The State Board of Education (SBOE) met Wednesday, April 18 through Friday, April 20. Many long time observers characterized this meeting as one of the most productive meetings in recent years as the SBOE addressed several major policy areas in a positive and bipartisan manner.
Perhaps the most significant policy decision made last week was the approval of new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for mathematics for kindergarten through grade eight and for all high school courses. Those revised curriculum standards were approved with over one hundred amendments, with final approval on a 14-0 vote. The new TEKS will not take effect until instructional materials aligned to the new standards are made available to Texas students.
Based on a revised instructional materials adoption, the new math TEKS will be used in kindergarten through eighth grade Texas classrooms beginning in the 2014-2015 school year when aligned instructional materials are available.
The revised math TEKS for high school courses will be implemented the following year when aligned instructional materials for those courses become available for use.
In another action that is closely connected to the math TEKS, the SBOE began the implementation of the recently updated adoption cycle by issuing Proclamation 2014. This proclamation requests all interested parties to submit instructional materials for kindergartner-8 math, kindergarten through grade eight science, all high school science courses and technology applications. All submissions are due to the Texas Education Agency in April 2013 for state review and will be available for classroom use beginning in the 2014-2015 school year. The following year, state-adopted materials for math, grades nine through 12; social studies, grades kindergarten through grade 12; and fine arts are scheduled for state review and approval.
The SBOE also acted to amend Texas Administrative Code Chapter 66 rules on instructional materials and the state adoption process. Those proposed rules, as amended, were approved on a 14-0 vote. Changes in law found in SB 6 passed in the special session last summer deregulated the highly regulated Texas process, allowing districts to use state funds to purchase materials not only from the SBOE approved list and the commissioner of education’s adoption list , but from sources completely outside either state adoption process.
Many of the rule changes made the SBOE process a less cumbersome one, thus encouraging publishers and developers to continue to participate in the SBOE adoption process. The SBOE review and approval is structured to determine to what degree submitted materials cover the state’s curriculum standards. Whether instructional materials are purchased through the state process or in the open market, school districts are required to cover 100 percent of the curriculum standards. Representatives of the publishing industry and school leaders reacted positively to the new rules, noting that the revisions create a bridge from the highly regulated market of the past sixty years to one that provides greater flexibility and more responsibilities for school districts.
The SBOE voted 9-5 to by handle more of the investments in the state’s $26-billion Permanent School Fund in-house rather than paying money managers. Even after hiring costs, Texas is projected to save $6 million in fees the first year and an additional $35 million over the next five years. Critics of the decision are concerned that the savings may not be realized if the program underperforms and if the staff could be trained to handle the investments successfully. The state’s Permanent School Fund staff will enter into an arrangement with two investment firms for help.
The 82nd Texas Legislature appropriated funds to TEA for the increased staff costs.
