Texas Association of Business

The ability of tomorrow’s workforce to success depends on the educational foundation we lay today. TAB supports accurate accountability standards, improved measures of student performance, and developing the skills that students will use after graduation.

In Texas, we are experiencing a technology boom that is rapidly changing how we live and conduct our businesses. If young Texans enter the workforce without proper training, our position as business leaders will diminish and economic development will falter. Helping students develop their skills and talents is crucial for college and the workforce.

Beyond training alone, employers understand the reality that the age of the average worker will dramatically plunge very soon as the Baby Boomer generation is on the verge of retirement. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 77 million workers will retire in the coming years, while the next generation will enter the workforce with a significantly smaller population. This disparity will impact national growth by slowing both the economy and overall Gross Domestic Product in the next ten years.

Education is more important now than it has ever been in our state’s history.

TAB knows the future of this state depends on how well the next generation is prepared for a seamless transition from school to the workforce. For the future of our economic prosperity, TAB supports:

TAB’s Education Priorities for 2007
Employers want to hire qualified workers and a high school diploma is a critical component to future workforce demands.  To that end, TAB offers the following legislative proposals:

Academic excellence.  Support excellence initiatives aimed at moving students from minimum expectations to maximum achievement. Districts should be rewarded for students who achieve “commended performance” on TAKS and who complete the “distinguished achievement program” of more rigorous high school courses.

Accountability.  Oppose any measures that weaken the current education accountability system.  Oppose any additional monies into education without reform.

Alternative certification.  Support additional alternative certification programs that provide school districts flexibility in hiring qualified people holding bachelors’ degrees or higher who pass certification exams and any additional teacher training to be determined by a school district.

Career and technology.  Support career and technology education in conjunction with community colleges where appropriate to meet the needs of Texas employers.

Career and technology funding.  Support legislation that tightens controls on career and technology money allocation. Support requiring districts that receive funding for career and technology to offer courses that prepare students with on-site or virtual on-site training rather than traditional classroom settings. Encourage increased funding for on-line curriculum and on-line testing.

Classroom size mandate.  Support legislation that creates flexibility for school districts in the requirement that grades K through 4 be comprised of no more than 23 students to one teacher, allowing school districts to use the 23:1 mandate as a district average.

Communities in school. Support the Communities in Schools Program in Texas, a dropout prevention organization that focuses on helping young people to successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life.

Community colleges. Support education at the community college level as an important contributor to training students for jobs in the workforce.

Dropout prevention.  Support measures that financially reward campuses for retaining students beyond the ninth grade.

GO Centers.  Support the continuation of funding for GO Centers that serve as primary points of coordination between the College for Texans campaign (to increase college enrollment) and local communities.

Higher education.  Support reasonable regulatory and legislative oversight of higher education system, coupled with clear statements of goals, expectations and accountability of results. Support collaborative approaches among Texas’ higher education institutions in research and development funding strategies, technology deployment and distance education in order to avoid duplication and waste.

Incentives for math and science teachers. Support teacher advancement initiatives like differentiated pay to help alleviate the shortage of math and science teachers in our public schools.

Local Control.  Support measures that give school districts the flexibility to meet the needs of their students.

Parental involvement.  Support measures that encourage parents to become active partners with their children’s teachers and administrators.

Pay for performance.  Support legislation that allows school districts to financially reward campuses that achieve exemplary student performance.

School choice pilot program.  Support implementation and evaluation of a well-designed school choice pilot program, allowing students in low-performing public schools to attend public or qualified private schools of their choice. The pilot program must be of sufficient magnitude to assess the impact a choice program would have on the students and the public school system.

School Spending.   Support legislation requiring more financial transparency in school spending so taxpayers will see how their investment is being managed.

Skills Development Program.  Support increased funding for the Skills Development Program administered by the Texas Workforce Commission.  Maintain Skills Development Fund grants at the Texas Workforce Commission to improve workforce training.

Student testing.  Support legislation that raises standards for students taking the TAKS test.  Current standards only require students to earn 45 percent to pass the science section, 50 percent to pass mathematics, 65 percent to pass the writing and social studies, and 70 percent to pass reading. Support setting an immediate across-the-board standard of 60% and then increasing it annually.

Tax incentives.  Provide tax incentives to encourage business participation in education initiatives.

Technology Workforce Development Grant Program.  Support the continuation of funding for the Texas Technology Workforce Development Grant program, which is awarded for computer science and electrical engineering instruction at various institutions of higher education in Texas.

Top 10% rule for college admissions. Support reforms to the top 10% rule for college admissions that would also allow colleges to expand enrollment to include other criteria and special talents, including student leadership, musical virtuosity or special aptitude in math or literature.