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AEL Definitions

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

[View the complete AEL Guide (PDF)]

Excerpted from Texas Adult Education and Literacy Guide
Published by Texas Workforce Commission
February 2026

A

Active Learner: An individual, regardless of how many contact hours, who is receiving AEL services or activities.

Adult Basic Education (ABE)—Activities and instruction provided across a continuum from preliteracy and basic literacy through elementary levels, culminating with competencies equivalent to the end of eighth grade. Instruction includes reading, mathematics, communication skills, social studies, physical sciences, health, digital literacy, and career and college readiness. Assessment and performance guidance define ABE into the following four levels: 

  • Level 1 (grade level 0–1.9)
  • Level 2 (grade level 2–3.9)
  • Level 3 (grade level 4–5.9)
  • Level 4 (grade level 6–8.9)

Adult Education—Academic instruction and education services below the postsecondary level that increase an individual’s ability to:

  • read, write, and speak in English and perform mathematics or other activities necessary for the attainment of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent;
  • transition to postsecondary education and training; and
  • obtain employment.

Adult Education and Literacy (AEL)—This TWC program administers grants to provide adults with sufficient basic education to enable them to:

  • acquire the basic educational skills necessary for literate functioning;
  • participate in job training and retraining programs;
  • obtain and retain employment; and
  • continue their education to at least the level of completion of secondary school.

Adult Education Provider—An organization that has demonstrated effectiveness in providing AEL activities and is eligible to apply for a grant or contract. Providers may include, but are not limited to: 

  • local educational agencies;  
  • community- or faith-based organizations;  
  • volunteer literacy organizations;  
  • IHEs;  
  • public or private nonprofit agencies;  
  • libraries;  
  • public-housing authorities;  
  • nonprofit institutions that are not described in any of the bullets above and that can provide AEL activities to eligible individuals;  
  • a consortium or coalition of the agencies, organizations, institutions, libraries, or authorities described in any of the bullets above; or
  • a partnership between an employer and an entity described in any of the bullets above.

Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)—Title II of WIOA.

Adult Secondary Education (ASE)—Activities and instruction comparable to the competencies developed in secondary high school and college developmental education. The AEL Testing Guide and AEL Performance Guide divide ASE into the following two levels:

  • Level 5 (grade level 9–10.9)
  • Level 6 (grade level 11–12)

AEL Activities—One of the core components of the AEL program, “AEL activities” include programs, activities, and services that include adult education, literacy, workplace adult education and literacy activities, family literacy activities, ELA activities, IELCE, workforce preparation activities, or IET. 

AEL Grant Recipient—Refer to AEL grantee.

AEL Grantee (Grantee)—An eligible grant recipient within a workforce area that is awarded AEL funds by TWC. In a consortium, the AEL grantee must also serve as the fiscal agent and may act as an AEL lead organization of a consortium or AEL service provider as designated in an agreement with an AEL consortium.

Agency—In TWC rules, TWC is referred to as “the Agency.” 

Assessment—An inclusive process of collecting information about individuals, groups, or systems that relies on multiple strategies, inputs, and instruments, one of which may be a test. Therefore, “assessment” is more comprehensive than a test.

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B

Barriers to Employment—Per WIOA §3(24), an individual with "barriers to employment" is a member of one or more of the following populations: 

  • Basic skills deficient individuals
  • Displaced homemakers
  • Low-income individuals
  • Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians
  • Individuals with disabilities, including youth who are individuals with disabilities
  • Older individuals (55 or over)
  • Second-chance individuals
  • Homeless individuals (as defined in §41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 [42 USC 14043e–2(6)]), or homeless children and youth (as defined in §725(2) of the McKinney-Vento HomelessAssistance Act [42 USC 11434a(2)]). 
  • Youth who are in or have aged out of the foster care system  Note: Any current or former foster youth may meet this qualification. However, the priority of services provision for current or former foster youth only applies to youth up to the age of 23.
  • ELLs who need instruction to gain competency in reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension of the English language 
  • Individuals who have low levels of literacy 
  • Individuals facing substantial cultural barriers 
  • Eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers, as defined in WIOA §167(i)
  • Individuals within two years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 USC 601, et seq.) 
  • Single parents (including single pregnant women) 
  • Long-term unemployed individuals 
  • Such other groups as the state governor involved determines to have barriers to employment

Baseline—The placement of a learner into an educational functioning level each new program year

Basic Skills Deficient—A youth or adult that is unable to compute, solve problems, read, write, or speak English at a level necessary to function in a job, in the individual’s family, or in society

Bilingual Education—Approaches in the AEL or workforce training classroom that use the native language of ELLs as a support for content instruction offered when it is appropriate for the students’ optimum linguistic development in the target language

Bridge Program (also referred to as an on-ramp or transition class)— Prepares adults with basic skill needs or limited academic English to enter and succeed in postsecondary education and training. Bridge programs may run several days, weeks, or longer (as long as postsecondary college readiness programs), depending on the type of program that students are preparing to enter (for example, community college and other workforce training). This program type may address the following topics, content, and activities:  

  • Preparation for college or workforce training, including the development of college readiness knowledge in the areas of notetaking, academic readiness, advising, time management, study habits, and digital literacy 
  • Career development that includes career exploration, career planning, understanding college systems, and employment expectations and work culture for training and employment in a specific occupation or sector 
  • Goal setting and meeting with career navigators or others to expand and customize an ITEC plan
  • Guest lectures from employers, former students, and faculty
  • Referrals to individual support services (for example, transportation, child care and housing assistance)
  • Intensive academic readiness and remediation for student success to support transition to postsecondary education and training

The bridge program for IET often supports program success by ensuring that students understand and are committed to the duration and intensity of the training program, having developed arrangements to mitigate work and personal obligations that might impede program completion, and being well informed about resulting employment options and expectations to support employment success.

Budget Adjustment—A request to move funds between cost categories Note: Budget adjustments are allowable when the total cost category reduction is less than 20 percent of the total grant amount.

Budget Amendment—A request to move funds between cost categories that is more than 20 percent of the total grant amount

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C

Career and College Planning—The development of employment and postsecondary education and training awareness, readiness, and transition opportunities for students throughout service delivery, starting at intake 

Career Pathways Navigator (Career Navigator)—An individual hired by an AEL provider to fulfill duties that may include workforce case management in conjunction with college and career advising, Board coenrollment, and referrals to support services to reduce barriers to customer success and connect with internal/external partners and stakeholders for employment and postsecondary education 

Career Pathways—In WIOA, a combination of rigorous and high-quality education, training, and other services that:

  • align with the skill needs of industries in the economy of the state or regional economy involved;
  • prepare an individual to be successful in any of a full range of secondary or postsecondary education options, including
  • apprenticeships registered under the National Apprenticeship Act of August 16, 1937;
  • include counseling to support an individual in achieving their education and career goals;
  • include education offered concurrently with and in the same context (concurrently and contextually) as IET with workforce preparation activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster, as appropriate;
  • organize education, training, and other services to meet the needs of an individual in a manner that accelerates their educational and career advancement to the extent practical;
  • enable an individual to attain a secondary school diploma, or its recognized equivalent, and at least one recognized postsecondary credential; and 
  • help an individual enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.

