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.