Section 134A.007 - Grant Eligibility To be eligible to receive a grant under this chapter, a public junior college, public technical institute, or nonprofit organization must:
(1) administer one or more performance-based workforce training programs that: (A) lead to skill development and experiences required for employment in high demand occupations in at least one career field identified and listed as a high-growth career field by: (ii) the Texas Workforce Investment Council; or (iii) the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative established under Chapter 2308A, Government Code; (B) are developed and provided based on consultation with and input from employers who are hiring in high demand occupations; (C) create pathways to employment for program participants; and (D) are delivered through classroom-based or online instruction, work-based experiences internships, or apprenticeships, or through a combination of those methods; (2) demonstrate through third-party validated data successful outcomes in: (A) recruiting local unemployed and underemployed individuals to participate in the training program or programs; (B) training individuals with the skills needed to secure full-time employment paying at least a self-sufficient wage as determined under Section 2308A.012, Government Code, in the relevant job field; and (C) placing individuals in employment in high demand occupations; (3) demonstrate the ability to attract at least 40 percent of the necessary funding for training program operation from revenue streams other than state government funding; and (4) agree to: (A) collaborate with the commission, corporate partners, and nonprofit educational partners to determine the training programs to be provided using grant money; (B) secure support from local businesses to ensure alignment between training program offerings and in-demand skills; (C) collaborate with regional employers, public junior colleges, public technical institutes, or nonprofit organizations to make available developmental work-based experiences to further enhance training program participants' career readiness; (D) engage local entities and organizations, including local workforce development boards and community-based organizations, to assist with identifying and recruiting eligible training program participants; (E) provide documentation to the commission describing training program offerings, including information necessary to verify that the offerings will: (i) provide training that is not exclusive to a single corporate partner; and (ii) lead to knowledge, skills, and work-based experiences that are transferable to similar employment opportunities in high demand occupations offered by other employers; and (F) comply with any additional grant conditions prescribed by commission rule, including performance benchmarks established under Section 134A.008 and reporting requirements established under Section 134A.009. Tex. Educ. Code § 134A.007
Added by Acts 2023, Texas Acts of the 88th Leg.- Regular Session, ch. 228,Sec. 1, eff. 9/1/2023.