In AEL programs, career pathways models include IELCE in combination with IET and intensive services. 

Career Services—Provided by an AEL program to an individual seeking (or enrolled in) AEL services that include any of the following:

  • Outreach, intake, and orientation
  • Initial assessment of skill levels including literacy, numeracy, and English-language proficiency as well as aptitudes, abilities, and support services needs
  • Referrals to and coordination of activities with other programs and services
  • Provision of performance information and program cost information on eligible providers of education, training, and workforce services by program type and type of provider
  • Provision of information on available of support services or assistance and appropriate referrals including child care, child support, medical, or child health assistance through the state’s Medicaid program and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), assistance under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and other support services and transportation

Cash Draw and Expenditure Reporting (CDER) System—The TWC system that grantees use to request cash draws and submit expenditure reports and financial closeout package. 

Clock Time—This model assigns proxy hours based on the time that a learner is connected to or engaged in an online or stand-alone software program that tracks time.

Coenrollment (also Concurrent Enrollment or Coenrolled)—Enrollment of an eligible individual in two or more of the six core programs administered under WIOA. In AEL programs, the term has a wider meaning, such as coenrollment between AEL and workforce training, regardless of the funding source. 

Collaborating Organization—These entities provide services for the AEL grantee’s staff or AEL students without financial compensation or contractual obligations. Collaborating organizations do not have to be consortium members, but they may be. Collaborating organizations:

  • make or accept referrals for student services;
  • make nonfinancial contributions (for example, facilities) to the grant program; and
  • assist in the delivery of comprehensive services, including TWC’s Workforce Solutions Offices and the Local Workforce Development Boards, and other agencies as appropriate. 

College Knowledge—This body of knowledge includes, but is not limited to, the purposes, types, costs, and admissions requirements of colleges as well as the academic and behavioral expectations of college culture.

Combined WIOA State Plan—TWC’s 2024–2027 Strategic Plan for programs under WIOA.  

TWC’s three-member Commission (Commission)—TWC’s three-member Commission is composed of members appointed by the governor as established under Texas Labor Code §301.002, which includes one representative for labor, one representative for employers, and one representative for the public.

Comprehensive Assessment—The entry phase of service delivery that consists of collecting information from learners and relies on several strategies, inputs, and instruments, one of which must be a test. Therefore, an “assessment” is more comprehensive than a test. 

The process consists of:

  • required eligibility testing; 
  • collection of required reporting elements; 
  • signed release of information; 
  • identification of goals;
  • educational and employment background; disability accommodation needs, if applicable; and
  • potential barriers that may need support to ensure retention and completion. 

Concurrent and Contextual (also concurrently and contextually)— Service delivery in which IET components: 

  • are provided simultaneously at points within the overall scope of the program; 
  • are of sufficient intensity and quality and based on the most-rigorous research available to support the advancement of education and career development;
  • use occupationally relevant instructional materials;
  • have a single set of learning objectives identifying specific competencies across the components, which may include established learning objectives and/or trade-related benchmarks or competencies for an existing or emerging high-demand or targeted occupation or occupational cluster required for attaining a recognized postsecondary credential; and
  • are organized to function cooperatively.

Consortium (or Consortia)—A partnership of educational, workforce development, social service entities, and other public and private organizations that agree to partner, collaborate, plan, and apply for funding to provide AEL and related support services. Consortium members must include:

  • an AEL grant recipient and fiscal agent; 
  • an AEL lead organization of a consortium; and 
  • an AEL service provider. 

Consortium members may serve in one or more of the functions in accordance with state statutes and TWC rules.

Consortium Member—Any entity in a consortium.

Contact Hour—The hours of instruction or instructional activity a learner receives within a program. Instructional activity includes any programsponsored activity that is designed to promote student learning in the program curriculum, including classroom instruction, tutoring, or participation in a learning lab. A contact hour is the cumulative sum of minutes during which an eligible adult learner receives instruction, counseling, and/or assessment services from staff that is supported by federal and state adult education funds as documented by local attendance and reporting records.

Contextual (also contextualized)—Teaching and learning strategies designed to link the acquisition of basic skills with academic or occupational content by focusing teaching and learning directly on concrete applications in a specific context, such as in a career in which students are interested or a specific occupation. Forms of contextualization include financial literacy, family literacy, health literacy, and occupational training. When the emphasis is on career preparation and higher-level workforce training and credential attainment, teaching and learning basic skills is tied to career or occupational clusters. The following elements are often present:

  • Occupationally relevant instruction, including the use of materials, tools, equipment, and items (signs, manuals, procedures) from the workplace (called “realia”) that the learner will use after training
  • Use of the learner’s content, workplace, or professional knowledge
  • Assessment that includes context- and content-specific measurement and application of skills

Contextualized Instruction—Diverse instructional strategies designed to seamlessly link the learning of foundational skills and academic or occupational content by focusing on concrete applications in a real-life context

Contracted Measures—AEL contracts outline these annual target enrollment and performance measures, which grantees are contractually required to meet each program year as outlined in the RFA and approved by TWC annually

Core Components of an IET (IET Components)—The three required instructional and service activities of an Integrated Education and Training program, including:

  • AEL activities contextualized for workforce training;
  • workforce preparation activities; and
  • workforce training for a specific existing and emerging high-demand occupation, targeted occupation, or occupational cluster described in the local workforce development area Board plan.

Core Program—A program that operates under one of the following:

  • WIOA Title I Adult program
  • WIOA Title I Dislocated Worker program
  • WIOA Title I Youth program
  • WIOA Title II Adult Education and Family Literacy Act program
  • Employment Service program, authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended by WIOA Title III
  • VR program, authorized under Title I, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA Title IV

Correctional Institution—A correctional institution is any: 

  • prison; 
  • jail;
  • reformatory;
  • work farm;
  • detention center;
  • halfway house or community-based rehabilitation center; or 
  • any other similar institution designed for the confinement or rehabilitation of second-chance individuals.

Corrections Education—A fundamental component of rehabilitative programming offered in justice confinement facilities, most American prisons, and many jails and detention centers. For purposes of AEL grantees, corrections education occurs inside a correctional institution or facility, and allowable services include AEL activities, special education, as determined by
TWC, secondary school credit, career pathways, Integrated Education and
Training, peer tutoring, and transition to reentry and post-release services. Programs must give priority to serving individuals who are likely to leave the institution within five years (29 USC §3305, 34 CFR §463.62).

