The expansion, which will start with a smaller pilot in four high schools between Texas and New Mexico, is being paid for by the Permian Strategic Partnership, a group funded by major energy producers.
A UC Davis professor runs an academic center that was conceived by a trade group, according to records, and gets most of its funding from farming interests.
The latest coronavirus stimulus package introduced by Senate Republicans on Tuesday includes efforts to aid the mining and coal industries in a move already angering some Democrats.
