By: Tepper, Lopez of Cameron H.B. No. 1876

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the establishment of a career and technical education reporting grant program by the Texas Education Agency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 29.195 to read as follows:

Sec. 29.195. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION REPORTING GRANT PROGRAM. (a) From funds appropriated or otherwise available for the purpose, the agency shall establish and administer a career and technical education reporting grant program to award grants to eligible school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to facilitate the collection, analysis, and reporting of career- and technical education-related data to enhance program effectiveness and student outcomes at the local and state levels.

(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is eligible to receive a grant under this section if the district or school demonstrates the potential for significant positive effects on:

(1) career and technical education program outcomes; and

(2) workforce readiness of students.

(c) The agency shall adopt rules to establish and administer the grant program under this section.

(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may use a grant awarded under this section to:

(1) implement strategies and procure software for collecting and analyzing career and technical education data, including:

(A) tracking student engagement in experiences provided by career technical student organizations outside the classroom, including:

(i) community service or other events;

(ii) competitions; and

(iii) awards;

(B) tracking student hours worked, training plans, and teacher visits in work-based learning classes offered by the district or school;

(C) tracking student results on industry-based certifications, including information regarding the applicable course and teacher and the cost for the certification;

(D) identifying students who demonstrate college, career, or military readiness and tracking which performance measures the students meet in real time; and

(E) maintaining information regarding enrollment in career and technical education courses and programs of study, disaggregated by:

(i) race;

(ii) ethnicity;

(iii) gender; and

(iv) special populations;

(2) train district or school employees in the use of data analytics software; and

(3) to the extent possible, improve the integration of career and technical education data with the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS).

(e) On a schedule determined by the commissioner, each school district and open-enrollment charter school that receives a grant under this section shall report to the commissioner through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) or another method determined by commissioner rule the data described by Subsection (d)(1)(E).

(f) A school district or open-enrollment charter school may only receive one grant under this section within a 12-month period.

(g) A grant awarded under this section may not exceed $5,000.

(h) The total amount of grants awarded under this section each year may not exceed $1.75 million.

SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the Texas Education Agency shall establish the career and technical education reporting grant program required by Section 29.195, Education Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it 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, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.