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Parents and educators press Boerne ISD for work-based learning, test access in cybersecurity P-TECH program
Summary
Parents and program supporters told the board that Boerne ISD's cybersecurity P-TECH cohort has not received promised age-appropriate work-based experiences or access to industry certification exams and TSIA2 preparation; they asked the district to create testing and internship timelines and to leverage community contacts.
Parents, students and educators told the Boerne ISD Board of Trustees on Dec. 16 that the districtcybersecurity P-TECH program (cohort 1) is falling short of promises about work-based learning and certification access.
Laura Oke, a parent and member of the P-TECH cohort community, said the program so far has not provided internships or other work-based experiences "after two and a half years in the program, none of our students have been offered a work-based learning opportunity through P-TECH." She asked trustees to use their community connections to find businesses willing to host age-appropriate internships for rising seniors.
Irvin Smith, a parent, told the board that recent improvements including a new P-TECH counselor and planned CTE facilitycame after parents raised concerns, but he said communication gaps persist: "We finally felt like our voices were being heard. Then, of course, two steps forward, one step back," Smith said, describing canceled parent meetings and scheduling problems that left some students without a complete schedule into the semester.
Dr. Josephine Juarez, who addressed the board with a program-level set of requests, said the district has not provided access to industry certification exams aligned with the cybersecurity curriculum in the past three years and urged the board to act on three steps: create an industry-certification exam plan and timeline (including vouchers and availability), develop TSIA2 preparation and testing opportunities (with advance notice and free preparatory resources), and use technical assistance from Educate Texas to build capacity at district and campus levels. "This plan should outline the testing voucher process, exam availability, and communication strategies to inform students and families about these opportunities," Juarez told trustees.
Parents and speakers said the lack of internships and test opportunities threatens the advertised outcomes of the program: earning postsecondary credit and industry credentials. Several parents noted the district's ability to run senior practicums in other CTE areas and asked that P-TECH receive comparable employer engagement and timely communication from counselors.
Why this matters: P-TECH is designed to connect high-school coursework to college credit and workforce credentials. Without internships and accessible certification testing, students risk graduating without promised, job-ready credentials or work experience.
What the board was told to do: Parents asked trustees to ask community contacts for internship placements, to require a testing timeline and voucher plan for cybersecurity exam access, and to provide advance notice and preparation for TSIA2 exams so students can qualify for dual-credit courses.
No formal board motion on these program-specific requests was recorded; parents asked for administrative follow-up.