  • Corrections Education and Education of Other Institutionalized Individuals—Required under WIOA Title II, these are services states must provide to second-chance individuals (any individual who is charged with or convicted of any criminal offense) who reside in correctional institutions. 

Credential (also Recognized Postsecondary Credential)—An outcome credential consisting of:

A recognized postsecondary credential is awarded in recognition of an individual’s attainment of measurable technical, industry, or occupational skills necessary to obtain employment or advance within an industry/occupation. These skills are generally based on standards developed or endorsed by employers or industry associations. 

Neither certificates awarded by Boards nor work readiness certificates are included in this definition because neither type of certificate documents the measurable technical, industry, or occupational skills necessary to gain employment or advance within an occupation. Likewise, such certificates must recognize these skills for the specific industry or occupation rather than general skills related to safety, hygiene, and so forth, even if such general skills certificates are broadly required to qualify for entry-level employment or advancement in employment.

A variety of different public and private entities issue recognized postsecondary credentials. A list of the types of organizations and institutions that award recognized postsecondary credentials follows: 

  • A state educational agency or state agency responsible for administering vocational and technical education within a state 
  • An institution of higher education described in section 102 of the Higher Education Act (20 USC 1002) that is qualified to participate in the student financial assistance programs authorized by Title IV of that act, including community colleges, proprietary schools, and all other institutions of higher education that are eligible to participate in federal student financial aid programs 
  • An institution of higher education that is formally controlled or has been formally sanctioned or chartered by the governing body of an Indian tribe or tribes 
  • A professional, industry, or employer organization (for example, National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence certification; National Institute for Metalworking Skills, Inc.; Machining Level I credential) or product manufacturer or developer (for example, recognized Microsoft Information Technology certificates, such as Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), Certified Novell Engineer, and a Sun Certified Java Programmer) using a valid and reliable assessment of an individual’s knowledge, skills, and abilities 
  • U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Apprenticeship or a state apprenticeship agency.
  • A public regulatory agency that awards a credential upon an individual’s fulfillment of educational, work experience, or skill requirements that are legally necessary for an individual to use an occupational or professional title or to practice an occupation or profession (for example, a Federal Aviation Administration aviation mechanic license, or a state-licensed asbestos inspector) 
  • A program that has been approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to offer education benefits to veterans and other eligible persons 
  • Job Corps, which issues certificates for completing career training programs that are based on industry skills standards and certification requirements
  • Note: Not all credentials by these entities meet the definition of recognized postsecondary credential.

Credential Evaluation (Foreign Credential)—A report assessing a candidate’s education which they earned outside the United States to determine the U.S. equivalent. Universities and colleges require credential evaluations from foreign student applicants who apply to college or graduate programs in the United States so the institutions can assess grade point average (GPA), course credits, and the U.S. equivalents. Some employers require credential evaluations, usually for applicants who may need to meet certain licensure requirements for an occupation, especially for healthcare, law, or government roles.

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D

Data Sign-Off (DSO)—A report that grantees are required to submit quarterly to TWC that certifies the validity of data noted in the TEAMS. Grantee directors must certify the validity of the data, and DSO reports are due 15 days after the end of each quarter (October 15, January 15, April 15, and July 15). A final DSO report representing the program year data is due July 15.

Digital Literacy—Skills associated with using technology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, create, and communicate information

Digital Skills Building—Provision of services that teaches the use of devices such as computers, tablets, or mobile phones for basic personal and work tasks. Digital skills building includes how to find information on the internet, how to check information reliability, how to be safe and responsible online, and communicating socially and professionally in emails, messaging, and on social media. Additional skills may include what to be aware of when shopping, banking, and accessing services online or applying for a job. Refer to the Digital Literacy Standards section in AEL 2024 Content Standards 4.0.  

Direct Contact Hour—A direct contact hour is a contact hour that consists of instruction or instructional activity in reading, writing, mathematics, and ESL, which includes classroom instruction, tutoring, or participation in a learning lab. Hours accumulated through orientation or workforce training do not count as direct contact hours. Hours accumulated through workforce preparation activities count as direct contact hours only when the activities are delivered in the context of reading, writing, mathematics, and ESL. Direct contact hours are entered on the daily class contact hour page in the data management system.

Discretionary Innovation Projects—Capacity-building projects that are directed toward developing, enhancing, and positioning the adult education system for continuous improvement across program outcomes and for innovation related to system integration with core WIOA programs and postsecondary education and training

Distance Education—Per the NRS, this is a formal learning activity where students and instructors are separated by geography, time, or both for most of the instructional period. The NRS requires TWC to define how grantees classify learners using distance education as distance learners. TWC outlines this policy in the Texas AEL Testing Guide, and all grantees must have a distance learning plan that follows this policy. The NRS also defines a “distance learner” as one who has more proxy hours than direct contact hours.

Distance Learning—A formal learning activity in which learners and instructors are separated by geography, time, or both for most of the instructional period where there is a broader range of methods to provide instruction to a student outside of in-person class instruction. Distance learning materials are delivered through a variety of media, such as print, audio recording, videotape, broadcasts, computer software, web-based programs, and other online technology. Grantees providing asynchronous distance learning instruction must use an approved distance learning curriculum for Texas adult education and outline that curriculum in their distance learning plan. 

Distance Learning Curriculum—A TWC-approved curriculum for Texas adult education used to track a distance learning student’s proxy hours by clock-time model, teacher certification model, or learner mastery model

Distance Learning Participant—A learner who has more proxy hours than direct hours

Distance Learning Plan—A plan written by programs offering distance learning that outlines distance learning education delivery

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E

Educational Functioning Level—The ABE, ASE, and ESL literacy levels, provided in the AEL Testing Guide, that describe a set of skills and competencies that students demonstrate in the NRS skill areas

Educational Technology—The technology tools, techniques, or processes that facilitate, expand, or enhance learning and assessment or that support teaching practices to improve learning outcomes including, but not limited to, distance learning or distance education and digital literacy

English Language Acquisition (ELA)—Refer to English Language Acquisition Program and English as a Second Language (ESL).

English Language Acquisition (ELA) Program—A program of instruction designed to help eligible individuals who are ELLs:

  • achieve competence in reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension of the English language; 
  • attain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent; and
  • transition to postsecondary education and training or employment. 

In WIOA, this term replaces the formerly used term “English as a Second Language,” or “adult ESL.” In Texas, the term “ESL” is used interchangeably with “ELA Program.”

