November 17, 2020 Committee of the Full Board Item 3

Public Hearing on Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter C, High School, §§112.41-112.45

November 17, 2020

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

SUMMARY: A public hearing before the State Board of Education (SBOE) is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, 2020, in the William B. Travis Building, Room 1-104. Testimony will be presented regarding proposed new 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter C, High School, §§112.41, Implementation of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, High School, Adopted 2020; 112.42, Biology (One Credit), Adopted 2020; 112.43, Chemistry (One Credit), Adopted 2020; 112.44, Integrated Physics and Chemistry (One Credit), Adopted 2020; and 112.45, Physics (One Credit), Adopted 2020. Due to the anticipated volume of testimony, oral testimony will be limited to two minutes per person. Additionally, the public hearing will be limited to no more than five hours.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4); 28.002(a) and (c); and 28.025(a).

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

TEC, §28.002(a), identifies the subjects of the required curriculum.

TEC, §28.002(c), requires the SBOE to by rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum that all students should be able to demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating instructional materials and addressed on the state assessment instruments.

TEC, §28.025(a), requires the SBOE to by rule determine the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school graduation program that are consistent with the required curriculum under TEC, §28.002.

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

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: In accordance with statutory requirements that the SBOE by rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum, the SBOE follows a board-approved cycle to review and revise the essential knowledge and skills for each subject.

At the September 2019 meeting, SBOE members were asked to designate content advisors for the review and revision of the science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). In December 2019, applications to serve on science TEKS review work groups were posted on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website. Additionally, in December 2019, TEA distributed a survey to collect information from educators regarding the review and revision of the science TEKS. TEA staff provided applications for the science review work groups to SBOE members on a monthly basis from December 2019 to June 2020. At the January 2020 SBOE meeting, the SBOE provided specific guidance for the TEKS review work groups.

Also in January 2020, science TEKS review content advisors met in a face-to-face meeting to develop consensus recommendations regarding revisions to the science TEKS to share with future work groups. At that time, the content advisors met with representatives from Work Group A to discuss the consensus recommendations. Work Group A convened in February 2020 to review survey results, content advisor consensus recommendations, and the SBOE's guidance to work groups to develop recommendations for how science TEKS review work groups can address these areas. Work Group B was convened virtually in June and July 2020 to develop recommendations four revisions to high school science courses: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Integrated Physics and Chemistry. Additionally, in July 2020, members from Work Group B met with Work Group C to discuss vertical alignment of the high school and middle school TEKS.

Proposed new 19 TAC §§112.41-112.45 is presented for second reading and final adoption as a separate item in this agenda.

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