Abbott designated career training an emergency item during his 2025 State of the State address in February, indicating an urgency to address workforce readiness. State House of Representatives bills 20 and 120 are designed to better align high school education with the modern workforce, particularly in rural areas and in high-demand technical fields, the governor’s office said in a news release last week.
“Career training is a game-changer for our students, for our state, and for our employers," Gov. Abbott said in a statement. "A four-year college degree is not the right pathway for every student. It may be a smarter pathway for a student to get career training."
HOUSE BILL 20
House Bill 20 directs the state commissioner of education to establish and administer the Applied Sciences Pathway program, a new initiative giving high school students the opportunity to earn a diploma while concurrently completing an industry-recognized certificate. Through dual enrollment with a partnered higher education institution, the program “is designed to target high-wage, high-growth industries such as welding, HVAC, robotics, aerospace engineering, IT, cybersecurity, and others.”
Under the law, the commissioner will oversee partnerships between school districts or charter schools and higher education institutions. These partnerships must offer a sequence of courses that build on one another and lead to certificate completion, with the expectation that students can move directly into the workforce if they choose, the law said. All juniors and seniors are eligible to participate as well, a provision lawmakers said was important for ensuring equitable access across the state.
To keep the program aligned with workforce needs, the commissioner is tasked with updating the list of approved industries every five years, starting in the 2027-2028 school year, reflecting shifts in labor market trends and keeping the program relevant as workforce demands evolve.
HOUSE BILL 120
House Bill 120 introduces several initiatives aimed at strengthening CTE and expanding college, career and military readiness for Texas’ public school students — plus funding adjustments to support said programs.
The law recognizes Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) courses as part of CTE, and establishes the Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership program, designed to connect students in rural areas with high-demand technical fields.
According to the measure, HB 120 also enacts a high school advising program requiring districts and open-enrollment charter schools to provide trained advisers for college and career guidance. The law states that an adviser in the program “may not have a caseload of more than 200 students and must prioritize students in grade levels 11 and 12,” and that “for each full-time equivalent advisor or contracted service provider under the high school advising program ... a school district is entitled to $50,000.”
