The House Subcommittee on Academic & Career-Oriented Education will meet at 8 a.m., Thursday, April 10, to hear testimony on the following bills:
HB 1057 Bhojani – This bill states that a certified career or technology education teacher will now be entitled to salary step credit for up to five years of relevant work experience, an increase from the previous maximum of two years. The bill also allows eligible members of TRS to establish equivalent membership service credit for the same maximum duration of five years of work experience, as long as the member is entitled to salary step credit under the modified provisions in Section 21.403(b).
HB 1876 Tepper – This bill creates a program, overseen by TEA, that offers grants to schools and charter institutions to assist in gathering, analyzing, and reporting relevant education data. TEA is required to set rules for the grant program, including application processes, eligibility benchmarks, and prioritization of proposals that promise notable improvements in educational outcomes and workforce readiness. Grants can be allocated for various activities, notably for implementing data collection strategies that monitor student engagement in extracurricular education activities, tracking performance metrics, and assessing readiness for future career paths, including military options. Schools must also ensure that data on enrollments is disaggregated by crucial demographic factors. The bill emphasizes training school employees in data analytics and encourages integration of career and technical education data with existing educational information systems.
