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By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 112
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to career and technology education and training.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.251(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The board shall adopt a policy to establish a
district- and campus-level planning and decision-making process
that will involve the professional staff of the district, parents,
and community members in establishing and reviewing the district's
and campuses' educational plans, goals, performance objectives,
and major classroom instructional programs. The board shall
establish a procedure under which meetings are held regularly by
district- and campus-level planning and decision-making committees
that include representative professional staff, parents of
students enrolled in the district, business and industry
representatives, and community members. The committees shall
include a business and industry representative [representatives,]
without regard to whether the [a business] representative resides
in the district or whether the business or industry the person
represents is located in the district. The board, or the board's
designee, shall periodically meet with the district-level
committee to review the district-level committee's deliberations.
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.1821 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.1821. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION ADVISORY
BOARD. (a) The Career and Technology Education Advisory Board
consists of nine members appointed by the commissioner.
(b) The board must include:
(1) one representative from the agency;
(2) one representative from the Texas Workforce
Commission;
(3) two members who represent the business and
industry community;
(4) three members who represent educators,
administrators, or parents; and
(5) two members who represent institutions of higher
education.
(c) A member of the board serves at the pleasure of the
commissioner.
(d) A member of the board may not:
(1) receive compensation for service on the board; or
(2) be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred while
conducting the business of the board.
(e) The board shall:
(1) assist the agency in developing the state plan for
career and technology education required under Section 29.182; and
(2) on request, assist school districts in developing
career and technology programs under this subchapter.
SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.187 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.187. AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT IN CAREER
AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION; PROGRAM. (a) In addition to the
authority granted under Section 29.183, the board of trustees of a
school district may develop and offer a program under which a
student may:
(1) receive specific education in a career and
technology profession that:
(A) leads to postsecondary education; or
(B) meets or exceeds business or industry
standards; and
(2) obtain from the district an award for
distinguished achievement in career and technology education and a
stamp or other notation on the student's transcript that indicates
receipt of the award.
(b) An award granted under this section is not in lieu of a
diploma or certificate of coursework completion issued under
Section 28.025.
(c) In developing a program under this section, the board of
trustees of a school district shall consider the state plan for
career and technology education required under Section 29.182.
(d) The board of trustees of a school district may contract
with an entity listed in Section 29.184(a) for assistance in
developing the program or providing instruction to district
students participating in the program.
(e) The board of trustees of a school district may also
contract with a local business or a local institution of higher
education for assistance in developing or operating a program under
this section. A program may provide education in areas of
technology unique to the local area.
(f) The board of trustees of a school district may provide
insurance to protect a business that contracts with the district
under Subsection (e) against liability for a bodily injury
sustained by or the death of a district student while working for
the business as part of a program established under this section.
The board shall notify the parent or guardian of each student
working for a business if the board provides insurance to the
business under this subsection. The amount of insurance the
district provides must be reasonable considering the financial
condition of the district. The insurance must be:
(1) obtained from a reliable insurer authorized to
engage in business in the state; and
(2) submitted on a form approved by the commissioner
of insurance.
(g) The board of trustees of a school district must submit a
proposed program under this section to the commissioner of
education in accordance with criteria established by the
commissioner.
SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 29.188 to read as follows:
Sec. 29.188. RECOGNITION OF SUCCESSFUL CAREER AND
TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM. The governor is encouraged to
present a proclamation or certificate to each member of the
business and industry community that the Texas Workforce
Commission, in cooperation with the agency, determines has
successfully assisted in the provision of a career and technology
education program under this subchapter.
SECTION 5. Section 41.123, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 41.123. WADA COUNT. For purposes of Chapter 42,
students served under an agreement under this subchapter are
counted only in the weighted average daily attendance of the
district providing the services, except that students served under
an agreement authorized by Section 41.125 are counted in a manner
determined by the commissioner.
SECTION 6. Subchapter E, Chapter 41, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 41.125 to read as follows:
Sec. 41.125. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
PROGRAMS. (a) The board of trustees of a school district with a
wealth per student that exceeds the equalized wealth level may
reduce the district's wealth per student by executing an agreement
to provide students of one or more other districts with career and
technology education through a program designated as an area
program for career and technology education.
(b) The agreement is not effective unless the commissioner
certifies that:
(1) implementation of the agreement will not result in
any of the affected districts' wealth per student being greater
than the equalized wealth level; and
(2) the agreement requires the district with a wealth
per student that exceeds the equalized wealth level to make
expenditures benefiting students from other districts in an amount
at least equal to the amount that would be required for the district
to purchase the number of attendance credits under Subchapter D
necessary, in combination with any other actions taken under this
chapter other than an action under this section, to reduce the
district's wealth per student to a level that is equal to or less
than the equalized wealth level.
(c) The board of trustees of the school district shall
obtain voter approval of the agreement in the manner provided by
Section 41.122, except that the ballot shall be printed to permit
voting for or against the proposition: "Authorizing the board of
trustees of _________ School District to provide career and
technology education to students of other school districts with
local tax revenues."
SECTION 7. Section 61.077(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The purposes of this committee shall include the
following:
(1) to advise the two boards on the coordination of
postsecondary career and technology education and the articulation
between postsecondary career and technology education and
secondary career and technology education;
(2) to facilitate the transfer of responsibilities for
the administration of postsecondary career and technology
education from the State Board of Education to the board in
accordance with Section 111(a)(I) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
Education Act, Public Law 98-524;
(3) to cooperate with [advise] the Career and
Technology Education Advisory Board, the commissioner of higher
education, and the State Board of Education, when it acts as the
State Board for Career and Technology Education, on the following:
(A) the transfer of federal funds to the board
for allotment to eligible public postsecondary institutions of
higher education;
(B) the career and technology education funding
for projects and institutions as determined by the board when the
State Board for Career and Technology Education is required by
federal law to endorse such determinations;
(C) the development and updating of the state
plan for career and technology education and the evaluation of
programs, services, and activities of postsecondary career and
technology education and such amendments to the state plan for
career and technology education as may relate to postsecondary
education;
(D) other matters related to postsecondary
career and technology education; and
(E) the coordination of curricula, instructional
programs, research, and other functions as appropriate, including
areas listed in Section 61.076 [of this code], school-to-work and
school-to-college transition programs, and professional
development activities; and
(4) to advise the Council on Workforce and Economic
Competitiveness on educational policy issues related to workforce
preparation.
SECTION 8. Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 301.0611 to read as follows:
Sec. 301.0611. COORDINATION OF CERTAIN AWARDS AND
INCENTIVES. The commission, in cooperation with the Texas Education
Agency, the comptroller, and the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board, shall prepare and make available to the public
a list of all awards and incentives available for business
participation in:
(1) a school district's career and technology
education program under Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code;
or
(2) any other career and technology education
training.
SECTION 9. It is the intent of the legislature that public
schools provide career and technology education by teaching
fundamental academic skills and providing practical, hands-on
learning experiences. Career and technology education should not
include mandatory career-tracking for students or result in
professional certification instead of receipt of a high school
diploma. The purpose of career and technology education is to
prepare students for postsecondary educational opportunities and
high-skill, high-wage employment opportunities.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, except
that Sections 1 and 3 take effect immediately and apply beginning
with the 2003-2004 school year if this Act receives a vote of
two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by
Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not
receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, Sections 1 and 3
take effect September 1, 2003.