| (a) Applicability. This section applies only to an
eligible school district that intends to establish a rural pathway
excellence partnership (R-PEP) under Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.912.
(b) Eligibility for R-PEP benefits. A school district
is eligible for R-PEP program benefits if it has fewer than 1,600
students in average daily attendance and enters into a partnership
with at least one other school district, irrespective of the number
of students in average daily attendance in the other district, located
within a distance of 100 miles. Open-enrollment charter schools are
not eligible for R-PEP designation.
(c) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Coordinating entity--An entity that has the capacity
to effectively coordinate a multi-district partnership that includes
at least one district eligible for benefits under subsection (b) of
this section, has entered into a performance agreement approved by
the board of trustees of each partnering school district, is an eligible
entity as defined by TEC, §12.101(a), and has a governing or
advisory board that meets all membership requirements defined in TEC, §29.912.
(2) Institution of higher education--An institution
of higher education has the meaning assigned by TEC, §61.003.
(3) Pathway--A program of study or endorsement described
by TEC, §28.025(c-1), that:
(A) aligns with regional labor market projections for
high-wage, high-demand careers with advancement opportunities; and
(B) incorporates:
(i) Texas Education Agency (TEA)-approved career and
technical education programs of study, as defined in TEC, §48.106,
and/or Texas College and Career Readiness School Models, including
Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) and Early
College High School (ECHS);
(ii) college and career advising; and
(iii) a continuum of work-based learning experiences
that allow students to reflect on and apply what they have learned.
(4) Performance agreement--A legally binding agreement
between the board of trustees of each partnering school district and
the coordinating entity that confers specific authority to the coordinating
entity over the R-PEP pathways as defined in TEC, §29.912.
(d) Performance agreement. To contract with the coordinating
entity to operate under TEC, §29.912, the board of trustees of
each partnering school district must approve a legally binding agreement
with the coordinating entity. The R-PEP performance agreement must:
(1) confer to the coordinating entity the same authority
with respect to pathways offered under the partnership provided to
an entity that contracts to operate a district campus under TEC, §11.174.
The coordinating entity must have:
(A) authority to employ and manage the staff member
responsible for the pathways at each partner campus, including initial
and final non-delegable authority to hire, supervise, manage, assign,
evaluate, develop, advance, compensate, continue employment, and establish
any other terms of employment;
(B) authority over the employees in each pathway, including
initial and final non-delegable authority for the operating partner
to employ and/or manage all of the operating partner's own administrators,
educators, contractors, or other staff. Such authority includes the
authority to hire, supervise, manage, assign, evaluate, develop, advance,
compensate, continue employment, and establish any other terms of
employment;
(C) initial, final, and sole authority to supervise,
manage, evaluate, and rescind the assignment of any district employee
or district contractor from the pathway. If the coordinating entity
rescinds the assignment of any district employee or district contractor,
the district must grant the request within 20 working days;
(D) authority to and must directly manage the staff
member responsible for the pathways at each partner campus, including
having the sole responsibility for evaluating their performance;
(E) initial, final, and sole authority over educational
programs within each pathway for specific, identified student groups,
such as gifted and talented students, emergent bilingual students,
students at risk of dropping out of school, special education students,
and other statutorily defined populations;
(F) initial, final, and sole authority to set the school
calendar and the daily schedule; and
(G) authority to develop and exercise final approval
of pathway budgets, which must include at least 80% of the state and
local funding to which each partnering school district is entitled
under TEC, §§48.106, 48.110, and 48.118, for each student
participating in a pathway;
(2) include ambitious and measurable performance goals
and progress measures tied to current college, career, and military
readiness outcomes bonus standards and longitudinal postsecondary
completion and employment-related outcomes and a timeline to report
progress to district school boards at least biannually;
(3) allocate responsibilities for accessing and managing
progress and outcome information and annually publishing that information
on the Internet website of each partnering district and the coordinating
entity;
(4) authorize the coordinating entity to optimize the
value of each college and career pathway offered through the partnership
by:
(A) determining scheduling;
(B) adding or removing a pathway;
(C) selecting and assigning pathway-specific personnel;
(D) developing and exercising final approval of pathway
budgets, which must include at least 80% of the state and local funding
to which each partnering school district is entitled under TEC, §§48.106,
48.110, and 48.118, for each student participating in a pathway; and
(E) determining any other matter critical to the efficacy
of the pathways; and
(5) provide that any eligible student enrolled in a
partnering school district may participate in a college or career
pathway offered through the partnership.
(e) Applying for designation of an R-PEP.
(1) Applicant eligibility. A coordinating entity must
submit a single application on behalf of each district and campus
it requests to designate as eligible for R-PEP benefits.
(2) Types of applications. A coordinating entity may
submit an application to start a new R-PEP or an application to expand
or modify a previously designated R-PEP in good standing with all
applicable R-PEP requirements.
(3) Application contents. The following provisions
apply to an R-PEP application submitted to the commissioner of education.
(A) A coordinating entity must submit a letter of intent
prior to applying for an R-PEP in accordance with the procedures determined
by the commissioner.
(B) The application package shall contain, but is not
limited to, any of the following:
(i) an application form;
(ii) a description of R-PEP pathways, including a list
of pathways offered at each R-PEP district and evidence that the college
and career pathways offered align with regional labor market projections
for high-wage, high-demand careers;
(iii) a description of the R-PEP organizational structure,
including a staffing plan that outlines roles and responsibilities
related to operating and coordinating the R-PEP pathways and includes
at least two full-time equivalent roles that:
(I) are under the control of the coordinating entity
to the extent required to fulfill responsibilities related to R-PEP;
(II) may be distributed among more than two employees
or contractors, including employees or contractors of the district
with time allocated for duties managed by the coordinating entity;
and
(III) will be engaged and begin fulfillment of their
roles within 30 days of approval by the commissioner;
(iv) a proposed budget demonstrating the use of funds
allocated to the coordinating entity from the partner districts and
ensuring that the coordinating entity exercises final approval over
at least 80% of the state and local funding to which each partnering
school district is entitled under TEC, §§48.106, 48.110,
and 48.118;
(v) an approved performance agreement in alignment
with subsection (d) of this section; and
(vi) letters of support from relevant organizations,
including institutions of higher education, workforce development
organizations, and school districts in the region.
Cont'd... |
