19 TAC §§75.1031-75.1034
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) proposes new §§75.1031-75.1034,
concerning voluntary workforce training for secondary students. The new sections
provide a mechanism for program participants and employers to enter into postsecondary
education agreements and establish trust funds to be applied toward the participant's
postsecondary education. The proposed new sections incorporate provisions
in the Texas Labor Code, Chapter 311, Voluntary Workforce Training for Certain
Students.
The Texas Labor Code, Chapter 311, added by House Bill 2401, 76th Texas
Legislature, 1999, establishes voluntary workforce training programs for secondary
students. The programs are similar to current work-based training programs,
but require program certification by the TEA. Texas Labor Code, §311.004,
requires TEA and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) to adopt rules to administer
each entity's responsibilities related to the new statutorily-created Voluntary
Workforce Training for Certain Students. The proposed new sections were developed
by a joint committee comprised of representatives from TEA, TWC, the Texas
Attorney General's Office, legislative staff, and representatives from business
and industry.
Paul Lindsey, Coordinator for Continuing Education, has determined that
for the first five-year period the sections are in effect there will be no
fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of enforcing
or administering the new sections.
Mr. Lindsey and Criss Cloudt, Associate Commissioner for Policy Planning
and Research, have determined that for each year of the first five years the
sections are in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing
the sections will be the provision of a mechanism for students to learn workplace
skills and save money for postsecondary education if they choose to enter
into a postsecondary agreement with their employer. There will not be an effect
on small businesses. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons who
are required to comply with the proposed new sections.
Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Criss Cloudt, Policy Planning
and Research, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas, 78701, (512) 463-9701.
Comments may also be submitted electronically to
rules@tmail.tea.state.tx.us
or faxed to (512) 475-3499. All requests
for a public hearing on the proposed sections submitted under the Administrative
Procedure Act must be received by the commissioner of education not more than
15 calendar days after notice of a proposed change in the sections has been
published in the
Texas Register
.
The new sections are proposed under the Texas Labor Code, §311.004,
as added by House Bill 2401, 76th Texas Legislature, 1999, which authorizes
the commissioner of education to adopt rules necessary to administer its responsibilities
related to the Voluntary workforce Training for Students program.
The new sections implement the Texas Labor Code, §311.004, as added
by House Bill 2401, 76th Texas Legislature, 1999.
§75.1031.Voluntary Workforce Training Standards and Agreements.
(a)
A voluntary workforce training program means a career and
technology secondary and postsecondary education program conducted under an
agreement as described in §75.1033 of this title (relating to Certified
Program Agreements) or a voluntary program certified by the Texas Education
Agency (Agency) in conjunction with the Texas Workforce Commission which meets
the standards prescribed under §75.1032 of this title (relating to Certification
Standards). The voluntary workforce training program must:
(1)
integrate a secondary school academic curriculum with private
sector workplace training and a postsecondary curriculum;
(2)
place the participant in job internships;
(3)
be designed to continue into postsecondary education
and lead to the participant earning an associate's degree or a bachelor's
degree;
(4)
result in teaching new skills and adding value to
the wage-earning potential of the participant and increasing the participant's
long-term employability in Texas; and
(5)
meet recognized or accepted industry standards.
(b)
The participants must be at least 16 years of age and enrolled
in a public or private secondary or postsecondary school, or an equivalent
program, and who began to voluntarily participate in a certified voluntary
workforce training program as part of secondary school education.
(c)
Each certified voluntary workforce training program must
have a designated sponsor responsible for operating the program and in whose
name the program is registered when certified by the Agency. The term "sponsor"
shall be defined as the entity or organization in whose name the program is
registered. Examples of sponsors may include, but are not be limited to, a
business, a school district, a local workforce development board, or other
appropriate entity who has agreed to operate the program according to the
established guidelines.
(d)
No student will be required to participate in a certified
voluntary workforce training program.
§75.1032.Certification Standards.
(a)
Entities wishing to sponsor a voluntary workforce training
program will apply to the Agency for certification. The Agency will process
applications from secondary and postsecondary sponsors. Applications that
include an agreement between a participant and a sponsor that is not a secondary
or postsecondary institution will be processed by the Agency in conjunction
with the Texas Workforce Commission (Commission). The Commission's role in
the certification process will be to review the applications and inform the
Agency of any past violations of Texas Labor Code, Chapter 51 (Employment
of Children) and Chapter 61 (Payment of Wages). The Agency will make the final
determination of certification and revocation of certifications. Certification
will be granted for a period of three years and will be reauthorized automatically
every three years unless the program fails to maintain the required certification
standards. The Agency may revoke certification at any time for failure to
maintain the required certification standards.
