texas education agency work based learning

Work-Based Learning Can Help Achieve Texas’ Vision for a High-Quality Workforce

The following  written testimony was submitted by Texas 2036 Senior Policy Advisor Renzo Soto to the Senate Natural Resources & Economic Development Committee on June 13, 2022.

What to Know:

• 76% of Texas voters want the Texas Legislature to prioritize resources towards education and training programs linked to good-paying jobs.
• The Legislature has passed legislation to ensure that Texas has a high-quality workforce, and work-based learning plays a key role in achieving this vision.
• The Tri-Agency is establishing a state credential library that can be used as a resource to engage Texas employers and establish more work-based learning programs.
• The Texas Virtual Education Commission and Texas Commission on Community College Finance can ensure that high-quality work-based learning is accessible in every Texas community.

Texas continues its strong recovery from the pandemic recession, steadily breaking job records and sustaining low unemployment rates over the past several months. Texans want to enjoy this economic success — now and in the future. The Texas 2036 January 2021 Texas Voter Poll found that 76% of Texas voters believe the Legislature should prioritize resources on college and workforce programs that are linked to good-paying jobs.

State career education and training programs funded by taxpayers should meet this demand, particularly given mixed results in some state programs. For example, from 2014–2015, state-supported apprenticeship programs saw a 29% increase in quarterly earnings, but veterans participating in veteran workforce programs saw quarterly earnings decline .

Work-Based Learning Can Help Achieve the Legislature’s Vision for a High-Quality Texas Workforce

The Legislature has responded to Texas voters’ demands by calling for state education and training programs to lead to employment with a self-sufficient wage, ultimately empowering Texas families to meet their basic needs without public assistance. Through HB 3767 (87-R), the Legislature proposed to achieve this by charging the Tri-Agency with adopting state workforce goals and implementing workforce strategies. The Tri-Agency’s recently adopted goals make it clear that a high-quality workforce will require a continuum of pathways and supports that are accessible throughout state public education, higher education, and workforce systems.

HB 1247 can help the development of this continuum given its legislative direction to make work-based learning programs more accessible through public schools, higher education institutions, and workforce training programs. By taking a broad look at work-based learning to include models such as apprenticeships, internships, simulated/virtual workspaces, and service learning, the state can ensure the work-based learning framework is relevant for any and all state education and training providers.

The Tri-Agency has integrated HB 1247 as a strategy under HB 3767 to meet state workforce goals. Incorporating real-life work to program curricula can make more Texans competitive in the job market. However, work remains to make work-based learning more readily accessible to all Texans. For instance, the state currently ranks second-lowest in apprentices as a percentage of its total workforce among peer states. How do we expand work-based learning opportunities?

The State Credential Library Can Help Ensure Access to Work-Based Learning for All Texans

Also through HB 3767, the Tri-Agency is establishing a web-based credential library where information on credentials, alongside the Texas education or training program offering them, will be publicly reported . This will be the first state-level resource where every credential that is delivered, issued, funded, or governed by the state can be accessed in a single location.

Including work-based learning programs in the library can help expand it and meet Texans’ workforce needs. The library can be a useful resource for employers in particular, who are needed to establish and expand work-based learning. By reporting all existing credential programs offered by education and training providers, employers can identify cost-efficient opportunities where existing work-based learning programs can be expanded in partnership with their local providers — ultimately leading to increased capacity that produce more workforce-ready Texans.

Additionally, HB 1247’s broad definition of work-based learning empowers employers to be decision-makers in incorporating work-based learning into education and training programs that are conducive to work-based learning models. For example, simulated workplaces can be found in certain high schools and community colleges who offer nursing programs, such as rural Texas where there may not be enough capacity for nursing students to get their required hands-on clinical training. Healthcare employers in need of more trained nurses can use the credential library to identify the local nursing programs in their area and initiate conversations to stand up simulated workspaces, bolstering both the quality and capacity of those programs.

The Legislature Can Drive Work-Based Learning Opportunities to Local Communities Through Aligned Workforce Reforms in 2023

In addition to HB 3767’s strategic alignment, current efforts from the Texas Commission on Community College Finance and Texas Commission on Virtual Education can be leveraged to locally implement the work-based learning framework that will be established through HB 1247. Both are focusing on workforce-aligned recommendations for Texas public schools and community colleges that will deliver a long-term, high-quality Texas workforce. Each commission’s discussions have involved work-based learning programs due to the existing availability of work-based learning and its focus on workforce outcomes.

The Legislature states in HB 1247 that the work-based learning strategic framework is meant to encourage work-based learning in Texas, including through the articulation of the roles and responsibilities of public schools, higher education institutions, and workforce boards and organizations to implement work-based learning programs and partnerships. This gives the commissions a resource to provide recommendations on how to increase work-based learning programs in Texas. There is also the added benefit that the two commissions’ respective focus on public schools and community colleges can ensure that every Texas community will have access to high-quality work-based learning programs.

Work-based learning is already a strong tool for the state to strengthen its workforce and secure its long-term economic competitiveness. However, as HB 1247 articulates, there is a need to ensure that any Texan wanting to participate in a work-based learning program has the opportunity to do so. While HB 1247 and its strategic framework will develop a helpful report that can be used to increase work-based learning opportunities in Texas, it would be efficient to also utilize other, ongoing state education and workforce efforts. The workforce goals and strategies, alongside the state credential library, coming from HB 3767 provides the state with the framework and data infrastructure needed to strategically target work-based learning expansion efforts. Meanwhile, the Texas Commission on Community College Finance and Texas Commission on Virtual Education can ensure that all Texas public schools and community colleges are fully leveraged for work-based learning expansion in every Texas community.

