(a) A voluntary workforce training program means a career and technical secondary and postsecondary education program conducted under an agreement as described in §75.1033 of this title (relating to Certified Program Agreements) or a voluntary program certified by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in conjunction with the Texas Workforce Commission that meets the standards prescribed under §75.1032 of this title (relating to Certification Standards). The voluntary workforce training program must:
  (1) integrate a secondary school academic curriculum with private sector workplace training and a postsecondary curriculum;
  (2) place the participant in job internships;
  (3) be designed to continue into postsecondary education and lead to the participant earning an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree;
  (4) result in teaching new skills and adding value to the wage-earning potential of the participant and increasing the participant's long-term employability in Texas; and
  (5) meet recognized or accepted industry standards.
(b) The participants must be at least 16 years of age and enrolled in a public or private secondary or postsecondary school, or an equivalent program, and have begun to voluntarily participate in a certified voluntary workforce training program as part of secondary school education.
(c) Each certified voluntary workforce training program must have a designated sponsor responsible for operating the program and in whose name the program is registered when certified by the TEA. The term "sponsor" shall be defined as the entity or organization in whose name the program is registered. Examples of sponsors may include, but are not be limited to, a business, a school district, a local workforce development board, or other appropriate entity that has agreed to operate the program according to the established guidelines.
(d) No student will be required to participate in a certified voluntary workforce training program.

Source Note: The provisions of this §75.1031 adopted to be effective September 7, 2000, 25 TexReg 8642; amended to be effective June 7, 2010, 35 TexReg 4699; amended to be effective July 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 5132