English Language Learner (ELL)—An eligible individual who has limited ability in reading, writing, speaking, or comprehending the English language—and whose native language is a language other than English—or who lives in a family or community environment where a language other than English is the dominant language

English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards—A standards-based approach in K–12 education that provides a framework for ELLs to acquire the content knowledge and English proficiency needed for school success. These standards correspond to a state’s college- and career-ready standards and reflect a shift in focus from language possession to language use within the content areas.

English as a Second Language (ESL)—ESL instruction helps eligible ELLs achieve competence in English reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension. The program must lead to attainment of a secondary school diploma, or its recognized equivalent, and transition to postsecondary education and training or employment. To achieve this, the program can:

  • align the curricula, lesson plans, or instructional materials to the Texas AEL Content Standards; 
  • offer educational and career-counseling services that assist eligible individuals to transition to postsecondary education or employment; or
  • be part of career pathways program.

In WIOA, “ESL” is referred to as “English Language Acquisition.”

Exiter—A learner who exits AEL services after they have not received any qualifying service for more than 90 days. An exit is retroactively calculated to the last day of service after 90 days of inactivity

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F

Family Literacy—Literacy activities that are of sufficient intensity, including the following: 

  • Making sustainable improvements in the economic prospects of a family. 
  • Better enabling parents or family members to support their children’s learning needs. 
  • Integrating the following activities:
    • parent or family AEL activities that lead to readiness for postsecondary education or training, career advancement, and economic self-sufficiency;
    • interactive literacy activities between parents or family members and their children;
    • education for parents or family members regarding how to be the primary teachers for their children and full partners in their children’s education; and
    • age-appropriate education that prepares children for success in school and life experiences.

Financial Literacy— Instruction on how to make informed decisions and take effective action with respect to money management, which may include, but is not limited to, the following: 

  • Supporting the ability of learners to create household budgets, initiate savings plans, and make informed financial decisions about education, retirement, home ownership, wealth building, or other savings goals
  • Supporting the ability to manage spending, credit, and debt (including credit card debt) effectively
  • Increasing awareness of the availability and significance of credit reports and credit scores in obtaining credit, including determining their accuracy (and how to correct inaccuracies in the reports and scores) and their effect on credit terms 
  • Supporting the ability to understand, evaluate, and compare financial products, services, and opportunities
  • Supporting activities that address the financial literacy needs of nonEnglish speakers

Follow-up Activities—A variety of services and workforce preparation activities that occur after a learner is no longer active in AEL direct services and for up to 365 days after exit. Follow-up activities support learners in completing education and training objectives, including collecting information on educational outcomes, employment, earnings, enrollment and progress in postsecondary education or training, and credential attainment. 

While follow-up services must occur after a learner exits AEL services—“exit” is defined as 90 days with no contact hours—activities may occur during participation or in the period between the last date of participation and the exit date.

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G

General Service Provider Grant (Provider Grant)—The statewide system of AEL grantees in each workforce area that deliver a variety of AEL activities under multiyear grants as defined in 50 TAC Chapter 805. 

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H

High-Quality Information Management System—In Texas, the “Texas Educating Adults Management System (TEAMS).”

High School Dropout Recovery Program—A program that identifies and recruits students who dropped out of Texas public schools and provides them with services to enable them to earn a high school diploma or complete an alternative path to college by demonstrating college readiness. 

Attributes of the model include a wide array of academic and social support, including: 

  • child care and transportation; 
  • open entry to and open exit from program; 
  • a variety of instructional programming, including online courses; and 
  • multiple scheduling options, including weekend and evening classes.

High-demand—Refers to:

  • an industry sector that has a substantial current or potential impact (including through jobs that lead to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement) on the state, regional, or local economy, as appropriate, and that contributes to the growth or stability of other supporting businesses or to the growth of other industry sectors; or
  • an occupation that currently has or is projected to have several positions (including positions that lead to economic self-sufficiency and opportunities for advancement) in an industry sector that will have a significant impact on the state, regional, or local economy, as appropriate. 

High School Equivalency (HSE) Voucher Tracker—The Microsoft Excel reporting tool that grant recipients use to track HSE vouchers released by TWC AEL to the grant recipient for subsidy recipients. This tool serves the following two purposes:  

  • TWC’s mechanism to send voucher codes to AEL grant recipients  
  • Provides grant recipients with a way to track voucher usage by student name, TWC’s data management system user ID, and HSE voucher information in order to reconcile voucher usage data against TEAMS and GED Manager™. The terms “online proctored,” “computer-based regular,” and “computer-based retake” are used to describe the different types of vouchers available for each GED test.  

Hold Harmless and Stop Gain—A procedure that ensures that a relative proportion of an allocation to a workforce area is not below 90 percent of the corresponding proportion for the past two years or that the current year proportion is not above 125 percent of the past two-year relative proportion

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I

Individual Training, Education, and Career Plan (ITEC Plan)—A plan for a student to meet educational and career goals, which is designed to promote a discussion and set forth a strategy. The plan delineates short- and long-term goals and their implementation steps. 

Instructional Strategies—Techniques used by instructors and/or educators to determine the appropriate match between the academic content and the learner. 

Intake—The holistic process in which a provider, before enrolling a student in AEL services, determines the eligibility of the student, identifies the student’s goals and barriers, collects required information for federal reporting purposes, and refers the student to other services, as needed. 

Integrated Education and Training (IET)—An overall scope of services designed for a specific occupation or occupational cluster for educational and career advancement, which includes the three IET components: AEL activities, workforce preparation activities, and workforce training, delivered through integrated services. 

IET programs ensure that learners gain the skills needed to succeed in workforce training programs by attaining recognized postsecondary credentials, entering or advancing in employment, or advancing in postsecondary education and training.

Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) Activity— Education services provided to adult ELLs, including professionals with degrees and credentials in their native countries, that enables them to achieve competency in the English language and acquire the basic and more-advanced skills needed to function effectively as parents, workers, and citizens in the United States. 

Such services include instruction in literacy and ELA and instruction on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and civic participation. They may include also workforce training.

Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) Program— Funded under WIOA Section 243, the IELCE program prepares adult ELLs for, and places them in, unsubsidized employment in industries and occupations that are high-demand and lead to economic self-sufficiency and integrate with the local workforce development system to carry out the activities of the program. 

IELCE program services are provided to adult ELLs, including professionals with degrees and credentials in their native countries, enabling them to achieve competency in the English language and acquire the basic and more-advanced skills needed to function effectively as parents, workers, and citizens in the United States. Such services must include workforce training as well as instruction in literacy, ELA, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship and civic participation.

