As the demand increases for middle-skilled jobs that require more than a high school diploma, Senator Hinojosa recognizes that community colleges fill a critical role in the effort to prepare Texans with the work skills they need to compete for higher paying jobs. Career Technical Education (CTE) can also provide those skills needed for those jobsthrough career postsecondary programs, employer-based training, and industry-based certifications.
- Fought to secure $4 million in community college scholarships.
- Helped pass legislation that allows South Texas College to offer a bachelor’s degree program in applied technology.
- Expanded legislation that teams community colleges in South Texas with local high schools on dropout recovery programs.
- Voted for legislation that allocated $154 million for community college health insurance costs.
- Passed HCR 82 creating a joint interim committee to study education policy as it relates to developing a skilled workforce and to explore topics like curriculum requirements, opportunities for new education-workforce partnerships, and the impact of emerging industrial sectors.
- Senator Hinojosa was instrumental in passing legislation to create the ‘Texas Innovative Adult Career Education Grant Fund’ (ACE Fund). As Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Hinojosa also secured $5 million for the new ACE Fund to invest in high-skill training to fill high-demand, high-wage jobs in Texas.
- Secured millions of dollars for the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) Program, designed to help put Texans back in the workforce.