September 2014 Committee on Instruction Item 1
Update on Career and Technical Education (CTE) Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Review
September 18, 2014
COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the opportunity for staff to present an update on the review of the career and technical education (CTE) Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and for the committee to hear invited testimony from representatives of the CTE TEKS review committees.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for CTE courses to be effective September 1, 1998. The TEKS for CTE were amended by the SBOE in July 2009 to be effective August 23, 2010. In April 2014, the board approved revisions to the process for review and revision of the TEKS to include more specific direction to TEKS review committees. The revised process is being used for the review and revision of the CTE TEKS. The board decided not to appoint expert reviewers for the CTE review and will follow a similar process for soliciting expert feedback as it followed for the 2009 CTE TEKS revision. The board’s review process calls for one member of each TEKS review committee to present invited testimony at the September 2014 meeting.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The CTE TEKS review committees are scheduled to meet in October 2014 to finalize their recommendations for revisions to the CTE TEKS. First reading and filing authorization of the proposed revisions to the CTE TEKS is scheduled to occur at a subsequent meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Applications for appointment to CTE TEKS review committees were accepted by the TEA from October 2013 through January 10, 2014. Nominations for CTE TEKS review committees were made in spring 2014 and committee members were notified of the appointment in May 2014. The CTE TEKS review committees convened in Austin in June 2014 to begin work on draft recommendations for the TEKS. The committees met again in July 2014 to complete their initial draft recommendations. Math and science educators were also in attendance at the July meeting to provide content expertise to the CTE TEKS review committees in the revision and development of TEKS for courses that may satisfy a math or science credit. In August 2014 the first draft recommendations were posted to the TEA website for informal feedback, and the TEA shared the draft recommendations with numerous stakeholders including professional organizations and educators. The CTE TEKS review committees are scheduled to meet for a third time in October 2014 in order to finalize their recommendations for revisions to the TEKS.
FISCAL IMPACT: There will be normal business costs associated with this process for the agency, including staff and committee travel, meeting accommodations, and production and dissemination of documents.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include better alignment of the TEKS and coordination of the standards with the adoption of instructional materials.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs
Shelly Ramos, Division Director
Curriculum
Attachment:
Statutory Citations (PDF, 28KB)