Integrated English Literacy Civics IET (Integrated EL Civics IET)—A program funded under WIOA §243 for adult ELLs, including professionals with degrees and credentials in their native countries. Section 243 IELCE funds require that the program’s service approach include IELCE services in combination with IET for learners for whom IET services are appropriate. In addition to providing the three components of an IET, the IELCE + IET program must meet the following requirements: 

  • be designed to prepare adult ELLs for, and place them in, unsubsidized employment in existing and emerging high-demand industries and occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency; and
  • integrate with Board and Workforce Solutions Office functions to carry out the activities of the program. 

Also refer to 34 CFR Part 463, Subpart G, for additional guidance. 

Integrated Services—Delivery of IET components which are provided concurrently and contextually—that is, IET components are provided simultaneously at points within the overall scope of the program—that are of sufficient intensity and quality and are based on the most rigorous research available to support the advancement of education and career development and use occupationally relevant instructional materials. 

“Integrated services” also means an IET program has program activities organized to function cooperatively so that specific adult education content, workforce preparation activities, and workforce training competencies are aligned to a single set of learning objectives that identify specific competencies across the IET components. The competencies may include established learning objectives and/or trade-related benchmarks or competencies for an emerging or existing high-demand or targeted occupation or occupational cluster required for attaining a recognized postsecondary credential.

Intensive Services—A career pathways service model, which includes one or more of the following:

  • Workplace AEL activities 
  • Services for ITPs
  • Post-release services for second-chance individuals

Internationally-trained English Language Learner Professional (Internationally Trained Professional [ITP])—An ELL who is a professional with a degree or credential from their native country.

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J

No entries for "J".

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K

No entries for "K".

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L

Limited English Proficient (LEP)—An individual who does not speak English as their primary language and who has a limited ability to read, speak, write, and/or understand English.

Literacy—An individual’s ability to read, write, and speak in English and to compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual, and in society. 

Local Board Plan—A plan required under WIOA in which each Board develops a comprehensive four-year, local plan that analyzes the workforce area and lays out each Board’s strategy to meet the economic and employment needs of the area job seekers and employers. Refer to the About the Boards page on the TWC website to view these. 

Local Workforce Development Area (Workforce Area)—Refer to Workforce Area. 

Local Workforce Development Board (Board)—Created pursuant to Texas Government Code §2308.253 and certified by the governor pursuant to Texas Government Code §2308.261. There are 28 Boards in Texas. 

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M

Managed Enrollment—A system for enrollment in which student entry points are set at logical break points in the curriculum or at the beginning of short classes or modules (typically three to six weeks, or up to 10 weeks long). Class terms in managed enrollment scheduling are usually shorter than in open enrollment or fixed enrollment, determined by examining program data to identify how long students attend a class before attrition begins. Group intake, orientation, and pretesting sessions occur outside of class before each entry point. Instructors receive information about new students before they arrive in class on designated dates.

Measurable Skill Gains (MSG)—The WIOA term for one of the primary indicators of performance across core programs and defined as the documented academic, technical, occupational, or other forms of progress toward a credential or employment. It is the percentage of program participants who, during a program year, are in an education or training program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential or employment and who are achieving an MSG, defined as documented academic, technical, occupational, or other forms of progress, toward such a credential or employment. The following options are currently available to providers for reporting MSGs dependent on the type of AEL activity: 

  • Type 1a: EFL Gain Pre-/posttest
  • Type 1b: Completion of Carnegie Units (not applicable in Texas)
  • Type 1c: Exit AEL then entry into postsecondary education
  • Type 1d: Passing a section of the HSE exam
  • Type 2: Secondary diploma or equivalency
  • Type 3: Secondary or postsecondary transcript
  • Type 4: Progress toward milestone
  • Type 5: Passing technical/occupational knowledge-based exam

Note: For AEL, Types 3, 4, and 5 apply only to those enrolled in an IET or workplace literacy program.

Providers should defer to the Texas AEL Testing Guide and Texas AEL Performance Guide and associated active AEL letters for official policy and guidance related to MSG.

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N

National Reporting System (NRS) Implementation Guidelines—AEFLA federal accountability requirements of, which describe measures to allow assessment of the effect of adult education instruction, methodologies for collecting the measures, reporting forms and procedures, and training and technical assistance activities to help states collect the measures.

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O

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE)—Office of the U.S. Department of Education that administers and coordinates programs related to AEL, career and technical education, and community colleges. OCTAE was formerly referred to as the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE).

One-Stop Centers (One-Stops)—Also known as Workforce Solutions Offices (or federally as American Job Centers), one-stops are designed to provide a full range of assistance to job seekers under one roof. Established under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and reauthorized in 2014 under WIOA, the centers offer training and education referrals, career counseling, job listings, and similar employment-related services. One-stops are administered by Boards.

“One Workforce”—An approach endorsed and recommended by multiple federal programs among WIOA partner programs and stakeholders to foster greater collaboration, integrated service delivery, shared data, and leveraged resources, leading to positive employment, training, and education outcomes for customers.

On-Ramp to Postsecondary Education or Training (On-Ramp Program)—A service, also referred to as a bridge or transition class, that prepares adults with basic-skill needs or limited academic English to enter and succeed in postsecondary education and training. 
On-ramp programs may run several days, weeks, or longer as postsecondary college readiness programs, depending on the type of program students are preparing to enter (for example, community college and other workforce training). An on-ramp program may address the following topics, content, and activities:  

  • Preparation for college or workforce training, including the development of college readiness knowledge in the areas of notetaking, academic readiness, advising, time management, study habits, and digital literacy 
  • Career development that includes career exploration, career planning, understanding college systems, and employment expectations and work culture for training and employment in a specific occupation or sector 
  • Goal setting and meeting with career navigators or others to expand and customize an ITEC plan
  • Guest lectures from employers, former students, and faculty
  • Referrals to individual supportive services (for example, transportation, child care, and housing assistance)
  • Intensive academic readiness and remediation for student success to support transition to postsecondary education and training  

The on-ramp program for an IET often supports program success by ensuring that students understand and are committed to the duration and intensity of the training program, have developed arrangements to mitigate work and personal obligations that might impede program completion, and are well informed about resulting employment options and expectations to support employment success.

Open Enrollment—A system that allows learners to enter and exit a class at nearly any point throughout its term. Students are free to come to class when they can, miss when they must, drop out for a while, and return without any waiting period. Typically, teachers receive no notice of or information about new learners before the learners arrive to class. 

Orientation—Part of the assessment process in which a provider gives information to learners about a program and collaborating organization services, the attendance and class participation policies, learner support services, emergency evacuation procedures, grievance procedures, learner rights and responsibilities, and the program code of conduct in a student handbook. Orientation establishes a student’s short- and long-term goals and sets the basis for the ITEC plan.

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P

Participant—A participant is an individual who has taken an approved test that establishes basic education eligibility and accrued 12 direct-contact hours or maintains a POP from a previous program year.

