Extension of Texas State Plan for
Adult Education and Family Literacy
9.0 Integration with Other Adult Education and Training (Sec.
224 (b) (11)) - (cont'd)
9.1 Description of
Planned Integrated Activities - (cont'd)
Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative
Services (DARS)
Four state agencies merged into the Texas Department of
Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS),
which will provide programs and support for people with disabilities
and families of children with development delays. DARS was created as
a result of House Bill 2292, which called for the restructuring of health
and human services in Texas. DARS merges the programs previously
provided by the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, Texas Commission for
the Blind, Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Interagency
Council on Early Childhood Intervention. The new agency has 3,300 employees
and will serve more than a half a million Texans each year. The department
is organizing to offer clients easier and more convenient access to a
broader range of services.
The most critical issue facing adult education today revolves around
serving learning-disabled adults in the adult education classroom. DARS
provides the major avenue for obtaining diagnostic services for adults
to document specific learning disabilities outside of K-12 special education
services. Many adult education students have not had the benefit of special
education, and inexpensive or free resources for diagnosis are almost
nonexistent. Since learning disabilities frequently co-exist with other
disabilities, the issue of accommodation for these adults is complicated.
State Level Activities:
A resource center for adults with learning disabilities will be funded
with State Leadership funds. The Adult Literacy Clearinghouse has
developed a bibliography of materials available for loan regarding students
with learning disabilities, and has also developed an adult education
Hot Topic Packet for distribution to teachers without cost. Information
about obtaining both the Hot Topic Packet and the bibliography is posted
on the Clearinghouse's web page.
Local Level Activities:
Local adult education frequently work with DARS local offices in accepting
referrals for adult education services. Closer collaboration with DARS
regional and local offices is a must for identifying resources for accommodation
of adults with disabilities.
Planned Activities under AEFLA:
Members of the former Adult Education Professional Development Consortium
participated in the Bridges to Practice training available from the National
Institute for Literacy funded project sponsored by the National Adult
Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center (NALLD).
Under AEFLA, this cadre will be expanded (see State Leadership Activities
for details) and will work closely with DARS in developing a state policy
and an operational plan, including professional development initiatives,
for serving learning disabled adults at the local level. A Learning
Disabilities Work Group has been formed to assist in this effort.
TEA and Texas LEARNS will work closely with DARS to identify services
available to disabled adults, including learning disabled adults, and
implement a plan for disseminating that information to local adult education
programs. In addition, Texas LEARNS / TEA will work with DARS and TWC
in assuring services for learning disabled adults who are clients of
one-stop career centers. Since the Workforce Investment Act includes
legislation that impacts all three agencies, this natural collaboration
will enhance the availability and quality of services for learning disabled
clients.
Family Literacy
As described in Section 3.0 of this plan, Texas' collaboration for family
literacy has been extensive. In addition to collaboration with Even Start
programs statewide, adult education programs have sponsored adult education
special projects in family literacy and collaborate with Even Start and
Head Start entities in the provision of adult education services in family
literacy. Representatives from the Governor's Policy Office participated
in the state planning process. Also, Even Start Family Literacy
and Head Start representatives served on the state plan advisory committees.
State Level Activity: The
Academics 2000 Education Improvement Plan is the Texas state plan
under the nationwide Goals 2000 effort. Objective 1 of the plan is
Parent and Community Involvement, and implementation strategies under
that objective call for "developing and funding adult literacy
programs that build adult reading and communication skills and enable
parents to support the education of their children."
TEA funded a family literacy technical assistance center from 1995 through
1998 with National Literacy Act Section 353 funds. In November
of 1996, the U.S. Department of Education awarded TEA one of five Even
Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative Grants nationwide. This
grant allowed the Agency to promote family literacy through collaboration. The
overall goal of the Families First: Texas Even Start
Statewide Family Literacy Initiative was to improve family literacy
services by building the capacity of local providers to coordinate and
integrate existing federal, state, and local literacy resources. Planning,
implementing, and evaluating the grant activities was a joint responsibility
of the Texas Education Agency (the applicant agency) and the Even
Start Statewide Family Literacy Initiative Consortium whose members include
both state level agencies and organizations, such as the Head Start State
Collaboration Project based at the University of Texas at Austin and
Texas Tech University, Head Start Technical Assistance and Support Center,
as well as local agencies and organizations such as Community Action
of Hays, Blanco and Caldwell Counties, the Houston READ Commission and
the Austin Area Urban League.
The project objectives of Families First included promotion
of coordinated and integrated resources for family literacy as well as
technical assistance. The primary activities of the project included
a series of "Around the Table" workshops, designed to facilitate
cross-agency collaboration for family literacy, and technical assistance. It
also provided the needed data for a needs assessment, which was conducted
by the Texas Adult Literacy Clearinghouse. Technical assistance
was provided on-site through the family literacy technical assistance
center and through a series of interactive audio/video teleconferences
(Texas is fortunate to have installed a state-of-the-art, user-friendly,
interactive fiber optics telecommunications system which was be used
for the technical assistance teleconferences). Hundreds of individuals
across the state participated. A series of technical assistance
publications that encapsulate the content of the teleconferences were
developed.
