Chairman J.M. Lozano, a Republican member of the Texas House representing District 43 and Chairman of the House Urban Affairs Committee, told the Lone Star Standard that one of his top legislative priorities for the upcoming legislative session is bolstering workforce training programs for rural students.
“One of my top priorities is expanding workforce training opportunities for students in rural areas, like where I live,” said Lozano. “In the Coastal Bend, we have so much economic activity and employers are looking for trained, career-ready employees for high paying jobs.”
Texas House District 43 includes areas along the Texas gulf coast on either side of Corpus Christi, including parts of Kleberg, Jim Wells, Bee, Refugio, and Calhoun counties.
Last legislative session, Chairman Lozano sponsored and passed HB2209, was intended to “incentivize and support multidistrict, cross-sector, rural college and career pathway partnerships that expand opportunities for underserved students to succeed in school and life while promoting economic development in rural areas,” according to the bill text. Governor Abbott signed the bill into law on June 3, 2023.
In a post on Facebook in April 2023, Lozano said HB2209 is “a bill that creates a Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership program that allows rural schools to work together to provide better educational opportunities for our children.”
“Our bill [also] allowed the dollars to follow the students, so that districts could be compensated for the additional students they are educating,” Lozano told the Lone Star Standard. “Urban and suburban school districts already receive this kind of weighted funding, and it was only fair that rural areas get it, too.”
Established in 2019, the Rural School Innovation Zone was created as a “partnership between three school districts to improve educational opportunities for rural students in South Texas.”
According to its website, the RSIZ has created 5 academies at the participating school districts, including the Next Generation Medical Academy, STEM Discovery Zone, Citizen’s Battalion JROTC, Grow Your Own Academy, and Ignite Technical Institute.
Lozano believes that the precursor program has been “very successful” among a group of school districts that includes Premont, Falfurrias, Brooks, Agua Dulce, and Benavides independent school districts.
“The results from the RSIZ indicate that students across the state can benefit from this. In the RSIZ districts, dual enrollment credit completion nearly tripled, percent of students finishing certifications was twice as high as the state average and there is a higher percentage of students who are college-ready than the statewide average. The results from this program are tangible and meaningful across rural Texas,” concluded Lozano.
“I hope to expand the program next session,” Lozano told us. “We anticipate that many school districts would want to expand the program.”
