The State Board of Education met on September 18 to take up a number of items. This report covers item number 1 on the agenda, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath’s comments to the board. Commissioner Morath provides updates on: TEA’s LAR request, TEA’s rapid testing partnership with DSHS and TDEM, and the Schoolboard Development Framework’s measurable goals. The agenda and the video of this meeting can be found here.
The HillCo report below is a summary of remarks intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics discussed. This report is not a verbatim transcript; it is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath
- In the biennium legislative appropriations request season
- TEA does not just ask for money for administrative purposes, but we also control the public-school finance system; budget is large because it is the legislature’s number 1 funding priority
- FY 2021 TEA Agency Budget request is $32.5 million; bulk of request is what it takes to fund the school finance system
- Already executed the 5% cut asked to be made by legislative leadership; ask for the next two years the same 5% reduced spending level
- Real time data shows a significant negative impact of COVID-19 on students from low-income families; must ensure remote instruction is delivered equitably and effectively
- Asked for one exceptional item in the budget request which is an effort to close the achievement gap; aim to attract/train educators ($10 million) and targeted interventions and campus supports ($10 million)
- Significant rider changes include updates to conform with 86th changes including HB 3 and HB 3906 and deleted several riders that were no longer necessary
- Included a new rider to appropriate the fees for the HB 3’s teacher incentive allotment
- Rider 28 consolidated school finding provided to TJJD under Rider 88 into other school funding provided by TEA Rider 28
- Removed language from Rider 39 that could prevent or delay the expenditure of awarded funds
- Have previously announced the availability of rapid COVID-19 tests on an optional basis; builds off the layers of protocols and support to keep on campus instruction as safe as possible
- Testing project is in partnership with TDEM and DSHS; provided flexibility to use Abbott Laboratories BinexNOW tests provided by the state and federal government
- Overviews the testing framework and data shows that schools’ protocols have made safe environments; evidence shows in-school transmission occurs rarely
- Testing can be used by school districts to screen and as a targeted response; let local schools adopt the testing inventory to use in their context
- Participating school systems will receive PPE including masks, face shields, gloves, and gowns
- Have been working to update The Schoolboard Development Framework; current updates include student measurable goals, including measurements of students’ extracurricular activities
- Overviews the public-school funding Texas has received through the CARES Act; Texas has received about $2 billion in federal funds
- Have been able to fully fund the public-school finance system and avoid massive layoffs
- Have rolled out a number of tools to help with home learning; has a statewide license with a learning management system, Schoology, used by 400 LEAs have contracted with it
- Highlights the THL instructional materials announced to date; more tools are becoming available
- Notes these could/should have been rolled out in June or May, but are moving as fast as possible; over 256 LEAs have engaged with THL instructional materials
- THL tools released for special education ensure students have access to speech pathology; dyslexia tools are in progress to roll out
- About $64 million has been invested ibn these THL materials
- Mercer – Thanks the Commissioner and staff for their work
- Morath – Notes the talent of TEA’s staff
- Bahorich – Thanks the Commissioner for his work; thanks him for the partnership with the board
- Cargill – Teachers are teaching in-person, but also virtual; many are thinking about leaving education
- Cargill – What encouragement can we give to teachers who are overwhelmed? Have you given any thought to give certain roles to specific teachers rather than everyone trying to juggle so many different things?
- Morath – We are talking about ways to reduce and relax, need to concentrate ono giving teachers time
- Morath – Are talking to districts on what models teaching leadership can make; are multiple model options
- Morath – There concurrent, split scheduling where you can either teach in-person or either in person, split staffing where teachers either teach one or the other, and there is an option where the school sets up a “virtual school”
- Morath – A majority are doing concurrent learning, but there are pros and cons with these models; working with districts to support which models they are employing
- Morath – Looking to support more in-service days for teachers, but with a balance
- Cargill – In Montgomery ISD, they have started late starts on Wednesday, may be an option
- Rowley – Is there going to be any relief/accommodation for rural districts concerning testing and COVID-19 absenteeism?
- Morath – Current plan is to apply for a waiver related to participation requirements in the spring; are a number of adjustments being thought of for the A-F system
- Morath – No final decisions made on that, still trying to gather feedback
- Robinson – Request we scrap the STARR test for this year, it would do a lot for teacher morale
- Morath – We did so for last year, unfortunately do not have a reliable view of grade level student mastery skills; the question of what you do with the results is what we are focusing on
- Maynard – Students of poverty are at a serious disadvantage on access to technology/hardware; are we able to measure how much we have closed the technology gap?
