Texas
Bills aimed at bolstering Texas’ workforce education advance
More money and support for workforce training in rural areas and early college programs across Texas advanced in the Capitol this week.
They are among lawmakers’ efforts aimed at preparing young Texans for high-demand jobs this session. Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency priority list includes a funding boost for career training programs in high school, from early college to partnerships in rural areas.
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Education K-16 advanced a bill that would increase funding to public schools for more students to receive job training and mentorship opportunities through Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools, or P-TECH programs.
To address needs in rural areas, the House on Wednesday passed a bill to fund rural workforce development programs.
“Without an intentional systemwide effort to increase credential attainment for our young people, we will not be able to adequately fill the jobs that are being created in North Texas. And we will not adequately be able to sustain the economic growth that we’re seeing in North Texas,” said Katrina Fraser, the Commit Partnership’s director of postsecondary education policy.
But time is running out for lawmakers to pass legislation as the session’s final day approaches on June 2. A $7.7 billion proposal for schools is set for a Senate hearing Thursday, a month after the House passed its version of the bill.
About 60% of jobs in Texas will require education beyond a high school diploma in five years; however, less than 40% of Texans earn a degree or credential within six years of graduating high school, according to state data. About a third of workers have skills for those jobs, according to the Texas Workforce Commission’s labor market data.
Some Texas districts, including Dallas ISD, offer P-TECH programs that allow students to earn college credit — and even an associates degree — while in high school. Public schools that do so could see their funding triple from $50 to $150 per student enrolled in P-TECH under House Bill 120, introduced by Rep. Keith Bell, R-Forney.
“This bill responds to Governor Greg Abbott’s emergency item to improve and expand career training programs for Texas high school students,” according to Bell’s March 6 Facebook post. “Our legislature must continue creating multiple pathways to career success!”
A statewide high school advising program would be established and overseen by the Texas Education Agency to work with districts’ advisers, according to the bill. The bill would limit each district adviser who is participating in the TEA program to work with no more than 200 students, prioritizing grades 11 and 12.
Education advocates say access to such advisers boost students’ chances for success and financial stability, but high student-to-counselor ratios and limited resources hinder that support.
The schools would partner directly with colleges, employers and local workforce boards to support students’ transitions to college or careers. TEA’s program would support system-level collaboration and adviser training.
Schools would also receive $40,000 per full-time adviser through a new allotment created by the bill. Additionally, a grant funding program created by the bill would give districts $50,000 for having junior ROTC programs.
Rural programs could partner with colleges and universities to provide students job training for regional workforce needs — such as agriculture, maintenance or transportation — through a new Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership.
Bolstering the workforce in rural Texas
Another effort aims to boost workforce development in rural areas through a separate grant funding program.
The Rural Workforce Training Grant Program would support job-specific training and related services in counties with populations under 200,000. The grant amount is still undetermined, according to the Legislative Budget Board.
Many rural residents live below the poverty level or are retired, according to an analysis of House Bill 2545, introduced by Rep. Stan Gerdes, R-Smithville. Rural communities across Texas are losing population to urban and suburban areas due to a lack of opportunity, education and competitive local wages, according to the analysis.
Rural Texas contributes more than $200 billion to the state economy through agriculture, energy and a space industry, according to the think tank Texas 2036. But such areas lack access to health care, postsecondary education and internet, according to the group.
“They just do not have the resources,” said Grace Atkins, a Texas 2036 policy advisor.
Sustaining Texas’ prosperity requires increased access to career training for rural Texas’ over 4.7 million residents and 900,000 K-12 students, which is a larger rural population than in other rural areas nationwide, according to Texas 2036.
The nonprofit organizations Texans for Fiscal Responsibility and Texas Policy Research oppose the bill because it creates a new state-run program that picks “winners and losers” through grants instead of creating policies to “reduce barriers, red-tape and taxes for rural businesses,” according to statements from the groups.
The Texas Workforce Commission would award grants to public, private or nonprofit organizations that provide on-the-job training, apprenticeships, workforce education courses and other related activities, according to the bill. Eligible groups would include business associations, political subdivisions, local workforce development boards and educational institutions.