Participatory Service—An activity or service that extends a POP after an individual becomes eligible for AEL services. A participatory service begins a POP after a participant is found eligible by taking an approved test and accruing 12 direct-contact hours. 
After eligibility is determined, the following services are considered participatory services: 

  • Testing (excluding official HSE tests) 
  • Direct-contact (“D”)
  • Proxy-contact (“P”) hours 
  • For IET participants, workforce training hours (workforce training hours must be entered into data management system as “T” to extend the IET and the POP).

Peer Tutoring—In corrections education, an instructional model that uses one institutionalized individual to assist in providing or enhancing learning opportunities for other institutionalized individuals. A peer tutoring program must be structured and overseen by educators who assist with training and supervising tutors, setting educational goals, establishing an individualized plan of instruction, and monitoring progress.

Performance Funding—Funding earned by an AEL grantee upon achievement of performance funding benchmarks that coincide with other state or federal performance measures as determined by the Commission.

Period of Participation (POP)—An interval of measurement that begins each time an individual is found eligible for the AEL program through a pretest and accrues 12 direct contact hours and ends each time an individual has not received a participatory service for 90 days. POPs can span across PYs, and a learner can have multiple POPs in one PY. 

POPs add an additional period of measurement that is used to calculate participation, contact hours, testing intervals, and exit-based performancemeasure calculations within and across program years.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)—Information that identifies an individual, as set forth in WD Letter 02-18, Change 1, issued March 18, 2024, and entitled “Handling Sensitive Personal Information and Other Confidential Information—Update” and subsequent issuances. Not all PII is sensitive and/or confidential by law. Refer to the TWC Website Privacy & Security Information page that addresses a variety of website privacy, security, and confidentially information.         

Popular Services—AEL term in Texas for allowable service categories for the purposes of assigning targets to services that emphasize Texas’ vision for AEL. “Popular services” may consist of:

  • adult education;
  • literacy (including digital and financial literacies);
  • family literacy;
  • ELA or ESL;
  • corrections education;
  • HSE preparation; or
  • on-ramp, bridge, or transition to postsecondary education or employment.

Post-assessment (posttest)—A progress or subsequent test administered after a learner has received the minimum hours of instruction recommended in an assessment’s publisher’s guidelines; also called a “posttest.”

Post-Release Services for Second-Chance Individuals—Grantees may provide adult education activities to second-chance individuals who are within three years post release (having been released) from a correctional institution. This is not the same as transition to reentry and post-release services (as allowed under WIOA §225) to incarcerated individuals who will be released from a correctional facility within the next five years. This program targets individuals who are post release and seeking to complete educational and career goals through participation in adult literacy activities, such as HSE preparation, ELA, workforce preparation, or digital literacy. 

Posttest—Refer to Post-Assessment. 

Pre-assessment—A test administered to place a learner into an educational functioning level, generally before instruction takes place; also referred to as
“pre-test” or “initial assessment” 

Pre-test—Refer to Pre-Assessment. 

Principles of Adult Learning—A wide variety of research-based PD topics. These include instructional and advising characteristics specific to adults that are concerned with the range of knowledge, skills, and abilities adults bring to education and that define their needs to:

  • understand and use information;
  • express themselves;
  • act independently;
  • manage a changing world effectively; and 
  • meet goals and objectives related to career, family, and community participation.

Instructional principles include, but are not limited to:

  • engaging adults and customizing instruction on subjects that have immediate relevance to their careers and personal goals and objectives;
  • building on a learner’s prior knowledge and experience; and 
  • supporting learners in taking responsibility for their learning.

Priority Populations (Priority of Services)—A term used throughout WIOA that requires WIOA Title I programs give priority of services to recipients of public benefits, other low-income individuals, and individuals who are basic skills deficient when providing career and training services. In Texas, special populations may receive a priority of services per the action of the governor (refer to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Guidelines for Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth).

Professional Development (PD)—A wide variety of facilitated learning activities for instructors and staff of AEL programs and organizations that receive services. “PD” refers to the acquisition of skills and knowledge for career advancement and encompasses all facilitated and professional learning opportunities, including workshops and conferences and informal learning opportunities situated in practice.

Professional Development Center (PD Center)—The statewide AEL PD Center contractor serves as a central dissemination point for information, networking, technical assistance and development for Texas AEL professionals creating opportunities in education and the workforce for their students. The current contractor is the Texas Research-based Adult Instruction Network Professional Development (TRAIN PD) Consortium located at Texas A&M University. 

Professional Development (PD) Coordinators—Staff members employed by AEL providers to deliver or facilitate delivery of Tier 1 PD services and training as well as a comprehensive plan for local PD efforts in coordination with the PD Center and as directed by TWC.

Professional Development Plan for Continuous Improvement—A set of goals, objectives, and activities designed by a team of local practitioners to bring ongoing improvement to AEL services through periodic review, measurement and action.

Program of Study—Grouping of courses that deliver academic and/or career and technical education to prepare students for postsecondary education and career success.

Program Year (PY)—The AEL program year, which runs from July 1–June 30. 

Provider—An organization that has demonstrated effectiveness in providing AEL activities and is eligible to apply for a WIOA Title II grant or contract.
Providers include, but are not limited to, the following: 

  • A local educational agency
  • A community-based or faith-based organization
  • A volunteer literacy organization
  • An institution of higher education
  • A public or private nonprofit agency
  • A library
  • A public housing authority
  • A nonprofit institution that is not described in any of the items above and that can provide AEL activities to eligible individuals
  • A consortium or coalition of the agencies, organizations, institutions, libraries, or authorities described in any of the bullets above
  • A partnership between an employer and an entity described in any of the bullets above

Proxy Hours—Hours of instruction for which the identity of the learner and/or the exact amount of time spent on a learning activity may not be verified directly.

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Q

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R

Recognized Postsecondary Credential—Refer to Credential.

Remote Learner—Someone engaging in synchronous learning transmitted via technology (email, chat, discussion boards, video conference, audio) where no physical presence in the classroom is required. Contact hours for remote learning are counted as direct hours if they are greater than 15 minutes. Unlike distance learning, remote learning must occur synchronously in real time, does not use approved distance learning curricula, and the hours are counted as direct hours. 

Remote Learning—An instructional approach to learning using technology in which the student and instructor are separated by distance; occurs synchronously (in real time), accumulates direct contact hours, and may use a variety of technologies such as chat, video conference, Zoom, or phone.

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S

Second-Chance Individuals—An individual who was previously incarcerated or institutionalized and is seeking adult education services after being released from a correctional facility.

