September 9, 2020 Committee of the Full Board Item 7

Update on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Coverage in Materials Submitted for Evaluation for the Texas Resource Review

September 9, 2020

COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION

SUMMARY:  The commissioner of education called for materials in English prekindergarten, English foundational literacy K–2, and mathematics K–8 to be evaluated for the Texas Resource Review (TRR). Products submitted for the TRR were reviewed for coverage of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in the summer of 2020. This item provides an opportunity for staff to update the State Board of Education on the TEKS review of TRR instructional materials.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §31.081 and §31.082.

TEC, §31.081(a) requires the commissioner to develop and maintain a web portal to assist school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in selecting instructional materials.

TEC, §31.082(a) requires the commissioner to contract with a private entity to conduct an independent analysis of each instructional material submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web portal developed under §31.081.

The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION:  The board ratified the report of the commissioner of education regarding TEKS and English Language Proficiency Standards alignment in instructional materials submitted to Texas Resource Review at the November 2019 meeting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION:  The commissioner of education is required to develop and maintain a web portal that includes general information for each material submitted for review, evaluation of the quality of the material and the extent to which it covers the TEKS, and a repository of open educational resources, including state-developed materials; create procedures for submitting materials to the web portal; use a competitive process to contract for the development of the portal; and contract with a private entity to conduct an independent analysis of materials submitted for review.

Staff Members Responsible:
Melissa Lautenschlager, Director, Instructional Materials and Implementation
Amie Williams, Director, Review and Adoption

Attachment I:            
June 2020 TRR Cycle Preliminary TEKS-Alignment Report

Attachment II:           
June 2020 TRR Cycle Preliminary TPG-Alignment Report