The grants could be used for training materials, instructor fees, wraparound expenses, facility fees, outreach, mentoring and other costs, according to the bill.
This reporting is part of the Future of North Texas, a community-funded journalism initiative supported by the Commit Partnership, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, the McCune-Losinger Family Fund, The Meadows Foundation, the Perot Foundation, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. The News retains full editorial control of this coverage.
A Brazilian fitness influencer has died after getting into difficulty during the swimming portion of an ironman event in Texas.
Mara Flavia Souza Araujo was reported as a “lost swimmer” around 7.30am at the Ironman Texas in Lake Woodlands near Houston on Saturday. According to KPRC 2 News, safety crews could not immediately locate Araujo. The 38-year-old’s body was discovered around 90 minutes later in 10ft of water by divers. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department confirmed her identity in a statement to NBC on Monday.
“MCSO can confirm that Mara Flavia Souza Araujo, 38, of Brazil died while competing in the Ironman event in The Woodlands on Saturday,” the sheriff’s department told NBC News. “Preliminary investigations indicate she drowned during the swimming portion of the event.”
Araujo was an experienced triathlete and had completed at least nine ironman events since 2018. She had more than 60,000 followers on Instagram and had posted about the importance of making the most out of life in the days before her death.
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“Enjoy this ride on the bullet train that is life,” she wrote in Portuguese. “And even with the speed of the machine blurring the landscape, look out the window – for at any moment, the train will drop you off at the eternal station.”
Organizers of the race expressed their condolences on Saturday.
“We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the athlete and will offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time,” race organizers said in a statement on Saturday. “Our gratitude goes out to the first responders for their assistance.”
A glamorous triathlete who drowned during an Ironman competition in Texas shared a photo from a swimming pool during a final training session just two days before the tragic race.
Brazilian influencer Mara Flávia, 38, shared the shot of her on the edge of a pool on Thursday — two days before she vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning.
“Just another day at work,” Flávia, 38, wrote in Portuguese alongside the pic of her wearing a matching pink swimming costume and cap.
The influencer, who had more than 60,000 followers online, chose the Robin S track “Show Me Love” for her post with the hashtags “triathlon,” “swimming” and “triathlete.”
Flávia vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning – the first of three grueling trials that competitors face during the 140-mile race.
Fire crews were told about a “lost swimmer” at around 7:30 a.m., one hour into the pro-female swim, KPRC reported.
Rescuers battled challenging visibility conditions before Flávia’s body was pulled from the water just after 9:30 a.m.
Montgomery County Sheriffs confirmed that the victim “drowned while participating in the swim portion of the event,” according to a statement. The office said its Major Crimes unit will continue the investigation “per normal protocols.”
Shawn McDonald, a volunteer, recounted the commotion before the swimmer’s body was recovered.
The dad, who volunteered with his daughter Mila, 12, said a group of younger volunteers in a kayak raised a flag and blew their whistles, “yelling for help.”
“I heard them say she went under,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I had Mila hand me the paddle and I started calling out to the athletes around us to stop so I could cross. I made my way over in about 30 seconds.
“When I got there and asked what happened, they all said the same thing: She went under. Right here. Right below us. The panic and fear on their faces won’t leave me for a long time.”
The volunteer recalled how one man had a “thousand-yard stare” on his face – before diving into the water in a desperate bid to find Flávia.
“I dove in immediately and began searching. After about a minute underwater, I felt her body with my foot. I surfaced, took what seemed like the deepest breath I have ever taken and went back down. She was gone.”
Boats with sonar combed the area – and McDonald was told to leave the water before the body was recovered.
“The victim was found in about 10 feet of water on the bottom of the lake,” Buck said. “The dive team accessed the victim, brought her up about 9:37 and then brought her over to the shore where she was pronounced DOS [deceased on scene],” Palmer Buck, the Woodlands fire chief, said.
It’s not known what caused the triathlete to go under the water.
Journalism grad Flávia previously worked in radio and television before pursuing a sporting career at age 28.
She previously twice won the Brazilian Grand Prix, and finished third in the Brasilia triathlon event.
Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
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Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
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