Preliminary Public Comment on Industry-Based Certifications for Public School Accountability

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The Texas Education Agency (TEA) requests preliminary public comment on a draft list of industry-based certifications to be used for public school accountability. The new list of industry-based certifications is scheduled to go into effect for the 2019-2020 school-year and will apply to school accountability ratings in August 2021. The public comment period is now open and will close on February 4, 2019. To view the draft list, click here.

To develop this list, TEA requested feedback from stakeholders across Texas on recommendations for additions to the current state-approved list of 73 industry-based certifications. TEA received over 4,000 responses containing 1,319 unique credentials. The recommended credentials were sent to the 28 Texas Workforce Development Boards to determine industry value and approximately 1,000 industry representatives responded to the survey. 

All submitted credentials were reviewed for the evaluation criteria for industry-based certifications including: 1) industry valued; 2) 3rd party provider; 3) capstone; 4) attainable by a high school student; and 5) portable. The full evaluation criteria for industry-based certifications can be found here. Additionally, the complete list of 1,319 unique certifications and their alignment to the evaluation criteria can be found here.

Stakeholders are encouraged to review the proposed industry-based certifications list and provide comments. As part of this outreach effort, TEA has developed new electronic forms to help stakeholders submit public comments on the proposed certifications. The proposed list and electronic forms can be found at the following website: https://tea.texas.gov/cte

Stakeholders can submit responses three ways:

1. Comment on certifications on the proposed list
2. Comment on certifications that were vetted but did not make the list
3. Comment on certifications they do not see on either list but wish to submit

We are soliciting feedback through this process and intend to make changes based on the feedback received. This comment period is in advance of the public comment period for rulemaking, which provides another opportunity for stakeholders to share feedback in the spring.

If you have additional questions regarding the public comment process, contact Avery Barrera at avery.barrera@tea.texas.gov.