Change in cost principles applicable to charter schools

On its website, KHOU-TV  Houston (6/11, Wiggins, McMenney) reports, “Among the six bills signed Monday, SB 441 creates the Texas Fast Start Program, a workforce readiness initiative aimed to prepare more high school students to quickly enter the workforce through beefed up” CTE programs. A separate measure, “HB 2201 requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to approve at least six new advanced CTE courses to satisfy a fourth credit in mathematics required for graduation.”

The Austin (TX) American Statesman  (6/11, Tilove) reports, “House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, the chief architect of the reform, said fears that it would undermine rigor for college-bound students were unfounded, and the beneficiaries would be the more than 40 percent of high school students in Texas who are not headed to college but need training to pursue successful careers.”

Also covering the story are, on its website, YNN-TV  Austin, TX (6/11, Wallace), the Dallas Morning News  (6/11, Weiss) “Education Blog,” the Houston Chronicle  (6/11, Fikac) “Texas Politics” blog, KUHF-FM  Houston (6/11, Isensee), the San Angelo (TX) Standard-Times  (6/10, Waller) and other media sources.

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“This session, I emphasized the need to expand the opportunities for success available to all Texas students. The legislation I signed today strikes a balance between our need for rigorous academic standards and a student’s need for flexibility, and between accountability and an appropriate level of testing in the classroom,” Gov. Perry said. “We are improving workforce readiness and expanding and developing career and technical education courses to better guide students from the high school or college classroom into careers with the most job opportunities.”

Students across Texas have diverse goals and unlimited opportunities, from community college, military service, university or a career. The governor understands the need for flexibility to provide accountable and rigorous options for our students, ensuring they are prepared for whatever goal they choose to pursue.

“I thank Gov. Perry for his leadership in emphasizing the importance of education for the future of Texas,” Commissioner Williams said. “As a state, we should never apologize for striving to get more of our students into college. However, all students should finish high school in position to make a choice about the best course for their future. Legislation, no matter how well intentioned, does not educate one student. Ultimately, it is up to educators, parents, and students to do the work and make the gains we all hope to see.”

Through initiatives like the Texas Fast Start Program, which uses competency based learning to allow students to more quickly receive degrees and certificates in high demand fields, and the Texas Workforce Innovation Needs Program, which allows school districts and institutions of higher education to establish innovative career programs that lead to a technical certificate or associate degree, Texas students will be better prepared for the demands of today’s workforce.

“Ideally, HB 5 will open up an unprecedented era of cooperation between K-12 and higher education,” Commissioner Paredes said. “In order for HB 5 to succeed, local school districts, community colleges and universities must work together to develop rigorous and relevant courses to prepare high school students for post-secondary education. And both sectors must cooperate to provide the academic counseling needed so that ninth-graders and their families can make informed decisions about their chosen academic pathways.”

“It’s well known that Texas has a strong economy, with 326,000 jobs added over the last year and growth across all major industries,” Commissioner Alcantar said. “These bills offer additional opportunities for students to graduate ready for post-secondary success, while providing innovative approaches to equip our workforce with the skills needed in the dynamic occupations being created by Texas employers.”

For the Class of 2010, Texas’ graduation rate for all students (74.8 percent) exceeded the national average (74.7 percent) and that of comparable large states including California, Florida, and New York.

For the Class of 2010, Texas’ graduation rate for all students exceeded that of all neighboring states (New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana). 

For the Class of 2010, Texas’ graduation rate for Hispanic students (73.3 percent) exceeded the national average (68.1 percent) and that of California (66 percent).

In the ten-year period from the Class of 2000 through the Class of 2010, the Texas graduation rate jumped 11.9 percent, the seventh largest increase among all the states.

According to a Diplomas Count 2013 analysis, large Texas school districts that are posting “graduation rates higher than expected” (given their size, poverty level and other defining characteristics) include: Northside ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Austin ISD, Houston ISD, and Dallas ISD.

Click here to read TEA Commissioner’s comments: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/news_release.aspx?id=25769805415

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As the school year comes to a close and before the focus turns to the things of summer seems to be a perfect time to complete some required reports and begin to plan for the future.  One such report that will soon come due is the Perkins Program Effectiveness Report (PER).

One section of the PER is devoted to reporting student success at completing industry certifications and licensures.  This is one area that seems to cause a great amount of confusion and misunderstanding.  This article presents some common myths and provides the factual information from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

MYTH: The certifications and licensures on the PER list are the TEA official, recognized certifications and licensures.

TRUTH: TEA does not have a list of approved or recognized certifications or licensures, so districts should not misconstrue the list in the PER to mean TEA approves or recognizes exams on that list and/or does not approve or recognize exams that are not on that list.

MYTH: The number of certifications your students take affects the CTE or Perkins funding the school district receives.

TRUTH: The number of certification or licensure exams a district offers its students does not affect the district’s funding in any way.

MYTH: Every program of study or coherent sequence must lead to a certification or licensure.

TRUTH: Neither TEA nor USDE requires that each program, cluster, or pathway must have a student certification or licensure attached to it.

MYTH: The certifications and licensures reported on the PER become part of the school performance accountability.

