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Adult Education Administrator's Manual

Policy

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Workforce Investment Act Title II & Texas Education Code Chapter 25

Generally, all adults who reside in the state of Texas are eligible to participate in the adult education program. Under Workforce Investment Act Title II the term “adult” refers to individuals -

(A) who have attained 16 years of age;

(B) who are not enrolled or required to be enrolled in secondary school under State law and

(C) who -

(i) lack sufficient mastery of basic educational skills to enable the individuals to function effectively in society;

(ii) do not have a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and have not achieved an equivalent level of education; or

(iii) are unable to speak, read, or write the English language.

• Nothing in the law authorizes programs to serve children under 16.
• To be “not… required to be enrolled” in secondary school under State law means the student is beyond the state’s age of “compulsory school attendance” as defined by Texas law.

The Texas Education Code (chapter 25.085) defines compulsory school attendance in the following terms:

b) Unless specifically exempted, by Section 25.086, a child who is at least six years of age…, and who has not yet reached the child’s 18th birthday shall attend school.

Section 25.086 of Texas Education Code

(a) A child is exempt from the requirements of compulsory school attendance if the child:

(5) is at least 17 years of age and:

(A) is attending a course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency examination, and:

(i) has the permission of the child's parent or guardian to attend the course;

(ii) is required by court order to attend the course;

(iii) has established a residence separate and apart from the child's parent, guardian, or other person having lawful control of the child; or

(iv) is homeless as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302; or

(B) has received a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate;

(6) is at least 16 years of age and is attending a course of instruction to prepare for the high school equivalency examination, if:

(A) the child is recommended to take the course of instruction by a public agency that has supervision or custody of the child under a court order; or

(B) the child is enrolled in a Job Corps training program under the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. Section 1501 et seq.), and its subsequent amendments;

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Restrictions for Aliens Possessing Non-Immigrant Visas

Section 625 of Public Law 104-208

Public Law 104-208 , Omnibus Authorization Bill for the Commerce, State and Justice departments, signed into law on September 30, 1996. The bill contained provisions entitled the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Provisions dealing with foreign students in public schools follow:

SEC. 625. FOREIGN STUDENTS

(a) Limitations.—

(1) In general.-- Section 214 (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

"(l)(1) An alien may not be accorded status as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) in order to pursue a course of study—

"(A) at a public elementary school or in a publicly funded adult education program; or

"(B) at a public secondary school unless—

"(i) the aggregate period of such status at such a school does not exceed 12 months with respect to any alien, and

"(ii) the alien demonstrates that the alien has reimbursed the local educational agency that administers the school for the full, unsubsidized per capita cost of providing education at such school for the period of the alien's attendance.

"(2) An alien who obtains the status of a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) in order to pursue a course of study at a private elementary or secondary school or in a language training program that is not publicly funded shall be considered to have violated such status, and the alien's visa under section 101(a)(15)(F) shall be void, if the alien terminates or abandons such course of study at such a school and undertakes a course of study at a public elementary school, in a publicly funded adult education program, in a publicly funded adult education language training program, or at a public secondary school (unless the requirements of paragraph (1)(B) are met)."

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Assessment Policy

In 1996, House Bill 1640 mandated the implementation of standardized testing for federally funded adult education programs in Texas. The Bill amended the Texas Education Code to mandate that Texas Education Agency:

“…adopt or develop and administer a standardized assessment mechanism for assessing all adult education program participants who need literacy instruction, adult basic education, or secondary education leading to an adult high school diploma or the equivalent.”

The assessment mechanism prescribed under Subsection (a)(8) must include an initial basic skills screening instrument and must provide comprehensive information concerning baseline student skills before and student progress after participation in an adult education program.

A Governor appointed Adult Education Assessment and Accountability Task Force recommended that the state officially adopt the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) to assess all ABE and ASE level students, and the Basic English Skills Test (BEST) for all ESL students. It is Texas policy that all students be assessed for proper placement prior to enrollment in adult education classes, and that all students be progress tested at regular intervals during their participation in the program.

It is Texas policy that Adult Education programs in Texas allow at least 40 hours of instruction after the administration of the baseline before administering a progress test.

Extension of Texas State Plan for Adult Education and Family Literacy (April 2006)

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