TEA also collaborates with the First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative
for Texas in distributing the grant cycle announcements to adult education
fiscal agents and Even Start projects. The First Lady's Family Literacy
Initiative for Texas, a program of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family
Literacy, was begun by Texas' First Lady, Laura Bush, and is a partnership
with Texas literacy providers. These grants of up to $20,000 each are
given on a one-time basis to enhance existing literacy instructional
programs so that a complete family literacy program can be created.
Local Level Activities:
As indicated earlier, local adult education programs collaborate in delivering
family literacy. Adult education programs in the state are the
primary providers of the adult education services component of one or
more Even Start projects (Texas currently has 96 Even Start projects
statewide). Collaboration with Even Start projects is part of the
requirements for application for adult education funds.
In addition, local adult education programs sponsor other family literacy
efforts (for instance, the program sponsors family literacy at a number
of elementary campuses within school districts). Each of these
family literacy programs may differ in its specific configuration, but
overall, each involves adult education services for parents, age-appropriate
activities for children, and literacy activities for children and parents
together. Services for the children are leveraged through the collaboration
with the schools and other community resources. Nowhere is the
truism "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" truer
than in family literacy. In one program, for example, the principal
of a Blue Ribbon elementary school collaborates with the Houston Community
College in a family literacy project. She has become so involved
with it that she now also serves as an evening adult education supervisor
who can provide technical assistance in family literacy across the area
she supervises.
Planned Activities under AEFLA:
As indicated in Section 3.0, Texas plans a family literacy initiative
which will include family literacy technical assistance resource center,
and continued promotion of the benefits of collaboration and integration
of various federal state and local resources.
- In regard to technical assistance, TEA will use State Leadership
funds to again issue a Request for Applications for a family literacy
technical assistance center. The center's primary objective
will be to provide technical assistance services to local communities
in establishing and maintaining high quality family literacy programs. Organizations
to be served by the center will include adult education programs with
a family literacy component, Even Start projects, Academics 2000 and/or
Reading Academy grantees (as part of their parental involvement initiatives)
Head Start, Even Start, Reading Excellence Act grantees, and welfare
reform programs.
- The technical assistance center will encourage local school district
parental involvement programs to include family literacy. The family
literacy technical assistance center will establish a broad-based advisory
committee comprised of entities involved in or whose clients will benefit
from family literacy. Entities such as adult education, Head
Start, and clients under No Child Left Behind (NCLB),
will be included.
- Texas Even Start will continue to revise indicators of program quality,
require full time coordination in each local program, work closely
with external evaluators, review and revise performance measures, and
work with the committee of practitioners toward excellence.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
State Level Activity:
TEA has a long and successful history of collaboration with the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC).
In years past, TEA has worked with the State Library in disseminating
literacy grant announcements under the Library Services and Construction
Act and promoting the use of libraries as natural partners in adult education
and literacy. TEA has witnessed the significant contributions that
local public libraries make to adult education and literacy programs,
including facilities (many times dedicated space for classes), materials,
supervision, and planning. Many adult education programs have successfully
pursued collaborations with grant funds from both Title VI and Title
II. A representative from the State Library served on the state
plan advisory committee.
In past years, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission worked
with the Department of Education to approve grants through the Library
Services and Construction Act (LSCA)
funds for literacy as part of the Title VI project. TEA and TSLAC collaborated
on promoting the availability of these grants. These funds were discontinued,
and for the past four years, the literacy providers in public libraries
across the state are finding it difficult to re-fund the project coordinators
who were funded with LSCA Title VI funds.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Library Development
Division is actively involved in statewide literacy grants funded by
the federal agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, through
the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission also actively supports
statewide literacy projects in public libraries through the ten regional
Texas Library Systems, funded through both LSTA funds and state general
funds.
Through the ten regional Texas Library Systems, 9,700 persons attend
literacy training and tutoring, and, through the System project, Read
for Your Life, small grants will be available to help public libraries
provide literacy services to their service areas. The Texas Library Systems
are funded by formula grants (from state general funds and LSTA federal
funds) from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission administer LSTA-funded
Special Projects Grants to public libraries. These grants are designed
to expand public library services to all members of the library's community
by enabling libraries to develop local programs for populations with
special needs. One of the service categories established the provision
of literacy programming in special libraries. According to the grant
guidelines, libraries may apply for funding for adult, school dropout
and correctional facility literacy programming in cooperation with other
agencies and organizations, as appropriate.
