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April 7, 2025 Committee of the Full Board Item 1

Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter B, High School, §127.15, Career and Technical Education Employability Skills, Adopted 2025
(First Reading and Filing Authorization)

April 11, 2025

COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION

SUMMARY: This item presents for first reading and filing authorization proposed new 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter B, High School, §127.15, Career and Technical Education Employability Skills, Adopted 2025. The proposal would provide the opportunity for the board to establish Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in employability skills for effective performance in the workplace. The employability skills standards would be required to be taught as a part of each career and technical education (CTE) course.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4); 28.002(a) and (c); and 28.025(a).

TEC, §7.102(c)(4), requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish curriculum and graduation requirements.

TEC, §28.002(a), identifies the subjects of the required curriculum.

TEC, §28.002(c), requires the SBOE to identify by rule the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum that all students should be able to demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating instructional materials and addressed on the state assessment instruments.

TEC, §28.025(a), requires the SBOE to determine by rule the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school graduation program that are consistent with the required curriculum under TEC, §28.002.

The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed new section is 20 days after filing as adopted with the Texas Register. Under TEC, §7.102(f), the SBOE must approve the rule action at second reading and final adoption by a vote of two-thirds of its members to specify an effective date earlier than the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year. The earlier effective date will allow districts to implement new TEKS for employability skills beginning with the 2025-2026 school year.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted the TEKS for all subjects effective September 1, 1998. The CTE TEKS were amended effective August 23, 2010. The CTE TEKS were again amended effective August 28, 2017. CTE TEKS for courses in education and training; health science; and science, technology, and mathematics (STEM) were amended effective April 26, 2022; June 14, 2022; and August 7, 2022. In June 2023, the SBOE adopted new CTE TEKS in occupational safety and health effective September 10, 2023. In November 2023, the SBOE adopted new TEKS for CTE career preparation and entrepreneurship courses to be implemented in the 2024-2025 school year. The SBOE adopted new CTE TEKS for courses in the agribusiness, animal science, plant science, and aviation maintenance programs of study as well as two STEM courses effective August 1, 2025. The SBOE approved TEKS for 18 state-approved CTE innovative courses for first reading and filing authorization at the November 2024 SBOE meeting. Additionally, the SBOE approved for first reading and filing authorization new CTE TEKS for 20 engineering courses at its January 2025 meeting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: In accordance with statutory requirements that the SBOE identify by rule the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum, the SBOE follows a board-approved cycle to review and revise the essential knowledge and skills for each subject. A full revision of the CTE TEKS was conducted in 2009 and 2014. As part of the 2014 review, the educator review committees recommended the inclusion in the TEKS for all CTE courses a strand in employability skills for effective performance in the workplace. The SBOE approved CTE TEKS with the employability skills strand for courses in the 16 career clusters that existed at that time to be effective August 28, 2017.

Since the 2014 CTE TEKS review, any revisions to the TEKS for CTE courses have included an employability skills strand; however, the employability skills vary across the current 14 CTE career clusters and in some instances vary among courses within the same career cluster. At the January 2025 SBOE meeting, the board discussed the option to develop a universal set of CTE TEKS in employability skills that would be required to be taught as part of each CTE course. The discussion included establishing one set of employability skills standards for courses identified as Level 1 and 2 in a CTE program of study and a second universal set of advanced employability skills standards for courses identified as Level 3 and 4 in a CTE program of study.

Proposed new §127.15, Career and Technical Education Employability Skills, Adopted 2025, identifies standards to be taught as part of each CTE course. The attachment to this item reflects the text of the proposed new employability skills standards.

There are three additional CTE-related items presented for second reading and final adoption as separate items in this agenda:

  • Proposed Repeal of 19 TAC Chapter 130, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career and Technical Education, and Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education;
  • Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter C, Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, §127.59 and §127.61; Subchapter F, Business, Marketing, and Finance, §127.262 and §127.263; Subchapter J, Health Science, §127.510 and §127.511; Subchapter K, Hospitality and Tourism, §§127.569, 127.571, and 127.604; Subchapter M, Information Technology, §§127.689-127.691 and 127.695-127.699, and Subchapter N, Law and Public Service, §127.773; and
  • Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter I, Engineering, §§127.402-127.419, 127.452, and 127.453.

This item presents an opportunity for the SBOE to approve new employability skills standards for first reading and filing authorization to be embedded with the TEKS for new and existing CTE courses included in these items.

FISCAL IMPACT: The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has determined that there are no additional costs to state government.

During the first five years the proposal is in effect, there may be fiscal implications for school districts and charter schools to implement the proposed new employability skills standards, which may include the need for professional development and revisions to district-developed databases, curriculum, and scope and sequence documents. Since curriculum and instruction decisions are made at the local district level, it is difficult to estimate the fiscal impact on any given district.

LOCAL EMPLOYMENT IMPACT: The proposal has no effect on local economy; therefore, no local employment impact statement is required under Texas Government Code, §2001.022.

SMALL BUSINESS, MICROBUSINESS, AND RURAL COMMUNITY IMPACT: The proposal has no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses, microbusinesses, or rural communities; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.

COST INCREASE TO REGULATED PERSONS: The proposal does not impose a cost on regulated persons, another state agency, a special district, or a local government and, therefore, is not subject to Texas Government Code, §2001.0045.

TAKINGS IMPACT ASSESSMENT: The proposal does not impose a burden on private real property and, therefore, does not constitute a taking under Texas Government Code, §2007.043.

GOVERNMENT GROWTH IMPACT: TEA staff prepared a Government Growth Impact Statement assessment for this proposed rulemaking. During the first five years the proposed rulemaking would be in effect, it would create a new regulation by requiring school districts to include new employability skills into instruction provided for CTE courses.

The proposed rulemaking would not create or eliminate a government program; would not require the creation of new employee positions or elimination of existing employee positions; would not require an increase or decrease in future legislative appropriations to the agency; would not require an increase or decrease in fees paid to the agency; would not expand, limit, or repeal an existing regulation; would not increase or decrease the number of individuals subject to its applicability; and would not positively or adversely affect the state's economy.

PUBLIC BENEFIT AND COST TO PERSONS: The proposed new TEKS would support student learning in skills that are needed for effective performance in the workplace. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons who are required to comply with the proposal.

DATA AND REPORTING IMPACT: The proposal would have no data or reporting impact.

PRINCIPAL AND CLASSROOM TEACHER PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: TEA has determined that the proposal would not require a written report or other paperwork to be completed by a principal or classroom teacher.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: The public comment period on the proposal begins May 16, 2025, and ends at 5:00 p.m. on June 16, 2025. The SBOE will take registered oral and written comments on the proposal at the appropriate committee meeting in June 2025 in accordance with the SBOE board operating policies and procedures. A request for a public hearing on the proposal submitted under the Administrative Procedure Act must be received by the commissioner of education not more than 14 calendar days after notice of the proposal has been published in the Texas Register on May 16, 2025.

MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:

Approve for first reading and filing authorization proposed new 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter B, High School, §127.15, Career and Technical Education Employability Skills, Adopted 2025.

Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner, Standards and Programs
Jessica Snyder, Senior Director, Curriculum Standards and Student Support

Attachment:
Text of Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education, Subchapter B, High School, §127.15, Career and Technical Education Employability Skills, Adopted 2025

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