Tarrant County College District will receive $299,929 to support Career and Technical Education programs for high-demand jobs as part of $3.7 million in Perkins Leadership Grants that Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday.
The grants cover 13 Texas public two-year postsecondary institutions for the 2026-2027 grant cycle. The awards support programs for emerging and current workforce needs, instructor recruitment and retention, and prison education that prepares students for reentry.
“Texas’ skilled workforce is critical to our state’s economic success,” Abbott said in a news release. “With these grants, community and technical colleges can develop or redesign programs for in-demand occupations and recruit and retain instructors to train the next generation of the workforce.”
Tarrant County College joins four other institutions in the high-demand credentials category: Lamar Institute of Technology, Southwest Texas College, Texas Southmost College and Texas State Technical College. Their five awards total $1,425,465, according to the amounts in the release.
Six colleges will share $1,702,879 for recruiting and retaining career and technical education instructors. Those recipients include Del Mar College, El Paso Community College District, Lamar State College-Orange, San Jacinto College District, Tyler Junior College, and Western Texas College.
Central Texas College and Lee College will receive a combined $597,144 for prison education focused on preparing students for reentry. Central Texas College will receive $300,000, and Lee College will receive $297,144.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board explains that eligible public two-year institutions compete for the grants. The program supports academic, technical, and employability skills for students in career and technical education.
The announcement also marks a change in the grant structure. Perkins Leadership Grants replace the Perkins Field Based Innovation Program and the Perkins Excellence in Access and Opportunity Program, which ended August 31, 2026. The governor’s office said the change refocuses funding on current labor market needs.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, Texas has also supported career training through Jobs and Education for Texans grants. That separate Texas Workforce Commission program helps schools purchase equipment for training students for high-demand occupations.