Section 225 Funding—Funds granted to AEL providers for the cost of educational programs for second-chance individuals in correctional institutions and for other institutionalized individuals. The programs include:

  • academic programs for AEL services; 
  • special education, as determined by TWC; 
  • secondary school credit; 
  • IET; 
  • career pathways; 
  • concurrent enrollment; 
  • peer tutoring; and 
  • transition to reentry initiatives and other post-release services with the goal of reducing recidivism.

Section 231 Funding—Funds granted to AEL providers to establish or operate programs that provide AEL activities, including programs that provide such activities concurrently with other program activities.

Section 243 Funding—Funding that supports IELCE and Integrated EL Civics IET under WIOA §243 for adult ELLs, including professionals with degrees and credentials in their native countries. WIOA §243 requires that the program service approach include IELCE services in combination with IET for learners for whom IET services are appropriate. 

Additionally, programs funded with Section 243–funded programs must meet the following requirements: 

  • Be designed to prepare adult ELLs for and place them in unsubsidized employment in existing, emerging, high-demand industry sectors or targeted occupations that lead to economic self-sufficiency
  • Integrate with Board and Workforce Solutions Office functions to carry out the activities of the program

Services for Internationally-Trained English Language Learner Professionals—Include, but are not limited to, linguistic preparation for professional credentialing exams, specialized career advising, ESL services contextualized for targeted occupations with enough intensity to allow for rapid progress in support of credentialing exams, or professional opportunities.  

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)—Procedures that AEL providers are required to have and maintain for grant execution in areas that include, but are not limited to, recruitment and advertising, intake, assessment, testing, placement, and customer profile data collection.

State Fiscal Year—The 12-month reporting period across agencies in Texas used for accounting, budgeting, and reporting purposes during which funding disbursement or other financial transactions occur. The state fiscal year for Texas begins September 1 of each year and ends the following August 31. For example, State Fiscal Year 2022 (SFY’22) began September 1, 2022, and ended August 31, 2023. Note: The AEL fiscal reporting year is July 1 to June 30.

State Leadership Activities—TWC-directed leadership activities in support of AEL that are authorized by the WIOA§222(a) and described in WIOA §223(a) (29 USC §3303). TWC is authorized to use no more than 12.5 percent of its federal grant to carry out state leadership activities, which include PD, technical assistance, technology assistance, support of literacy resource centers, monitoring and evaluation of the quality of and improvement in AEL programs, incentives, curriculum development, and other important statewide activities.

State Performance Measures—State performance measures are those negotiated between TWC and the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) each biennium as a part of TWC’s Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR).

Statewide Management Information System—The official database for Texas’ AEL program data is currently TEAMS.  

Subrecipient—An entity or individual that contracts with an AEL provider to provide a service that supports delivery of AEL services. The AEL provider must determine whether a subrecipient is a vendor or a subrecipient as defined by Office of Management and Budget Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR, Part 200. The provider develops contracts based on the determined relationship.

Subsidy—An amount not to exceed the cost of one GED exam, inclusive of all subject areas or the complete battery, as negotiated by the TEA with GED Testing Service, LLC. The GED exam contains four tests, and individual tests correspond to the subject areas of mathematics, science, social studies, and language arts. The test fees per battery and per subject area for the GED exam are on the TEA website. 

Subsidy Recipient—An individual who is determined to be eligible to receive an HSE subsidy. An individual is eligible if they are: 

  • at least 21 years of age;
  • a Texas resident 
  • lacking a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent;
  • determined to be HSE test–ready
  • a current AEL learner; 
  • a former AEL learner within 365 days of exit; or 
  • a non-AEL learner who is otherwise eligible to receive the subsidy. 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education and Training Program (SNAP E&T)—A federally funded program that promotes longterm self-sufficiency and independence by preparing SNAP recipients for employment through work-related education and training activities. The SNAP program helps low-income families buy nutritious food from local food stores. SNAP assistance is available to qualifying families, elderly people, and single adults. Applicants must reside in Texas and apply in the county in which they reside.

Support Services—Services include providing the transportation, child care, dependent care, housing, and needs-related payments necessary to enable an individual to participate in AEL activities.

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T

Technical Assistance Plan (TAP)—The first step in implementing a corrective action, a TAP for performance improvement may be jointly developed by TWC with Boards, AEL grantees, or TWC grant recipients. A TAP includes, but is not limited to:

  • identification of one or more specific performance improvement issues; 
  • assessment of specific technical assistance or training needs; 
  • selection of one or more specific technical assistance or training activities to be implemented; 
  • identification of the appropriate entities to provide the technical assistance or training, including the Board, AEL grantee, TWC, other Boards, or other entities; 
  • identification of a timeline for completion of the technical assistance or training; and 
  • specific dates for reassessment of technical assistance or training needs and completion of the specific technical assistance or training.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)—A federal program that, in addition to providing temporary financial assistance to needy families who meet certain eligibility requirements, provides financial support to many initiatives that meet one or more of the four purposes of TANF, as follows: 

  • Provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes. 
  • Reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage.
  • Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies. 
  • Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. 

Test—A measuring device or instrument and its associated procedures. Educational tests are typically composed of questions or tasks designed to elicit predetermined behavioral responses or to measure academic content standards.

Texas Adult Education and Literacy Content Standards (Texas AEL Content Standards)—The Texas-adopted academic content standards that specify the content that adult learners should know and be able to do in the areas of reading and language arts, mathematics, ESL, and digital literacy, including how the academic content aligns to the occupational and industry skill standards widely used by business and industry in Texas.

Texas Adult Education and Literacy Guide (Texas AEL Guide)—A TWCproduced program guide used to support AEL grantees’ implementation of programs, services, and activities for AEL grant awards in Texas funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Grant, Title II, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA). 

Texas Adult Education and Literacy Performance Guide (Performance Guide)—Provides information and guidance for employment, training, and educational outcomes on the importance of demonstrated effectiveness as it relates to an entity’s ability to apply for AEL grant and AEL grantee  performance measures (also known as contracted measures), composed of: 

  • federal performance requirements under WIOA; Texas-specific performance requirements and measures and how grantees may measure progress toward required performance outcomes;
  • recommendations for tracking the performance and outcomes of AEL participants;
  • performance considerations related to performance-based funding and Workforce Awards; and
  • how TWC develops AEL-contracted measures.

Texas Adult Education and Literacy Testing Guide (AEL Testing Guide)—A guide based on the NRS Implementation Guidelines (February
2016 and subsequent issuances), as well as on active TWC AEL and WD Letters. The AEL Testing Guide standardizes the process of determining learner placement, progress toward outcomes, and collection and reporting of data. Grantees are responsible for following the AEL Testing Guide.

Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency (TxCHSE)—The certificate of high school equivalency issued by the Texas Education Agency, which is the only agency authorized to issue high school equivalency certificates in Texas.

