combined credit, each of which is a statewide-articulated course, a
locally articulated course, or a dual or concurrent enrollment
course.
(6) "Postsecondary tech-prep graduate" means a
tech-prep high school graduate who has completed a college or
university program in a career field, as determined by the board,
including engineering technology, applied science, mechanical,
industrial, or practical art or trade, agriculture, health
occupations, business, or applied economics.
SECTION 2. Subchapter T, Chapter 61, Education Code, as
added by Chapter 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is amended by adding Section 61.8511 to read as
follows:
Sec. 61.8511. PURPOSE OF TECH-PREP. (a) Tech-prep is an
educational program that combines educational reform and
innovation with economic development.
(b) In a tech-prep program, students take rigorous academic
course work and college-level career and technology courses that
give the students a head start on higher education and the
foundation necessary to continue to pursue a postsecondary
education or enter the workforce.
SECTION 3. Section 61.852, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
is amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) Public secondary schools and institutions of higher
education are encouraged to use statewide-articulated courses,
locally articulated courses, and dual or concurrent enrollment
courses, as well as advanced placement courses, in tech-prep
programs to provide postsecondary credit for students. All
statewide-articulated and locally articulated courses and dual or
concurrent enrollment courses shall be transcribed by
participating junior and technical colleges through systems in
place on their campuses, utilizing, for statewide-articulated
courses, data from the automated system established by the Texas
Education Agency and the board.
(d) A tech-prep articulation agreement must require:
(1) a participating student to complete the curriculum
requirements established under Section 28.025 for the recommended
or advanced high school program;
(2) a participating student to earn three or more high
school credits in statewide-articulated or locally articulated
courses or dual or concurrent enrollment courses taught by high
school teachers who have completed appropriate instruction in
tech-prep, articulation, the manner in which students may claim
credit for those courses at colleges and universities, and
subject-specific instruction; and
(3) a participating postsecondary institution to
accept for course credit all high school-articulated courses
completed by a participating student at the agreed performance
standard.
SECTION 4. Section 61.853, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1)
to read as follows:
(a) Tech-prep in Texas is conducted through the 26 regional
tech-prep consortia participating in tech-prep as of January 1,
2003. Each tech-prep consortium serves the region served by the
consortium as of that date, except that territory may be moved from
one region to another with the consent of the affected tech-prep
consortia and the board.
(a-1) Each regional tech-prep consortium is governed by a
governing board composed of private sector and public sector
leaders in the ratio agreed to by the participants in the
consortium. A consortium at local option may consolidate governing
board members and staff with an eligible local entity to achieve
administrative efficiencies and operational coordination. The
combined entity shall maintain a proper separation of funds and
comply with all applicable legal requirements involving the use of
separate funds.
SECTION 5. Sections 61.854(a) and (c), Education Code, as
added by Chapter 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, are amended to read as follows:
(a) In each fiscal year, the board, as the agent of the Texas
Education Agency, shall allot the federal tech-prep implementation
money this state receives and any additional state or federal money
received, designated, or appropriated to support implementation of
articulated secondary-postsecondary programs to the regional
tech-prep consortia for regional administration according to
regionally developed plans designed to meet federal, state, and
regional goals. The board shall allot the money to tech-prep
consortia in accordance with a formula adopted by the board, after a
public hearing and in consultation with interested state entities
and local consortia, that addresses the differing needs of the
consortia due to urban or rural populations, special populations,
number of tech-prep programs and students, and other factors
determined by the board.
(c) If a tech-prep consortium has a completed application on
file under Subsection (b), the board shall reimburse [make a
payment in the amount of the consortium's allotment under
Subsection (a) to] the consortium's fiscal agent in an amount not to
exceed the annual allotment approved for the consortium under
Subsection (a).
SECTION 6. Section 61.855, Education Code, as added by
Chapter 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
is amended by amending Subsections (b), (c), and (d) and adding
Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(b) To be eligible for a grant, a tech-prep consortium must
be composed of:
(1) a local educational agency, intermediate
educational agency, area vocational and technical education school
serving secondary school students, or a secondary school funded by
the Bureau of Indian Affairs; [and]
(2) one of the following institutions of higher
education:
(A) a nonprofit institution of higher education
that offers:
(i) a two-year associate degree program or
a two-year certificate program and that is qualified as a junior
college or technical college to award associate degrees under
Chapter 130 or 135, including an institution receiving assistance
under the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of
1978 (25 U.S.C. Section 1801 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments
as a tribally controlled postsecondary vocational or technical
institution; or
(ii) a two-year apprenticeship program that
follows secondary instruction, if the nonprofit institution of
higher education is not prohibited from receiving assistance under
Part B, Title IV, of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1071 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments as provided by
Section 435(a) of that Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1085(a)) and its
subsequent amendments; or
(B) a proprietary institution of higher
education that offers a two-year associate degree program and that:
(i) is qualified as an institution of
higher education under Section 102 of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1002) and its subsequent amendments; and
(ii) is not subject to a default management
agreement plan required by the United States secretary of
education;[.
[(c) In addition to entities described by Subsection (b), a
tech-prep consortium may include:]
(3) [(1)] an institution of higher education that
awards a baccalaureate degree; and
(4) one or more [(2)] employers, employee
representatives, or labor organizations.
