88R19757 SCP-F
 
  By: Dutton, Bumgarner, Hayes H.B. No. 4411
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4411:
 
  By:  Button C.S.H.B. No. 4411
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the apprenticeship system of adult career and
  technology education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 61.8235(a), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The board, with the assistance of institutions of higher
  education, career and technical education experts, and college and
  career readiness experts, shall establish alignment between the
  college and career readiness standards and the knowledge, skills,
  and abilities students are expected to demonstrate in career and
  technical education by establishing programs of study that:
               (1)  incorporate rigorous college and career readiness
  standards, including career and technical education standards that
  address both academic and technical content;
               (2)  support attainment of employability and career
  readiness skills;
               (3)  progress in content specificity by beginning with
  all aspects of an industry or career cluster and leading to more
  occupationally specific instruction or by preparing students for
  ongoing postsecondary career preparation;
               (4)  incorporate multiple entry and exit points with
  portable demonstrations of technical or career competency, which
  may include credit transfer agreements or industry-recognized
  certifications; and
               (5)  culminate in the attainment of:
                     (A)  an industry-recognized certification,
  credential, or license;
                     (B)  a registered apprenticeship;
                     (C)  an apprenticeship certified by the Texas
  Workforce Commission as an industry-recognized apprenticeship
  program as provided by commission rule;
                     (D)  a [or] credit-bearing postsecondary
  certificate; or
                     (E) [(C)]  an associate or baccalaureate degree.
         SECTION 2.  Section 133.001(1), Education Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (1)  "Apprenticeship training program" means a
  training program that provides on-the-job training, preparatory
  instruction, supplementary instruction, or related instruction in
  a trade that has been:
                     (A)  certified as an apprenticeable occupation by
  the Office of Apprenticeship; or
                     (B)  recognized as an apprenticeable occupation
  by the commission as provided by commission rule.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 133.002(d) and (h), Education Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (d)  Each apprentice participating in a program must be given
  a written apprenticeship agreement by the apprenticeship committee
  stating the standards and conditions of the apprentice's employment
  and training. The standards must conform substantially with the
  standards of apprenticeship for the particular trade which have
  been adopted by the Office of Apprenticeship or by the commission by
  rule.
         (h)  A program must be:
               (1)  registered with the Office of Apprenticeship and
  approved by the commission; or
               (2)  certified by the commission as an
  industry-recognized apprenticeship program as provided by
  commission rule.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 133, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Sections 133.0025 and 133.0065 to read as follows:
         Sec. 133.0025.  PRE-APPRENTICESHIPS FOR CERTAIN HIGH SCHOOL
  STUDENTS. The commission by rule shall establish procedures and
  standards by which the commission may allocate funds available for
  the support of apprenticeship training programs under this chapter
  to support pre-apprenticeships designed for high school students
  enrolled in career and technical education programs of study
  leading to employment in high-wage, high-demand occupations. The
  standards must:
               (1)  be developed in coordination with the Texas
  Education Agency or Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board;
               (2)  align with the strategic framework described by
  Section 318.001, Labor Code; and 
               (3)  ensure that any committee overseeing a
  pre-apprenticeship:
                     (A)  excludes from its membership any bargaining
  agent representing apprenticeable occupations certified by the
  Office of Apprenticeship;
                     (B)  includes at least one member who is a
  representative of a community-based organization that demonstrates
  evidence of success in coordinating and managing job placement
  services for at least one industry served by the committee; and
                     (C)  maintains, as a majority of the committee's
  membership, members who represent employers. 
         Sec. 133.0065.  PUBLICATION OF WAGE OUTCOMES. The
  commission shall publish on the commission's Internet website and
  include in the unified repository for education and workforce data
  developed under Section 2308A.005, Government Code, wage outcome
  data for apprentices who complete an apprenticeship training
  program.
         SECTION 5.  Section 133.007, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 133.007.  RULES. The commission shall adopt
  [promulgate] rules necessary to implement the provisions of this
  chapter, including rules establishing:
               (1)  which occupations are recognized by the commission
  as an apprenticeable occupation, based on criteria which must
  include that the occupation:
                     (A)  be a high-wage, high-demand occupation;
                     (B)  be customarily learned in a practical way
  through a structured, systematic program of on-the-job supervised
  training;
                     (C)  be clearly identified and commonly
  recognized throughout an industry; 
                     (D)  involve manual, mechanical, or technical
  skills or knowledge which requires significant on-the-job work
  experience; and
                     (E)  require related instruction to supplement
  the on-the-job training;
               (2)  standards of apprenticeship for particular
  trades; and
               (3)  a process for and the criteria by which the
  commission may certify a training or apprenticeship program as an
  industry-recognized apprenticeship program, which must include:
                     (A)  a requirement that the training or program
  lead to employment in a high-wage, high-demand occupation; and
                     (B)  criteria generally consistent with the
  standards of apprenticeship as determined by the commission.
         SECTION 6.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt the rules
  required by Chapter 133, Education Code, as amended by this Act.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.