CTE Additional Resources
Related Links
The following links are about career and technical education:
- Accountability: Federal, State, and Local
- Career and Technical Education Teacher Certificate Requirements
- Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs)
- Career Preparation and Practicum Courses
- Curriculum Resources
- Funding: Federal and State
- General Teacher Certification Information
- Professional Associations for CTE Educators
- Public Education Information Management (PEIMS)
Documents
The following links are to resources for CTE courses and rules:
HB 636, passed by the 87th Texas Legislature, includes a provision that allows a high school student who successfully completes CTE courses in the plumbing trade to apply for and take the tradesman plumber-limited license holder examination. To learn more, please review this Tradesman Plumber - Limited License one-pager.
- Nontraditional Courses (PDF)
- Notification of Nondiscrimination in Career and Technical Education Programs
- CTE Special Education FAQs
CTE and Students Served by Special Education
There are no designated Career and Technical Education for Students with Disabilities (CTED) courses in the CO22 table, and references have been removed from the Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (SAAH). Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses are available to all students.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that a student who receives special education services must learn in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
- This means that, to the maximum extent appropriate, a student with a disability must be educated with students who do not have disabilities. It also means that a student with a disability may not be placed in a special class that removes the student from the regular educational environment unless the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in a regular class with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
- Access to the general curriculum, LRE, and a continuum of alternative placements must be considered when addressing students’ needs and making placement decisions. These decisions are made on an individual basis by the student’s ARD committee, which must include a representative from Career and Technical Education, preferably the teacher, when considering the initial or continued placement of a student in a career and technical education program.
- The ARD committee determines the student’s placement, which may, in limited situations, include a CTE course in a self-contained setting that serves only students with disabilities, but only when deemed necessary as described above.
- Therefore, an LEA can provide a CTE course in a special-education-only setting if the ARD committee has made an individualized determination that this setting is the least restrictive environment for the student.
- Also, because of the individualized decisions that must be made for each student with a disability, there must not be a pattern of “guiding” students with disabilities into any one program, and there must be an opportunity for interaction with peers in general education programs.
- NOTE: Career Preparation Teacher Certification
§231.271. Career Development, Grades 9-12. Section 231.271(a) reflects current certificates for teaching career development for grades 9-12 and provides holders of special education certificates an opportunity to teach career development courses, provided they have completed appropriate training in state and federal requirements regarding work-based learning and safety. The rule ensures that students who receive special education services have opportunities to enroll in these courses taught by teachers who are highly trained to provide appropriate supports. The rule also provides clarity for district personnel to place educators with the appropriate credentials into classroom assignments.