Bill Text: TX SB1480 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

Texas Senate Bill 1480 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Relating to the development and alignment by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board of curricula for certain educational programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-19 - Referred to Higher Education [SB1480 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SB1480-Introduced.html

	84R9670 JRJ-D

	By: Garcia	S.B. No. 1480



	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the development and alignment by the Texas Higher
	Education Coordinating Board of curricula for certain educational
	programs.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 61.823, Education Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
	(e) The board, with the assistance of an appropriate
	advisory committee, shall periodically review each field of study
	curriculum to ensure alignment with student interest and academic
	and industry needs.
	SECTION 2. Subchapter S, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
	amended by adding Section 61.8235 to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.8235. CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM OF
	STUDY CURRICULA. (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 or
	credit-bearing postsecondary certificate; or
	(C) an associate or baccalaureate degree.
	(b) The board, with the assistance of advisory committees
	composed of representatives of secondary education, postsecondary
	education, business and industry, other state agencies or licensing
	bodies, and other career and technical education experts, shall
	develop career and technical education program of study curricula.
	Each advisory committee shall have at least one representative from
	each identified group. The advisory committees shall identify the
	knowledge, skills, and abilities required to prepare students for
	high-skill, high-wage jobs in high-demand occupations.
	(c) In developing program of study curricula under
	Subsection (b), the board shall pursue a management strategy that
	maximizes efficiency, including a management strategy that
	provides for the decentralization of advisory committees to enable
	concurrent development of curricula for different programs of
	study.
	(d) The board may partner with the Texas Education Agency,
	the Texas Workforce Commission, and other state agencies to develop
	programs of study under this section.
	(e) A program of study established under this section must:
	(1) focus on the current and future needs of employers
	in this state;
	(2) clearly define career pathways with logical entry
	and exit points for students;
	(3) indicate the types of careers and the names of
	certifications or licenses aligned to the program of study;
	(4) provide for students who begin a program of study
	at a public junior college, public state college, or public
	technical institute to transfer to another public junior college,
	public state college, or public technical institute without having
	to repeat classes or incur significant interruption of their
	ability to progress through the program of study;
	(5) be designed to meet the needs of business and
	industry with a high degree of commonality across the state;
	(6) align with the college and career readiness
	standards; and
	(7) be revised on a reoccurring schedule, not to
	exceed once every five years, to ensure the programs of study remain
	current and relevant to the needs of business and industry.
	(f) A student enrolled in a board-established program of
	study who transfers from a public junior college, public state
	college, or public technical institute to another public junior
	college, public state college, or public technical institute that
	offers a similar program, regardless of whether the institution has
	adopted the board-established program of study, shall receive
	academic credit from the institution to which the student
	transferred for each of the courses that the student has
	successfully completed in the program of study curriculum. Unless
	otherwise required by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern
	Association of Colleges and Schools, the student may complete the
	program of study at the institution to which the student
	transferred by completing only the remaining number of semester
	credit hours the student would need to complete the program of study
	at the institution from which the student transferred.
	(g) The board, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas
	Workforce Commission may adopt rules as necessary for the
	administration of this section.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.