Texas Educating Adults Management System (TEAMS)—The official database for Texas AEL data.

Texas Workforce System—The Texas Workforce System is composed of several programs, services, and initiatives administered by eight state agencies, the Texas Association of Workforce Boards, boards, community and technical colleges, local adult education providers, and independent school districts. Statewide, the system provides workforce development, employment and training, and educational services through a seamless customer-focused service-delivery network that enhances access to all program services and improves long-term outcomes for Texans. Workforce system partners administer separately funded programs as a set of integrated streamlined services to customers and serve a critical role in the development of a world-class workforce that enjoys a higher quality of life through economic, employment, and educational success.

Tier One Training (Tier 1 Training)—Core professional development training that an AEL provider must deliver to its employees as part of its TWC grant contract, including, but not limited to, test administration, goal setting, integrating career awareness, basic data management system usage, and program-specific policies regarding student recruitment, orientation, and documentation

Tier Two Training (Tier 2 Training)—Diverse adult-learning PD training, including the Principles of Adult-Learning courses offered through the professional development centers to assist AEL providers in improving instructional and performance outcomes

Title I Services—WIOA Title I–funded services for adults and dislocated workers and youth, including core services available for job seekers. Core services include skills assessments, self-service access to job listings, information about careers and local labor market conditions, and limited staff assistance with job-search activities. Intensive services under Title I are available only to individuals who have not obtained employment through core services, or who are employed but require intensive services to retain or obtain employment, allowing for self-sufficiency. Intensive services can include skills assessments, career counseling, development of individual employment plans, and short-term prevocational services. Training services are available to individuals who have been unable to find or keep employment through core and intensive services. These services can include such activities as occupational skills training, on-the-job training, job readiness training, and AEL activities, if they are provided in conjunction with other job-training activities.

Transition to Reentry and Post-Release Services—Such services as educational counseling or case work that support incarcerated individuals  transition to reentry and other post-release services. Examples include: 

  • assisting incarcerated individuals to develop plans for post-release education program participation; 
  • assisting students in identifying and applying for post-release programs; 
  • and performing direct outreach to community-based program providers on behalf of reentering students. 

Federal adult-education funds may be used only for activities that promote transition to such services and not for costs for participation in post-release programs or services. These services are reported in TWC’s data management system as career services and are not considered intensive services.

Transitions—Preparatory course models designed to increase the transitional success of learners at NRS Levels 4–6 who are enrolling in initial postsecondary education or training courses

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U

No entries for "U".

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V

Vocational Rehabilitation Services—Also called “Workforce Solutions Vocational Rehabilitation Services,” VR services help individuals with disabilities prepare for, find, or retain employment and help youth and students prepare for postsecondary opportunities. They also help businesses and employers recruit, retain, and accommodate employees with disabilities. Services include vocational evaluations, counseling and guidance, training and education assistance, and assistive technology.

Voucher—An electronic voucher code provided to an eligible individual for taking a GED test. GED Testing Service, LLC, is the only approved vendor of the HSE exam in Texas for the purpose of TxCHSE attainment. The amounts for vouchers may vary due to the cost differences in test administration methods, such as online-proctored or computer-based.

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W

Workforce Area—An area designated by the governor and functioning as a local workforce investment area by which integrated AEL and workforce services are organized. Workforce areas must consist of more than one contiguous unit of general local government, including at least one county, and must be of sufficient size to have the administrative resources necessary to plan, manage, and deliver workforce development services. 

Other factors used in developing workforce areas in Texas are the economic development needs of each area, analyses of local labor markets, commuting patterns of residents, and community needs, including those of employers seeking skilled workers and individuals seeking jobs and skills training.

Workforce integration services support the referral to and coenrollment in Board, VR, and other workforce system services as well as success in postsecondary education or training. Workforce integration services may include the following activities in an in-person or virtual setting:

  • Capacity-building activities that support coenrollment in Board and VR programs
  • Processes that sustain system referrals and alignment of services among Board, workforce intermediaries, and postsecondary education or training institutions

Workforce Partners—in Texas, workforce partners differ from those listed in WIOA because Texas may operate certain aspects of WIOA under prior consistent state law (40 TAC §801.27). The required workforce partners in Texas are the entities that administer the following programs in the local workforce development areas: 

  • Jobs for Veterans State Grant program (38 USC §41 et seq.)
  • AEL (WIOA, Title II)
  • Senior Community Service Employment Program (42 USC §3056 et seq.)
  • Apprenticeship Training Program certified by the States Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship Training (TEC, Chapter 133)
  • Carl D. Perkins Career and technical education programs (20 USC §2301 et seq.)
  • employment and training activities carried out under Community Services Block Grant programs (42 USC §9901 et seq.)
  • employment and training activities provided through grantees of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • education and vocational training programs through Job Corps (WIOA, Title I);
  • Native American programs (WIOA, Title I)
  • YouthBuild programs (WIOA, Title I)
  • Programs authorized under §213 of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (42 USC §17532 et seq.)

Workforce Preparation Activities—One of the three core IET components, “workforce preparation activities” encompasses activities, programs, or services designed to help an individual acquire a combination of basic academic skills, critical thinking skills, digital literacy skills, and self-management skills, including competencies in the following: 

  • Using resources 
  • Using information 
  • Working with others 
  • Understanding systems
  • Skills necessary for successful transition into and completion of postsecondary education, training, or employment 
  • Other employability skills that increase an individual’s preparation for the workforce

Workforce Solutions Offices—Referred to in federal guidance as “onestops” or “American Job Centers,” and in Texas as “Workforce Solutions Offices,” these offer an array of services to eligible customers, including job placement, training programs, and child care assistance, as well as employer services like job posting and placement and labor market research.  

Workforce Training—One of the three core IET components, “workforce training” includes the following training services authorized under WIOA Title I: 

  • On-the-job training as described in WIOA §3(44)
  • Skills upgrading 
  • Entrepreneurial training
  • Customized training, as described in WIOA §3(14)
  • Other occupational skills training (for example, training delivered in an IET by a community or technical college) 
  • Prerequisite training
  • Registered apprenticeship training
  • Youth occupational skills training

Workplace Adult Education and Literacy Activities (Workplace AEL Activities)—AEL activities offered by an eligible provider in collaboration with an employer or employee organization at a workplace or an off-site location. These activities are designed to improve workforce productivity. Workplace AEL is one of the intensive services models for career pathways. This is sometimes referred to as “workplace AEL.”

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X

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Y

Year-Round Service Delivery—Refers to instances when AEL services are provided by an AEL provider using a managed enrollment model that includes flexible schedules to allow customers to begin orientation or workforce preparation activities at no less than two-week intervals and instructional services no fewer than four times a year.

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Z

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