Bill Text: TX SB1622 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to measures to support the alignment of education and workforce development in the state with state workforce needs, including the establishment of the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-14 - Not again placed on intent calendar [SB1622 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SB1622-Comm_Sub.html

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By: Bettencourt, West S.B. No. 1622
(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2021; March 24, 2021, read
first time and referred to Committee on Higher Education;
May 3, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 3, 2021, sent
to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1622 By: Birdwell

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to measures to support the alignment of education and
workforce development in the state with state workforce needs,
including the establishment of the Tri-Agency Workforce
Initiative.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Texas Education
and Workforce Alignment Act.
SECTION 2. Subtitle G, Title 10, Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 2308A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2308A. TRI-AGENCY WORKFORCE INITIATIVE
Sec. 2308A.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Agency," unless the context requires otherwise,
means the Texas Education Agency.
(2) "Career education and training program" means:
(A) a career and technology education program
offered by a public school;
(B) a career technical or workforce education
program, as defined by the coordinating board, offered by an
institution of higher education;
(C) a program administered by the commission
relating to jobs training, skills development, or adult education
and literacy; and
(D) a work-based learning program, such as an
apprenticeship or internship program, that receives state funding
or is administered by the commission.
(3) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
(4) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(5) "Initiative" means the Tri-Agency Workforce
Initiative.
(6) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.
(7) "State workforce development goals" means the
state workforce development goals developed under Section
2308A.006.
Sec. 2308A.002. PURPOSE. The Tri-Agency Workforce
Initiative is established to coordinate and optimize information
and other resources as necessary to:
(1) align career education and training programs to
workforce demands;
(2) provide residents of the state with timely and
accurate information needed to plan education and workforce
pathways; and
(3) enable local and state policy makers to evaluate
the effectiveness of career education and training programs and
progress toward the state workforce development goals.
Sec. 2308A.003. INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS AND STAFFING. (a)
The agency, coordinating board, and commission shall enter into one
or more interagency agreements establishing policies and processes
for:
(1) sharing and matching relevant data and
cooperatively managing education and workforce information
collected by each respective agency; and
(2) coordinating the assignment of staff and other
resources to the initiative as necessary to effectuate the state
workforce development goals and the strategies for achieving those
goals developed under Section 2308A.006.
(b) The time spent by an employee of the agency,
coordinating board, or commission in supporting the work of the
initiative is not included in calculating the number of full-time
equivalent employees allotted to the respective agency under other
law.
Sec. 2308A.004. QUARTERLY DISCUSSIONS. The commissioner of
education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
commission shall discuss the work of the initiative at least once
per quarter.
Sec. 2308A.005. UNIFIED WORKFORCE DATA REPOSITORY. (a)
The agency, coordinating board, and commission shall use the
P-20/Workforce Data Repository established under Section
1.005(j-1), Education Code, as the central repository of career and
education data. The agency, coordinating board, and commission
shall regularly review the data collected by the respective agency
and incorporate into the repository data determined by the
executive officer of that agency to be integral to the state
workforce development goals and the strategies for achieving those
goals developed under Section 2308A.006.
(b) Any data or reports made accessible to the public under
the initiative must comply with applicable state and federal laws
governing use of and access to the data.
(c) Where applicable, the agency, coordinating board, and
commission shall ensure that records deposited in the repository
are automatically matched at the student level on a timely basis to
ensure that the agency, coordinating board, and commission and
other entities authorized to access the repository have timely
information to support higher education and workforce application,
entry, and success.
Sec. 2308A.006. STATE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND
STRATEGIES. (a) The commissioner of education, commissioner of
higher education, and chair of the commission jointly shall develop
and post in a prominent location on the initiative's and each
respective agency's Internet website state workforce development
goals and coordinated interagency strategies for achieving those
goals.
(b) The goals developed under Subsection (a) must:
(1) be developed in consultation with employers;
(2) include goals for the attainment of employment in
jobs that pay a living wage for all career education and training
programs in the state;
(3) be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender
for each workforce development region; and
(4) provide for:
(A) locally determined priorities consistent
with state goals; and
(B) collaborative planning and coordination with
local employers, public schools, institutions of higher education,
and local workforce development boards.
(c) The strategies developed under Subsection (a) must:
(1) include strategies for expanding work-based
learning;
(2) articulate the ways in which the state can best
leverage state and federal funding for career education and
training programs; and
(3) be demonstrably guided by:
(A) education and workforce data;
(B) evidence of success and considerations of
cost-effectiveness; and
(C) prioritized occupational classifications,
including all target occupations and critical career pathways
designated under Subsection (e).
(d) In consultation with employers, the commissioner of
education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
commission jointly shall update the state workforce development
goals and strategies developed under Subsection (a) at least every
four years, or more frequently if needed to reflect available data
and circumstances.
