(a) Implementation. The provisions of this section shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.
(b) General requirements. This course is recommended for students in Grades 11 and 12. Students shall be awarded one credit for successful completion of this course. Students may repeat this course with different course content for up to three credits.
(c) Introduction.
  (1) Career and technical education instruction provides content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills for students to further their education and succeed in current or emerging professions.
  (2) In Career and Technical Education Project-Based Capstone, students independently or collaboratively investigate real-world problems, issues, or interests. This course applies to a variety of career and technical education career clusters and programs of study.
  (3) Career and Technical Education Project-Based Capstone is a course designed for students to develop and enhance essential skills while investigating real-world problems, issues, or interests. Students work independently or collaboratively with others within or across career clusters or programs of study. Students partner with mentor(s) or advisor(s) to develop a project. Students conduct research, compile findings, implement project activities appropriate to student contribution, and present their work to a relevant audience that may include industry experts. To attain academic success, students must have opportunities to learn, reinforce, apply, and transfer their knowledge and skills in a variety of settings to become productive and contributing members of society.
  (4) Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences such as career and technical student organizations and other leadership or extracurricular organizations.
  (5) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(d) Knowledge and skills.
  (1) The student investigates independently or collaboratively a problem, issue, or interest within a selected profession or across disciplines to develop an independent or a collaborative project. The student is expected to:
    (A) research and select a problem, issue, or interest within a selected profession or across disciplines for a personal enrichment or career development project;
    (B) develop a problem statement, thesis statement, research question, or value proposition statement;
    (C) identify and select a design or research process such as engineering design process, design thinking model, scientific discovery, or other industry-standard methodology;
    (D) identify and select an appropriate audience for a problem, issue, or interest;
    (E) identify key factors such as cost, feasibility, or time constraints necessary for successful development and implementation of a solution or plan; and
    (F) identify key resources such as financial, intellectual, physical, human, and digital resources needed for development and implementation of a plan.
  (2) The student identifies and develops key partnerships related to a problem, issue, or interest under the supervision of one or more mentors or advisors. The student is expected to:
    (A) identify key stakeholders;
    (B) research and select appropriate mentor(s) or advisor(s); and
    (C) recruit appropriate collaborators, partners, or contributors.
  (3) The student determines timeline goals for project completion and appropriate benchmarks to measure progress and success of a project. The student is expected to:
    (A) identify and use effective communication strategies to use with mentor(s) or advisor(s) to provide updates and status reports;
    (B) research and identify key performance indicators (KPI) that demonstrate successful progress of a project; and
    (C) select appropriate method(s) to benchmark measurement of KPI such as a Gantt chart.
  (4) The student develops a project management timeline for deliverables. The student is expected to:
    (A) define the key activities necessary for successful implementation of a project;
    (B) identify deliverable dates for key activities to support completion of a project within an established timeline; and
    (C) develop and execute a plan to monitor and complete key deliverables.
  (5) The student creates a risk analysis for a project. The student is expected to:
    (A) identify potential risks such as financial, economic, regulatory, ethical, environmental, or legal risks associated with the design and implementation of the project and the end product; and
    (B) evaluate and select methods to mitigate potential risks associated with a project.
  (6) The student identifies necessary approvals required for a project. The student is expected to:
    (A) research and identify approval processes necessary to implement a project;
    (B) prepare and present a proposal for project approval; and
    (C) review feedback and revise an original proposal for a project as needed.
  (7) The student implements a project that meets standards recognized within a selected profession or across disciplines. The student is expected to:
    (A) complete a project plan that includes problem statement, thesis statement, research question, or value proposition statement; key partners; measurables; deliverables; risk analyses; and approvals;
    (B) implement a plan for project completion;
    (C) monitor and evaluate the progress of a project plan to determine whether modifications or changes are necessary;
    (D) document all phases of a project plan; and
    (E) report periodically on the progress of a project plan.
  (8) The student demonstrates an understanding of a selected problem, issue, or interest by explaining or justifying findings to an appropriate audience for public comment or professional response. The student is expected to:
    (A) identify an appropriate audience and coordinate the presentation of findings related to a selected problem, issue, or interest;
    (B) present findings in a professional manner such as using concise language, engaging content, relevant media, and clear speech;
    (C) evaluate feedback received from a presentation;
    (D) evaluate the project's potential impact(s) on the identified problem, issue, or interest; and
    (E) analyze and report on personal learning experiences such as essential skills gained, areas of personal growth, and challenges encountered throughout the project.

Source Note: The provisions of this §127.19 adopted to be effective February 13, 2024, 49 TexReg 696