• Section 3: Texas Education Agency Rules Impacting Work-Based Learning
• Subject(s): CTE
• Grade Range: 9 - 12
• Release date: 06-02-2017
• Tags: WBL, SAAH, CTE funding, CTE, rules, transportation allotment

Description

This section describes Texas Education Agency (TEA) rules related to work-based learning (WBL), with an emphasis on Section V of the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) and rules regarding career preparation and practicum courses. In addition, it provides a brief overview of career and technical education (CTE) funding and coding guidelines.

• Lesson Introduction
• Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH) Overview
• State and Federal CTE Funding
• CTE Student Attendance Accounting
• CTE Student Indicator Codes (PEIMS 101 Record)
• CTE Contact Hour Codes (PEIMS 410 Record)
• Importance of Accurate PEIMS Coding
• Quick Check
• Lesson Review
• Lesson Conclusion
• SAAH Rules for Career Preparation Courses
• SAAH Rules for Practicum Courses
• Paid and Unpaid Practicum Units of Credit
• Written Training Plan Requirements
• Teacher Site Visit Requirements
• Quick Check #1
• Quick Check #2
• Transportation Funding Assistance
• Transportation Restrictions

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• TEA Website
• Contact TEA
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CTE Work-Based Learning Course

Fall 2023 update.

This professional development course is expected to open for enrollment no later than the close of business Friday, September 8th, 2023.

Course Description

This course introduces basic laws, rules, and procedures relevant to teaching Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses that involve work-based learning (WBL) at the secondary school level in Texas. Because state and federal laws change frequently, it also explains how to find current laws, rules, and guidelines related to WBL. WBL provides students opportunities to learn technical, academic and employability skills. WBL is employer driven and prepares students for their future career. WBL is a critical component of a high-quality CTE program. Teachers will learn what authentic WBL is and how to ensure students learn the skills and knowledge appropriate for their career pathway through collaborative partnerships with education service centers, workforce development boards, community-based organizations, and local employers. After successful completion of this course, participants can print a certificate of completion. 

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State Education Department Announces Schools Selected for Performance-Based Learning and Assessment Networks Pilot

PLAN Pilot Schools will Collaborate to Successfully Implement Performance-Based Learning and Assessment Practices

The Department has selected 23 middle schools, high schools, and BOCES programs from across the state to participate in the Performance-Based Learning and Assessment Networks (PLAN) Pilot, Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced today. Each of the selected schools will be part of a Pilot Network where educators will receive training and professional development to shift their instructional practices and implement high-quality, performance-based approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment. Schools participating in the PLAN Pilot will work together in networks to learn and support each other in successfully implementing performance-based learning and assessment practices.

Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said,  “The PLAN Pilot is a key component of reimagining the state’s education system, which includes a comprehensive statewide assessment strategy. Pilot schools will develop best practices that go beyond traditional teaching and assessment models and prepare students for success post-graduation. This initiative isn’t just about raising standards; it’s about fostering equity by ensuring that every student has the opportunity to excel based on their unique strengths and abilities.”

Commissioner Rosa said, “When provided with opportunities to engage in meaningful, rigorous learning that meets students where they are, New York’s young people can accomplish great things. The PLAN Pilot looks at how to give students the opportunity to develop and apply their knowledge and skills in authentic ways to promote deeper learning. Congratulations to the schools selected today and thank you for rising to the challenge to better meet the needs of our students.”

PLAN Pilot schools were selected to represent different geographic regions of the state, different stages of implementation, and different student populations. The Department, in collaboration with its university-based research partners, will collect data from the pilot to guide the development of tools and resources to support broader implementation.

A list of PLAN Pilot Schools is posted on the Department’s PLAN Pilot website .

The networks of Pilot Schools will focus on implementing different kinds of evidence-based approaches, such as:

• work-based learning, internships, and career and technical education;
• approaches designed around a “learner profile” to help students develop a set of attributes through their educational experience; and
• project-based learning.

The Pilot Networks will primarily be supported by technical assistance centers operated by two contracted professional learning providers, Modern Learners LLC and Questar III BOCES. In addition, the Department is launching a process to identify Mentor Schools to serve as models and support Pilot Schools in their transition to implementing performance-based approaches. Schools that are successfully implementing a system of performance-based learning and assessment in New York State and who would be interested in sharing their knowledge and expertise are encouraged to visit the Department’s PLAN Pilot website for more information on how to apply to become a PLAN Mentor School.

The PLAN Pilot will study how best to support networks of schools and educators in shifting their instructional practices and improving school culture in a way that better prepares ALL students for college, career, and civic success. All three promising approaches to Performance-Based Learning and Assessments ("PBLA Focus Areas") are being studied through the PLAN Pilot. Each Pilot Network will adopt, adapt, and learn from successful models operating in one of the focus areas, and be supported by a PLAN Technical Assistance Center (TAC) that specializes in that focus area. To learn more about the purpose of the PLAN Pilot, and how it fits into the broader PLAN Program, see the FAQs on our  Program Description  webpage. 

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