Local Level Activity:
Public libraries are a major resource for adult education and family
literacy in Texas. The annual performance report for adult education
showed that 242 libraries statewide were used for daytime and evening
class sites, with more than 9800 individuals served through these facilities. Libraries
are a major resource for adult education, not only for facilities, but
for materials and opportunities for collaboration in the community.
TSLAC data show that, at this time, there are 214 public libraries (not
including branches) in as many counties that offer and fund literacy
programs, including Adult Basic Education, GED, English as a Second Language,
Family Literacy, and Workplace Literacy. There are 170 small class and
tutoring programs for basic literacy, 101 small class and tutoring programs
for English as a Second Language programs, and 97 Adult Basic Education
programs, all offered at and funded at least in part by Texas public
libraries. In addition, public libraries offer their facilities
and their resources to locally funded literacy projects.
Planned Activities under AEFLA:
Since libraries are specifically mentioned as eligible service providers
in AEFLA, TEA is collaborating with the Texas State Library to begin
disseminating the notice of AEFLA funds availability to every public
library in the state. The Families First Consortium will also include
a representative of the State Library.
In addition, TEA will, in collaboration with the Texas State Library,
actively promote libraries as a natural resource for adult education.
Information about collaborative activities allowable for grants for special
populations under the Library Services and Technology Act will be included
in that promotion.
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
State Level Activity:
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)
administers institutions of higher education in the state. TEA and THECB
coordinate regularly in a number of capacities. In FY 03, of the
56 fiscal agents for adult education consortia, 23 public colleges and
universities served as adult education fiscal agents across the state.
Virtually all Texas public community and technical colleges serve as
adult education partners in the delivery system. Colleges and universities
are a significant resource for adult education in Texas, and allow the
leveraging of facilities and other collaborations for service provision. In
addition, six colleges and universities serve as contractors for the
state's Adult Education Professional Development Consortium, allowing
additional leveraging of expertise and resources.
THECB has cooperated with TEA in providing data for following adult
education students in regard to whether they enrolled in public postsecondary
institutions. The Coordinating Board's data is invaluable in knowing
the numbers and percentages of adult education students who enter public
postsecondary education, which is a vital part of a core indicator of
performance under AEFLA.
Local Level Activity:
Local adult education programs also integrate activities with institutions
of higher education. Local collaboratives of colleges, schools,
community-based organizations and other agencies provide an infrastructure
for the local provision of services and frequently collaborate in providing
workforce development and transition services for adult education students
interested in attending college.
Planned Activities under AEFLA:
Because THECB is responsible for coordinating college preparatory and
developmental education activities in the state, TEA will expand its
collaboration with THECB to include the following activities:
- identify an advisory group to facilitate cooperation between adult
education programs and developmental education programs in community
colleges;
- analyze the content of adult education programs and developmental
education programs to identify areas of overlap and appropriate articulation
points;
- provide clearer differentiation between adult education students
and developmental education students; and
- encourage community college workforce education programs to enhance
their outreach and recruitment efforts to students in GED and adult
secondary programs.
Public Housing, Community Action Agencies and Community Services
Block Grants
Public Housing
Under the National Literacy Act, states were required to set
aside funds for two-year Gateway Grants. In so doing, Texas adult
education programs began to build more substantive partnerships with
public housing authorities statewide. Collaboration with these
agencies expanded the infrastructure of local programs, and provided
facilities for classes as well as avenues for student recruitment. Partnerships
included such advantages as co-location of services and housing authority
staff assisting adult education programs with supervision of the program,
as well as other collaborative activities.
Community Action Agencies and Community Services Block Grants
Community Action Agencies (CAAs)
exist in many rural areas in Texas to provide services to residents that
might otherwise not be provided. A number of CAAs are also local
Head Start providers. Since Community Action Agencies attempt to
provide services based on residents' needs, adult education is often
a high priority for service. Community Action Agencies and adult
education programs are natural partnerships, and the partnerships usually
entail mutual referral systems, co-location of services and shared funding
of services.
Planned Activities under AEFLA:
Since public housing agencies are identified in AEFLA as eligible service
providers, notification of the availability of grant funds will be sent
to all public housing authorities in the state. Eligible service
providers for adult education will continue to plan collaboratively for
the provision of services with public housing entities. Collaborations
with public housing will also be included as partners in family literacy
projects.
Community Services Block Grants, administered by the Texas Department
of Housing and Community Affairs, is an umbrella program that can help
support literacy programs. CSBGs are
a largely untapped resource for adult education; only a few adult education
and literacy programs in the state take advantage of this grant program.
In collaboration with the Texas Department of Housing Affairs, TEA will
provide information to adult education providers statewide about this
potential funding source and about the benefits of collaborating with
Community Action Agencies.
9.2 State Unified Plan
The Texas Education Agency is submitting its State Plan for Adult Education
and Family Literacy (Title II of WIA)
as a separate plan from the other state plans under WIA. Texas Workforce
Commission's plan for Title I and Wagner-Peyser Act has been submitted
to the Department of Labor.
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