| TO: | Honorable Bob Deuell, Chair, Senate Committee On Economic Development |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB307 by Huffman (Relating to the transfer of adult education and literacy programs from the Texas Education Agency to the Texas Workforce Commission.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
The bill would amend the Labor Code and the Education Code relating to the transfer of adult education and literacy programs from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC).
The bill would revise the Labor Code and require TWC to do the following: 1) provide adequate staffing to develop, administer, and support a comprehensive statewide adult education program and coordinate related federal and state programs for the education and training of adults; 2) develop the mechanism and guidelines for the coordination with other agencies of comprehensive adult education and related skill training services for adults; 3) administer all state and federal funds for adult education and related skill training services in this state; 4) prescribe and administer standards and accrediting policies for adult education; 5) prescribe and administer rules for teacher certification for adult education; 6) accept and administer grants, gifts, services and funds from available sources for use in adult education; 7) adopt or develop and administer a standardized assessment mechanism for assessing all adult education program participants who need literacy instruction, adult basic education, or secondary education leading to an adult high school diploma or the equivalent; 8) monitor and evaluate educational and employment outcomes of students who participate in the commission's adult education and literacy programs; 9) establish an adult education and literacy advisory committee composed of not more than nine members appointed by the commission; (10) develop and establish a performance-based process for annually awarding funds to entities that deliver adult education and literacy services; and (11) complete the initial competitive procurement process to award contracts to the service providers of adult education programs that are effective not later than October 1, 2014. In addition, the bill also requires that not later than the 60th day before the date of the transfer of the administration of adult education and literacy programs from TEA to TWC, the agencies shall enter into a memorandum of understanding relating to that transfer.
The bill requires TWC, in consultation with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and TEA, to review the standard assessment mechanism required under the provisions of the bill and recommend any changes to allow for the proper placement of a student in an adult basic education course or to provide the student with the proper developmental or English as a second language, coursework, as appropriate.
Based on the analysis of the TWC, THECB, and the TEA, it is assumed that any duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished by utilizing existing resources.
| Source Agencies: | 320 Texas Workforce Commission, 701 Central Education Agency, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board
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| LBB Staff: | UP, NV, RB, MW
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