(e) In consultation with employers, the commissioner of
education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
commission shall designate and update every two years a list of
career pathways that includes the following two priority
categories:
(1) target occupations, which include current needs
that exist in one or more regions of the state as reflected in
regional workforce assessments that:
(A) use the best available data and local
employer requests; and
(B) satisfy minimum federal standards for
designations, such as a foundation for qualified use of federal
workforce funding; and
(2) critical career pathways that reflect the best
statewide data and forecasts of skills and careers for which demand
in the state is expected to grow that may:
(A) be associated with new emerging industries or
new specialty occupations within an industry; or
(B) reflect pathways to better wages for workers
with documented skills that provide promotional opportunities
within or across occupations with targeted upskill training.
(f) Not later than June 1, 2022, the commissioner of
education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
commission jointly shall make recommendations regarding the
development of a modern and publicly accessible job skills
inventory for public and private sector jobs in the state,
including recommendations on:
(1) cataloging worker skills and matching those skills
to public and private sector jobs in the state;
(2) creating skills profiles for all jobs and career
pathways designated under Subsection (e) that are vital to the
state; and
(3) identifying skills and competencies offered by
each career education and training program in the state.
(g) Subsection (f) and this subsection expire September 1,
2023.
Sec. 2308A.007. CREDENTIAL LIBRARY. (a) The agency,
coordinating board, and commission jointly shall establish a
publicly accessible web-based library of credentials, such as
diplomas, certificates, certifications, digital badges,
apprenticeships, licenses, or degrees, that are:
(1) delivered, issued, funded, or governed by the
state;
(2) aligned with recognized skills and industry
standards;
(3) available to residents of the state; and
(4) used by employers in the state.
(b) The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
shall designate a host agency or operating entity for the
credential library.
(c) The credential library must be updated at least once per
year.
Sec. 2308A.008. INTERNET-BASED RESOURCES. (a) The agency,
coordinating board, and commission shall cooperatively establish
Internet-based resources for the initiative. The resources must
include:
(1) a central Internet website for the initiative that
contains information on the state workforce development goals and
the strategies for achieving those goals developed under Section
2308A.006;
(2) a unified dashboard, updated on an annual or more
frequent basis, that reports progress toward accomplishment of the
state workforce development goals, both statewide and
disaggregated by public school and public school campus,
institution of higher education campus, workforce region, and
county;
(3) data on the outcomes of students who participate
in career education and training programs, disaggregated to the
extent practicable by income, race, ethnicity, and gender,
including data regarding degree and credential completion,
employment status and industry of employment, and earnings over
time;
(4) guidance supporting the use of data on the
dashboard described by Subdivision (2) for greater accessibility
for a wide range of public, practitioner, and legislative users;
(5) tools enabling residents of the state to:
(A) explore careers that match the resident's
education and skills and lead to a living wage;
(B) identify and evaluate education and training
opportunities related to the resident's career interests; and
(C) connect to available jobs through existing
job matching websites; and
(6) tools to support joint program planning,
budgeting, and performance evaluation among:
(A) the agency, coordinating board, and
commission; and
(B) public schools, institutions of higher
education, local workforce development boards, and partnering
entities.
(b) The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
shall:
(1) solicit public comment on the usefulness of the
initiative's Internet-based resources; and
(2) in January of each even-numbered year, publish a
summary of the initiative's Internet-based resources, including
actions taken to increase the usefulness of those resources or
address comments received under Subdivision (1).
Sec. 2308A.009. STUDENT SUCCESS REPORTING. (a) The
agency, coordinating board, and commission shall coordinate data
collection and matching necessary to provide information to each
public school and institution of higher education regarding the
success of students previously enrolled in a career education and
training program offered by the school or institution with respect
to critical student outcomes, such as degree and credential
completion, employment status and industry of employment, and
earnings over time.
(b) The commissioner of education, commissioner of higher
education, and chair of the commission shall ensure that the
information provided under Subsection (a) is provided in a manner
that complies with applicable state or federal law regarding the
privacy and confidentiality of student information.
(c) In January of each even-numbered year, the commissioner
of education, commissioner of higher education, and chair of the
commission jointly shall prepare, submit to the legislature, and
post on the initiative's and each respective agency's Internet
website a report on the impact of career education and training
programs on student success and the state workforce development
goals.
Sec. 2308A.010. OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT. At least 30 days
before finalizing state workforce development goals, strategies
for achieving those goals developed under Section 2308A.006, or a
report under Section 2308A.009, the agency, coordinating board, and
commission jointly shall post on the initiative's and each
respective agency's Internet website the proposed goals,
strategies, or report and instructions for submitting comment on
those items to the agencies.
Sec. 2308A.011. SECURE PORTAL. (a) For purposes of state
and local planning, program evaluation, and continuous improvement
of local and regional education and workforce practices, the
agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly shall establish
and support a secure portal through which authorized personnel of
approved entities can view and analyze comprehensive longitudinal
and the most currently available matched data related to the
progress toward meeting state workforce needs.
(b) The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
shall develop role-based security protocols that ensure the privacy
and confidentiality of information made accessible through the
secure portal in a manner that complies with any applicable state or
federal law.
Sec. 2308A.012. EMPLOYER RECOGNITION. (a) The governor
may award a Talent for Texas Champions Governor's Award to
recognize leading employers in the state who are contributing to
workforce improvement by supporting priority job training,
reskilling, and upskilling programs and whose contributions align
with strategic priorities for the state, including helping to meet
regional workforce demands and enabling more residents of the state
to attain jobs that pay a living wage.
