State Board committee approves first reading to publish unified CTE employability standards for filing

The Committee of the Full Board of the Texas State Board of Education on Monday approved for first reading and filing authorization proposed new 19 TAC chapter 127, subchapter B, section 127.15, establishing a unified set of employability student expectations for Career and Technical Education (CTE) high‑school courses, with several amendments to the proposal.

The proposal would move common employability student expectations into a single, cross‑referenced standard (section 127.1512 A–B) and remove duplicated language from individual CTE course entries; proposed cross‑reference language and implementation timing were shown to the committee and will be included in the rulemaking filing. Staff said the Texas Register granted special permission to file the employability proposal first and then make cross‑references in other CTE course rules so the public will see everything at once.

Committee discussion focused on three practical issues: where specific employability expectations should remain course‑level (for example, Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Supervised Agricultural Experience standards), how to preserve student expectations tied to extended practicum courses (moving them from strand 1 into strand 6), and how to word health and safety expectations across levels 1–4. Staff recommended leaving ag‑specific strands in place and moving general employability material into the new section; they also provided side‑by‑side comparison handouts and an “additional information” sheet showing proposed cross‑reference language and implementation years.

Board members amended the main proposal multiple times. Member Francis’s amendment replacing prior health/safety language with a single standard reading in part “demonstrate knowledge of personal and occupational health and safety practices in the workplace, including first aid” (with a stronger, more comprehensive statement added for level‑3 and level‑4 courses) passed. Other recorded amendments added explicit student expectations to identify career development, education/training/credentialing opportunities, internships/apprenticeships and entrepreneurship as appropriate to different grade/course levels; committee members directed staff to carry some course‑specific items forward to the Committee on Instruction in Thursday’s “big move” discussion. Staff and several members noted that the employability standards are intended to be optional cross‑references districts may adopt and that the intent is to standardize language for publishers and rubric development.

The committee approved the first‑reading and filing authorization motion as amended. Staff said the adopted proposal will be filed with the Texas Register as a proposal for public comment; after the public comment period and the planned follow‑up committee work (the committee on instruction and the board’s Friday session), the board will consider final adoption for all linked CTE items so cross‑references and course changes can be implemented together.

The committee’s action is a first‑reading/filing authorization step of the rulemaking process; the adopted text and the cross‑references will be posted for public comment, and the board will return to final adoption votes on the related CTE items later in the week.