AUSTIN – The need for workforce training resulted in a pair of bills in this year’s legislative session that will benefit career and technical education (CTE) programs across the state, including at Warren ISD.
Gov. Greg Abbott made workforce training an emergency item during the session, to address the need to prepare students for life, post-high school, and two pieces of legislation in the House – House Bill 20 and HB 120 – were penned to address workforce gaps.
Under HB 20, high school students will be able to swap a core academic class for a college-level CTE class. Prior to the swap, the student will have to pass an end-of-year assessments test for a course they opt-out of to make that swap. Under HB 120, access and funding is expanded for CTE programs. Both bills passed through their committees, and were unanimously passed to go to Abbott’s desk.
Abbott announced last week that two Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grants were awarded to Warren ISD and to Angelina College. Warren ISD received a grant of close to $300K to train 60 students, in a partnership with Lamar State College, in a welding program.
The goal, as stated in the legislature, has been for expanded career training to get 60% of Texans a post-high school degree or credential by the year 2030 in order to fill those workforce gaps, in areas such as welding and plumbing.
State Rep. Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin) also authored a piece of legislation, which was taken up in the Senate, SB 2448, which will establish a Rural Workforce Development Grant Program in order to encourage non-profits in rural communities to improve workforce training and address those gaps in skills to reduce the workforce shortage.