(d) A tech-prep program must:
(1) be implemented under an articulation agreement
between the participants in the consortium;
(2) consist of two to four years of secondary school
preceding graduation and:
(A) two or more years of higher education; or
(B) two or more years of apprenticeship following
secondary instruction;
(3) have a common core of required proficiency based
on the recommended high school program adopted by the State Board of
Education under Section 28.025(a), with proficiencies in
mathematics, science, reading, writing, communications, and
technologies designed to lead to an associate's degree or
postsecondary certificate in a specific career field;
(4) include, in high school, two or more career and
technology courses for a total of at least three high school
credits, selected from statewide-articulated and locally
articulated courses and dual or concurrent enrollment courses;
(5) include the development of tech-prep program
curricula for both secondary and postsecondary participants in the
consortium that:
(A) meets academic standards developed by the
state;
(B) links secondary schools and two-year
postsecondary institutions, and, if practicable, four-year
institutions of higher education through nonduplicative sequences
of courses in career fields, including the investigation of
opportunities for tech-prep students to enroll concurrently in
secondary and postsecondary course work;
(C) uses, if appropriate and available,
work-based or worksite learning in conjunction with business and
all aspects of an industry; and
(D) uses educational technology and distance
learning, as appropriate, to involve each consortium participant
more fully in the development and operation of programs;
(6) [(5)] include in-service training for teachers
that:
(A) is designed to train teachers in academic
courses and vocational and technical teachers to effectively
implement tech-prep programs;
(B) provides for joint training for teachers in
the tech-prep consortium;
(C) is designed to ensure that teachers and
administrators stay current with the needs, expectations, and
methods of business and of all aspects of an industry;
(D) focuses on training postsecondary education
faculty in the use of contextual and applied curricula and
instruction; and
(E) provides training in the use and application
of technology;
(7) [(6)] include training programs for counselors
designed to enable counselors to more effectively:
(A) provide information to students regarding
tech-prep programs;
(B) support student progress in completing
tech-prep programs;
(C) provide information on related employment
opportunities;
(D) ensure that tech-prep students are placed in
appropriate employment; and
(E) stay current with the needs, expectations,
and methods of business and of all aspects of an industry;
(8) [(7)] provide equal access to the full range of
tech-prep programs for individuals who are members of special
populations, including by the development of tech-prep program
services appropriate to the needs of special populations; and
(9) [(8)] provide for preparatory services that
assist participants in tech-prep programs.
(g) The commissioner of education and the commissioner of
higher education shall ensure that records relating to student
performance held by the Texas Education Agency and the board are
coordinated and maintained in standardized, compatible formats
that permit the exchange of information between the agencies
regarding individual students' courses taken to facilitate the
transcribing of credits for statewide-articulated and locally
articulated courses, dual or concurrent enrollment courses, and
advanced placement courses, at the college level.
SECTION 7. Subchapter T, Chapter 61, Education Code, as
added by Chapter 1422, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular
Session, 1999, is amended by adding Section 61.858 to read as
follows:
Sec. 61.858. EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS. (a) The board at
least biennially shall evaluate each tech-prep program as provided
by this section.
(b) For purposes of evaluating a tech-prep program, the
board shall identify those students who are postsecondary tech-prep
graduates of the program, and the commissioner of education shall
identify tech-prep high school graduates of the program from the
course-completion data in the public education information
management system.
(c) In the evaluation, the performance of tech-prep high
school graduates on the indicators adopted under Section 39.051(b)
shall be compared to state-established standards for those
indicators and to the performance of non-tech-prep high school
graduates. The evaluation shall also compare the change in the
performance of tech-prep high school graduates on each of those
indicators from one school year to the next. The indicators must be
based on information that is disaggregated with respect to
performance on eighth-grade assessment instruments required under
Section 39.023, and for race, ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic
status, and must include:
(1) student performance on assessment instruments
under Sections 39.023(a) and (c), aggregated by grade level and
subject area;
(2) student dropout and attrition rates;
(3) student attendance rates;
(4) the percentage of graduating students who attain
scores on the secondary exit-level assessment instruments required
under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, that are equivalent to a passing
score on the test required by Section 51.306;
(5) the percentage of graduating students who
completed the curriculum requirements established under Section
28.025 for the recommended or advanced high school program and
additional course work beyond that curriculum;
(6) student performance on the Scholastic Assessment
Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT);
(7) the number of students participating in
articulated postsecondary degree programs described by Section
61.852;
(8) the percentage of students taking and passing
end-of-course assessment instruments under Section 39.023(d);
(9) the percentage of students exempt, by exemption
category, from the assessment program generally applicable under
Subchapter B, Chapter 39;
(10) the percentage of tech-prep students entering
postsecondary programs in two-year and four-year institutions of
higher education;
(11) the retention rates of tech-prep students
enrolled in postsecondary programs in institutions of higher
education;
(12) labor market participation patterns and earnings
of tech-prep high school graduates and postsecondary tech-prep
graduates; and
(13) any other indicator adopted by the board or by the
State Board of Education.
SECTION 8. The change in law made by this Act does not
affect the validity of a tech-prep program or articulation
agreement in effect on the effective date of this Act or the
eligibility of a tech-prep consortium to receive a grant awarded
before the effective date.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.