19 Tex. Admin. Code § 12.5 - Program Requirements
(a) General
Requirements. The Opportunity High School Diploma Program is an alternative
competency-based high school diploma program to be offered for concurrent
enrollment to an adult student without a high school diploma who is
concurrently enrolled in a career and technical education program at a public
junior college. The program may include any combination of instruction,
curriculum, internships, or other means by which a student may attain the
knowledge sufficient to adequately prepare the student for postsecondary
education or additional workforce education.
(b) A student shall be concurrently enrolled
in a program that is defined as a CTE certificate in §
2.262 of this title (relating to
Certificate Titles, Length, and Program Content), other than a Level 2
Certificate, Enhanced Skills Certificate, or an Advanced Technical
Certificate.
(c) Curricular
Requirements. An approved public junior college shall embed required
instructional outcomes and performance expectations in the program. A public
junior college may also add curricular elements designed to meet regional
employers' needs or specific workforce needs. Required instructional outcomes
and performance expectations are detailed at
https://reportcenter.highered.texas.gov/contracts/workforce-education/opportunity-high-school-diploma-instructional-outcomes-and-performance-expectations/
for the five core program competencies. Core program competencies shall
include:
(1) Quantitative Reasoning, including
the application of mathematics to the analysis and interpretation of
theoretical and real-world problems to draw relevant conclusions or
solutions.
(2) Communication
Skills, including reading, writing, listening, speaking, and non-verbal
communication.
(3) Civics,
including the structure of government, processes to make laws and policies,
constitutional principles of checks and balances, separation of powers,
federalism, and rights and responsibilities of a citizen.
(4) Scientific Reasoning, including
problem-solving that involves forming a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis,
determining and analyzing evidence, and interpreting results.
(5) Workplace Success Skills, including
dependability, adaptability, working with others, initiative, resilience,
accountability, critical thinking, time management, organizing, planning,
problem-solving, conflict resolution, and self-awareness.
(d) Prior Learning and Program Completions. A
public junior college approved to offer this program shall determine each
student's competence in each of the five core program competencies set out in
subsection (c) of this section prior to enrolling the student in the program of
instruction and upon the student's completion of the program of instruction.
(1) The program of instruction assigned to
each student will be based on the student's prior learning and assessments of
the student's competencies for each of the five core program competencies set
out in subsection (c) of this section. An institution may determine that a
student has satisfied required learning outcomes for one or more core program
competencies based on the student's prior learning.
(2) An institution may use any of the
following methods as documentation of a student's prior learning in the five
core program competencies:
(A) transcripted
high school grades;
(B)
transcripted college credit;
(C)
achievement on a national standardized test such as the SAT or ACT;
(D) credit earned through military service as
recommended by the American Council on Education; or
(E) demonstrated success on pre-program
assessments.
(3) The
Commissioner shall identify, consider, and approve assessments, in consultation
with the Texas Workforce Commission, to be used by a public junior college to
determine a student's successful achievement of the five core program
competencies and completion of the program.
(4) Assessments approved by the Commissioner
are listed in Figure 1.
(5) A
public junior college that is approved to offer the program shall use an
approved assessment to evaluate each student's competence in the five core
program competencies as required under subsection (c) of this
section.
(e)
Instructional Outcomes. A public junior college that is approved to offer the
program shall embed the required instructional outcomes into their curriculum
as required under subsection (c) of this section.
(f) Performance Expectations. A public junior
college that is approved to offer the program shall embed the performance
expectations into their curriculum as required under subsection (c) of this
section.
(g) Location of Program.
Subject to approval under this subchapter, a public junior college may enter
into agreement with one or more public junior colleges, general academic
teaching institutions, public school districts, or nonprofit organizations to
offer this program. The public junior college may offer this program at any
campus of an entity subject to an agreement to offer this program.
(h) Award of High School Diploma. A public
junior college participating in the program shall award a high school diploma
to a student enrolled in this program if the student satisfactorily completes
an approved assessment that provides evidence of competence in the five core
program requirements as required under this rule. A high school diploma awarded
under this program is equivalent to a high school diploma awarded under Texas
Education Code, §
28.025.
Notes
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