- Morath – Project connectivity was created to close the gap; have invested $1 billion in acquiring hardware
- Morath – Have done more in Texas than anywhere else; about 2.5 million devices and 800,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in at this point; have closed the divide in regard to devices
- Morath – High Speed internet access is still an issue and will take more commercial sector investments; long term we are focused on infrastructure
- Morath – Notes Senator Nelson is keyed in on this and others in the legislature
- Maynard – For the budget, will there be any further federal funds coming in?
- Morath – Have already gotten federal funds, talking about adding more with Senator Cornyn and that is a priority of his
- Maynard – What about in terms of the state budget?
- Morath – Legislators will be walking into a tough session
- Ellis – Senator Nichols and Representative Ashby have been working on this; hotspots may not be helpful in the long term?
- Morath – Broadband challenge is in rural communities due to the costly manner; notes the legislature has created a broadband council for all sectors and it will be an appropriations priority for either the state or federal
- Hardy – Why are there so many home learning vendors, how will they be checked for alignment
- Morath – For different grade levels/subjects, all have to meet TEKS standards
- Hardy – Teachers who use them could also switch to the classroom setting?
- Morath – Yes, they are designed to be digitally native, but can be used in-person
- Little – Accountability and testing, is there anyway we can look at academic progress as a measure of accountability?
- Morath – We could, but not easily; rolled out an optional beginning of year assessment as a diagnostic tool
- Morath – HB 3906 sets us up to do the R&D work to set up a three-year measurement system and to make what you are requesting feasible; would be a multi-year process
- Morath – Notes there are ways to manipulate the results
- Perez-Diaz – How is TEA defining usage? Is it a matter of establishing an account or is it tracking how often it is being used?
- Morath – We measure authentic engagement, but we do not want to intrude on district’s decisions; we look at registration and we talk to districts on their usage
- Perez-Diaz – Only about 25% of LEAs are using these management systems and we have already invested $64 million; hopes that future CARES Act funding is used for more sustainable models
- Perez-Dias – Also wishes STARR exam is used as a progress measure; does not want the agency to overcomplicate this situation because it would be unfair to set accountability standards for districts who are struggling to survive
- Perez-Dias – Have heard a lack of reporting for in-school spread; is contract tracing occurring on campus? Has TEA talked about providing guidance for contract tracing?
- Morath – Want to reiterate the funds were used for LMS, curriculum tools, funds to close the digital divide, etc.
- Morath – There are a lot of tools to measure progress and STARR is one of those tools
- Morath – Is mandatory reporting to DSHS for COVID-19 cases, have tracked down assertions and they have been incorrect; finding the source is difficult
- Morath – Data that we have shows schools are relatively safe and is relatively consistent that protocols in schools are relatively safer than outside of the school
- Pérez – Teacher burnout; is TEA going to send out some kind of guidance/directive concerning flexibilities for teacher evaluations?
- Morath – Trying to highlight the flexibilities that already exists, but are working on other flexibilities that may help
- Davis – Has there been a purchase of science material for home learning?
- Morath – Science has been available K-5 since August 31, but 6-12 is moving much more slowly for a variety of complicated reasons
- Davis – Is there any consideration for a waiver for the biology STARR test since we have no materials to teach that subject
- Morath – There is curriculum for biology, but we are working on a default for biology for districts; students still need to learn biology
- Davis – They need to learn sciences, but needs to be a different measurement of achievement since they do not have full access to it
- Davis – Department of Education leadership noted in March that the STARR was off in terms of measuring success, how do we know whether the STARR is the best measurement tool?
- Morath – That comment was about the concept of formative assessment, not about the STARR test, but comparing NAPE precision points to STARR proficiency outcomes
- Morath – Have corrected the data they are comparing; in the next cycle of their analysis they should have that corrected
- Davis – Are any of these waivers you are considering federal waivers?
- Morath – We would have to file federal waivers for accountability requirements
- Cortez – Notes high COVID-19 cases in the RGV; do you have any plans to give greater flexibility to school districts inviting students back/halting in-person instruction? Asks to consider waiving the STARR and TELPAS; would love if that would be commented on before the holidays
- Morath – Continue to provide school districts with a flexible framework; also do not deny parents the option with providing in-person instruction
- Morath – Plan to work with schools on their specific needs; have set up a transition process so all families get the service they are entitled to
- Allen – Need to start a campaign for teacher retention and recruitment, if not we will be behind; need to look at the incentives we are offering now
- Morath – Concern is well-founded; is our first strategic priority and are changing and adapting to COVID-19 changes to this issue, but are ultimately local decisions