(b)
Certified programs will agree to submit to the Agency annual
documentation of student participants disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender,
and socioeconomic status.
(c)
If certified programs are inactive for two years, certification
will be automatically revoked.
(d)
To be eligible for certification by the Agency, a program
must meet the criteria in §75.1031(a) of this title (relating to Voluntary
Workforce Training Standards and Agreements) and must:
(1)
be conducted under an organized, written training plan
embodying the terms and conditions of employment, job training, classroom
instruction, and supervision of participants and be approved by a sponsoring
school district or other sponsoring entity that assumes responsibility to
carry out the program;
(2)
comply with all state and federal laws, including
laws pertaining to fair labor standards and workplace health and safety;
(3)
comply with recognized industry standards applicable
to the program in which the participant is engaged; and
(4)
include an agreement by the employer to assign an
employee to serve as a mentor for the participant.
§75.1033.Certified Program Agreements.
(a)
A certified program must be conducted under a signed written
agreement between each participant and the employer. The agreement may include
the following:
(1)
the name and signature of the participant, the sponsor,
the employer, and a parent or guardian of the participant, if the participant
is under 18 years of age;
(2)
a description of the career field in which the participant
is to be trained, the academic and technical skills to be attained, and the
beginning date and duration of the broad-based training; and
(3)
the employer's agreement to provide paid employment,
at a base wage not less than the minimum wage, for the participant during
the participant's junior and senior years in high school and after the participant's
first year of postsecondary education.
(b)
A participant's time spent at the worksite in a certified
program prescribed under §75.1031(a) of this title (relating to Voluntary
Workforce Training Standards and Agreements) will be limited to 15 hours during
the school week. A school week is defined as the week beginning at 12:01 a.m.
on the first instructional day of a calendar week and ends at the close of
instruction on the last instructional day of the calendar week, excluding
holidays.
(c)
A participant may, but is not required to, enter into a
postsecondary education agreement with the participant's employer. A postsecondary
education agreement must include at least the following:
(1)
the participant's agreement to pay half of the participant's
wages to be held in trust to be applied toward the participant's postsecondary
education and the employer's agreement to pay into the trust an additional
amount equal to the amount paid by the participant;
(2)
the participant's agreement to work for the employer
for at least two years immediately following the date of completion of the
participant's postsecondary education;
(3)
the employer's agreement to pay the participant during
the period described under paragraph (2) of this subsection at least the prevailing
wage for employees having a similar education or license and performing similar
work and to provide other employee benefits to which employees performing
similar work are entitled; and
(4)
the participant's agreement to reimburse the employer
if the participant does not perform the two years of employment described
by paragraph (2) of this subsection for the employer's contribution to the
trust, plus interest at the prime interest rate at the time the participant
defaults on the agreement. Terms of the reimbursement arrangements should
be mutually determined by the employer, participant, and parent or guardian
if the participant is under 18 years of age, and formalized through a written
agreement.
(d)
The agreement between the participant and employer may
be modified through mutual written consent at any time.
(e)
If a participant decides not to continue in the program
before beginning postsecondary education, the participant and employer each
shall be refunded, not later than the 30th day after the last date of participation
in the program, their respective contributions to the trust and a pro rata
share of the interest earned on the money in the trust.
(f)
The money held in trust under subsection (c)(1) of this
section must be held for the benefit of the participant. The fund must be
specified in the written agreement between the participant and the employer.
The trust funds must be held in an account or fund with the beneficiary identified
by name. The trust fund agreement must prohibit access to trust fund assets
by a creditor of the employer, the participant, or the trustee. In developing
a trust agreement, the employer and participant shall consider the qualifications
and powers of the trustee, the method of and schedule for transferring funds
to the trust, the investment of the trust fund, accounting requirements for
the fund, requirements for and the method of disbursing funds from the trust,
and requirements and procedures for the termination of the trust. Payment
into a trust approved under 29 United States Code, §1103, for the benefit
of the participant satisfies the requirements of this subsection.
(g)
An employer who enters into an agreement under this section
may not retain participants solely to replace the employer's current employees.
§75.1034.Dispute Resolution.
Disputes regarding terms of the certified program agreement and/or
postsecondary agreement will be decided between the employer and participant.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State, on June 19, 2000.
TRD-200004294
Criss Cloudt
Associate Commissioner for Policy Planning and Research
Texas Education Agency
Earliest possible date of adoption: July 30, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 463-9701