TRUTH: The certification and licensure exam list in the PER has no impact on a school’s performance accountability. While TEA includes other CTE factors in its performance based monitoring, it does not include this measure (Perkins core indicator 2S1, technical skill attainment)*.

MYTH: The only certifications and licensures that matter are those listed on the PER.

TRUTH: Many desirable student certifications and licensures do not meet the three criteria in the 2S1 definition,* so cannot be included in the PER list.  TEA encourages districts to offer students the opportunity to earn any certification or licensure that has benefit and value to students, and that makes sense for the district and its program.  Districts can use Perkins funds to pay for any certification and licensure that is consistent with the purpose of the Carl D. Perkins Act, as long as districts make those opportunities available to all eligible students.**

MYTH: Districts should use the certification and licensure list in the PER to determine which CTE courses and CTE programs to support.

TRUTH: Districts should not use the PER exam list to drive course offerings or make purchasing decisions, or for any other purpose than to report 2S1 (technical skill attainment) data.

MYTH: New certifications and licensures are never added to the list.

TRUTH: The TEA CTE staff review the certification and licensure list periodically. This year the TEA CTE staff review resulted in a net gain of 39 certifications and licensures from the previous year, for a total of 155 exams. The first year the PER was in eGrants, it listed 80 exams.  Most additions are the result of districts recommending new exams through the PER.

The review also resulted in some certifications and licensures being removed from the PER list if these certifications and licensures did not meet the three criteria for inclusion.*

MYTH: Since TEA removed certain certificates from the PER, districts should no longer use those certificates.

TRUTH: NO. While it is true that TEA removed a few certifications and/or licensures from the PER, each continues to be an important and appropriate certification for some students. An example of one of the certifications that TEA removed is the Tractor and Machinery Operation Certificate. It serves as an excellent example to illustrate why districts should not use the PER exam list to determine which exams to offer students.  The Tractor and Machinery Operation Certificate is intended for students who are completing their first year of course work in AFNR, and therefore would not be considered “end of program”.*  Certainly safety instruction and the curriculum content that emphasizes safety and safe practices are crucial.

MYTH: There is no value in reporting other certifications and licensures to TEA.

TRUTH: TEA CTE staff members need district recommendations for certifications and licensures that meet the three required criteria.* This is how TEA CTE staff members gather information for the periodic review.  Districts should use lines 156-166 in Section 5 of the PER to recommend exams.*

As you plan ahead for the success of the CTE programs in your school it is important to consider any and all certification and licensure opportunities that could benefit students.  Careful planning will result in the ability to integrate certifications and licensures into the knowledge and skills of many of the courses.  Equipping students with relevant industry recognized certifications and licensures is one more way to insure that the CTE programs in Texas can prepare students for the industries of the 21^st Century.

*The actual and sole purpose of the certifications and licensures list in the PER is to provide the data to measure and report both district and statewide performance on the Perkins core indicator for technical skill attainment (2S1).  The state’s definition of 2S1 is included in the State Plan for CTE.  In order for a certification or licensure to meet the definition for that core indicator, it must meet all three criteria in the definition: 1) end of program, 2) industry recognized, and 3) available and appropriate for secondary students.

**Districts may not use Perkins funds to benefit individual students; however, districts may use Perkins funds to buy block seats for certification or licensure exams if the district buys enough seats for all eligible students and makes those seats available to all eligible students.

Click this link to read SB 1458 Analysis

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Find out who represents you & their contact information by clicking here.    When you get to the page that shows the names of who represents you, click on your state representative’s name; that will take you to his/her webpage.  Then click on the Email link to send them an email.  Otherwise you can call them.

Ask your representative to support all current and future Texas teacher retirees by voting YES on SB 1458!

Thank you for your service to Texas public education employees and retirees.

Last week SB 1458 passed out of the Senate with unanimous support.  It then received unanimous support as it was voted out of the House Pensions Committee.  SB 1458 puts the TRS of Texas on a path to actuarial soundness this year—a goal that was considered unreachable before the 83^rd Legislative Session began.

SB 1458 creates a link between active member, school district, and state contributions that will make reducing state contributions in the future far more difficult.  This means a better system for future retirees.

SB 1458 provides financial relief for some TRS retirees this year, while paving a path to helping more retirees in the future.

CTE Gets Attention During ESEA Accountability Hearing

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on May 7, titled “Raising the Bar: Exploring State and Local Efforts to Improve Accountability.” With the impending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the hearing focused on what the proper federal role should be in holding schools accountable for student outcomes. Read more…

President Obama Visits High School in Texas

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on May 7, titled “Raising the Bar: Exploring State and Local Efforts to Improve Accountability.” With the impending reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the hearing focused on what the proper federal role should be in holding schools accountable for student outcomes. Read more…

DOE Releases Blueprint to Transform Teaching Profession

On April 25, the U.S. Department of Education released its plan for transforming the teaching profession titled “A Blueprint for Recognizing Education Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching (RESPECT).” The Blueprint for RESPECT is the latest piece of the department’s efforts to start a national conversation on the teaching profession, which began in 2012. Read more…