Education Commissioner Michael Williams sent a reminder to school administrators regarding Common Core State Standards.
In 2013, the 83rd Texas Legislature passed House Bill 462 (HB 462), which contains several important prohibitions relating to curriculum standards. The bill:
1) prohibits the State Board of Education (SBOE) from adopting Common Core State Standards;
2) prohibits school districts from using Common Core State Standards to meet the requirements to provide instruction in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS);
3) prohibits a school district or open enrollment charter school from being required to offer the Common Core; and
4) prohibits the Texas Education Agency from adopting or developing assessments based on Common Core State Standards.
You may read the full text of HB 462 at: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/pdf/HB00462F.pdf#navpanes=0.
Chapter 28 of the Texas Education Code requires the SBOE to develop the essential knowledge and skills that Texas schools are required to teach. Additionally, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) are based entirely on those TEKS developed and adopted by the SBOE.
As you consider funding opportunities (especially those offered by the United States Department of Education) that require your district to use college and career readiness standards, please remember that the Texas Legislature required the adoption of college and career readiness standards in 2006, making Texas the first state to mandate the development and use of college readiness standards. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) in 2008. The SBOE has since embedded the CCRS within the TEKS.
You may review the CCRS at: http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/collegereadiness/crs.pdf.