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January 30, 2024 Committee of the Full Board Item 6

Discussion of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter B, Graduation Requirements, §74.12, Foundation High School Program, and §74.13, Endorsements

January 30, 2024

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

SUMMARY: This item provides an opportunity for the committee to discuss proposed amendments to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter B, Graduation Requirements, §74.12, Foundation High School Program, and §74.13, Endorsements. The proposed amendments would update titles of courses and career and technical education (CTE) career clusters and revise the requirements for endorsements that address CTE courses, as well as make technical edits.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102(c)(4) and §28.025(a), (b-17), and (c-1).

TEC, §7.102(c)(4), requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish curriculum and graduation requirements.

TEC, §28.025(a), requires the SBOE to determine by rule the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school program that are consistent with the required curriculum and requires the SBOE to designate specific courses that are required for the foundation high school program.

TEC, §28.025(b-17), requires the SBOE to adopt rules that ensure a student who successfully completes an advanced CTE course, including a course that may lead to an industry-recognized credential or certificate or an associate degree, may comply with elective requirements for graduation.

TEC, §28.025(c-1), requires the SBOE to adopt rules regarding earning an endorsement.

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

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: In November 2020, the SBOE adopted revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for physical education (PE) with an effective date of August 1, 2022. The revisions to the TEKS for the high school PE courses revised the amount of credit available to one credit for each course. The proposed amendment would make a technical edit to update the amount of credit associated with these courses to one credit. Additionally, the proposed amendment would revise the language for PE substitutions to align with the reduction in the number of high school PE courses.

At the November 2021 SBOE meeting, the board approved for second reading and final adoption revised CTE TEKS, which have historically been codified in 19 TAC Chapter 130. To accommodate the addition of these new courses and future courses, the SBOE took action to begin moving the CTE TEKS in Chapter 130 to existing 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development, and to rename the chapter "Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development and Career and Technical Education." CTE subchapters are being moved from Chapter 130 to Chapter 127 as the TEKS are revised by the SBOE. In November 2021, the board gave final approval to new 19 TAC Chapter 127, Subchapters G, I, J, M, and O. At the January 2022 SBOE meeting, the board took action to repeal the associated subchapters from Chapter 130 and move the sections to Chapter 127. In April 2022, the graduation requirements in 19 TAC §74.11 and §74.13 were updated to reflect the move of CTE TEKS from Chapter 130 to Chapter 127 and the new title for Chapter 127.

In November 2023, the board took action to approve revisions to the CTE TEKS for career preparation and entrepreneurship courses. The proposed amendment would update titles of CTE courses and career clusters in §74.13 to align with these TEKS revisions.

Texas recently refreshed state-level programs of study to ensure coherent and rigorous content with challenging academic standards and relevant career and technical content. Programs of study are aligned with state and regional labor market information, including high-wage, high-skill, and in-demand occupations. When the rule for endorsements was first adopted, programs of study were determined locally rather than at the state level. The proposed amendment would ensure all programs of study are specifically aligned to an endorsement and would eliminate language related to coherent sequences of CTE courses that is outdated.

Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner, Standards and Programs
Shelly Ramos, Senior Director, Curriculum Standards and Student Support

Attachment:
Text of Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter B, Graduation Requirements