(b) The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
shall nominate employers for the award under this section.
Sec. 2308A.013. TARGETED FUNDING TO ADDRESS STATE GOALS.
(a) A state agency that receives funding through the Carl D.
Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C.
Section 2301 et seq.) or the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (Pub. L. No. 113-128) or any other federal funding for career
education and training may, to the extent permissible under federal
law, combine with, transfer to, or delegate to another state agency
that receives such funding the agency's management of
workforce-related funding as necessary to implement the state
workforce development goals.
(b) The agency, coordinating board, and commission jointly
shall submit to the governor and the standing legislative
committees with jurisdiction over state financial alignment
efforts a biennial report on how federal and state funding for
career education and training programs are being spent in
accordance with the state workforce development goals.
(c) A state agency that receives federal or state funding
for career education and training programs shall include in the
agency's legislative appropriations request a description of how
the agency's career education and training programs and
expenditures align with the state workforce development goals.
Sec. 2308A.014. LIVING WAGE. The agency, coordinating
board, and commission jointly shall determine for each county the
wage that constitutes a living wage for purposes of this chapter.
The determination must be based on a common standard that reflects
the regionally adjusted minimum employment earnings necessary to
meet a family's basic needs while also maintaining
self-sufficiency.
Sec. 2308A.015. GIFTS, GRANTS, AND DONATIONS. (a) The
agency, coordinating board, and commission may accept gifts,
grants, and donations from any public or private source for
purposes of the initiative.
(b) The agency, coordinating board, and commission shall
investigate potential sources of funding from federal grants or
programs that may be used for purposes of the initiative.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 204, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 204.0025 to read as follows:
Sec. 204.0025. ADDITIONAL WORKFORCE DATA REPORTING. (a)
The commission shall work in consultation with employers as
provided by this section to enhance and improve the reporting of
employment and earnings data by employers to the commission as part
of an employer's routine wage filings under this subtitle or
commission rule and consistent with federal law and regulations.
The enhanced wage filings must include information related to
occupation and other important employment information that would
improve the state's labor market information.
(b) The commission, in consultation with employers and
human resource technology providers, shall develop viable data
priorities and standards for reporting and collecting enhanced wage
filings described by Subsection (a).
(c) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year,
the commission shall prepare and submit to the legislature and post
on the commission's Internet website a report on employer
participation in the enhanced wage filings described by Subsection
(a), a cost-benefit analysis on the enhanced wage filings to the
workforce planning process in the state, and any recommendations
for legislative or other action to improve the enhanced wage
filings.
(d) Not later than January 1, 2022, the commission shall
design and implement a voluntary pilot program for the reporting
and collection of enhanced wage filings described by Subsection
(a). To the greatest extent possible, the commission shall include
a representative sample of employers in the pilot program.
(e) Not later than September 1, 2022, the commission shall
submit to the legislature a report on the results of the pilot
program and any recommendations for legislative or other action.
(f) Subsections (d) and (e) and this subsection expire
September 1, 2023.
SECTION 4. Not later than October 1, 2021, the Texas
Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and
Texas Workforce Commission shall hold the initial discussion
required under Section 2308A.004, Government Code, as added by this
Act.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than January 31, 2022, the Texas
Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and
Texas Workforce Commission shall develop the initial state
workforce development goals required under Section 2308A.006,
Government Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Not later than April 30, 2022, the Texas Education
Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas
Workforce Commission shall develop the initial strategies required
under Section 2308A.006, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2024, the Texas
Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and
Texas Workforce Commission shall establish the credential library
required under Section 2308A.007, Government Code, as added by this
Act.
SECTION 7. (a) Not later than September 1, 2022, the Texas
Workforce Commission shall develop the data priorities and
standards for reporting and collecting enhanced wage filings as
required under Section 204.0025(b), Labor Code, as added by this
Act.
(b) Not later than September 1, 2024, the Texas Workforce
Commission shall submit the commission's initial report required
under Section 204.0025(c), Labor Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 8. (a) The Texas Education Agency, Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board, and Texas Workforce Commission are
required to implement Chapter 2308A, Government Code, as added by
this Act, only if:
(1) the legislature appropriates funds for that
purpose;
(2) federal funding is provided to the agencies for
that purpose as part of any federal coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
relief spending; or
(3) the agencies receive gifts, grants, or donations
for that purpose under Section 2308A.015, Government Code, as added
by this Act.
(b) If funding described by Subsection (a) of this section
is not appropriated or otherwise made available for the purpose
described by that subsection, the Texas Education Agency, Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas Workforce
Commission may, but are not required to, implement Chapter 2308A,
Government Code, as added by this Act, using other money available
to the agencies for that purpose.
SECTION 9. The Texas Workforce Commission is required to
implement Section 204.0025, Labor Code, as added by this Act, only
if the legislature appropriates money specifically for that
purpose. If the legislature does not appropriate money
specifically for that purpose, the commission may, but is not
required to, implement that section using other appropriations
available for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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