November 2022 Committee of the Full Board Item 5

Update on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Review

November 18, 2022

COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION

SUMMARY: This item provides the opportunity for staff to present an update on the review of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS).

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 State Board of Education (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 the TEC, §28.002.

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

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted the TEKS for all subjects effective September 1, 1998. The English language arts and reading TEKS were amended effective September 4, 2008. The Spanish language arts and reading TEKS were amended effective November 26, 2008. The TEKS for high school English elective courses were amended effective August 23, 2010. The English and Spanish language arts and reading TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 were amended effective September 25, 2017, and the English language arts and reading and English as a second language (ESL) TEKS for high school were amended effective November 12, 2017. The K-12 TEKS for English and Spanish language arts and reading were again amended effective August 1, 2019, to make technical adjustments to the standards. The mathematics TEKS were amended effective August 1, 2006. The secondary mathematics TEKS were amended effective February 22, 2009. The mathematics TEKS were again amended effective September 12, 2012. The science TEKS were amended effective August 4, 2009 and were amended again to streamline the science TEKS effective August 27, 2018. The social studies TEKS were amended effective August 23, 2010 and were amended again to streamline the social studies TEKS in 2018. The career and technical education (CTE) TEKS were amended effective August 23, 2010. The CTE TEKS were again amended effective August 28, 2017. The fine arts TEKS were amended effective August 24, 2015. The TEKS for languages other than English (LOTE) were amended effective July 15, 2014, and December 31, 2014. The technology applications TEKS were amended effective September 26, 2011. At the November 2020 meeting, the board gave final approval to the health education TEKS and the physical education TEKS, which are scheduled to be effective August 1, 2022. The board also gave final approval in November 2020 to TEKS for four high school science courses to be implemented beginning with the 2023-2024 school year. At the June 2021 meeting, the SBOE gave final approval to TEKS for five additional high school science courses. At the December 2021 SBOE meeting, the board gave final approval to the TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 science.

At the June 2019 SBOE meeting, the board held a work session to discuss updating the TEKS and instructional materials review and adoption schedule. At the September 2019 meeting, the board approved the schedule through the 2030-2031 school year. The board held another work session to discuss updates to the TEKS and instructional materials review and adoption schedule at the January 2021 meeting. The board approved updates to the TEKS and instructional materials review and adoption schedule at the April 2021 meeting.

Proposed amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 113, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies, Subchapter A, Elementary, Subchapter B, Middle School, and Subchapter C, High School, is presented as a separate item in this agenda.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: The board received training from a standards writing advisor at the July 2014 meeting. The standards writing advisor provided additional training to Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff in October 2014 to support future facilitation of the TEKS review committees.

In 2017, the SBOE significantly revised the process for the review and revision of the TEKS. The 2017 TEKS review process was used for the streamlining of the social studies TEKS. At the November 2018 meeting, the SBOE approved updates to the 2017 TEKS review and revision process to better clarify the process. The updated process was used for the review of the physical education, health education, and science TEKS.

In early 2019, SBOE began the review of the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) in accordance with the SBOE's approved TEKS and instructional materials review schedule. At the January 2021 meeting, the board held a work session to discuss the timeline for the TEKS review and revision process and associated activities, including updates to State Board for Educator Certification teacher assignment rules and certification exams, adoption of instructional materials, and the completion of the Texas Resource Review. TEA provided an overview of career and technical education (CTE) programs of study and a skills gap analysis to inform the review and revision of the CTE TEKS. The board discussed potential adjustments to the TEKS and Instructional Materials Review and Adoption Schedule. At the April 2021 meeting, the SBOE approved revisions to the TEKS and Instructional Materials Review and Adoption Schedule.

At the June and November 2021 SBOE meetings, the board discussed the review of the social studies TEKS. Work groups were convened to develop recommendations for the social studies TEKS in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August 2022. At a special called meeting held August 1, 2022, the SBOE discussed the proposed new social studies TEKS and held a public hearing regarding the new standards. The board determined that it would not move forward with new social studies TEKS at its August/September 2022 meeting. Instead, the board asked TEA staff to bring to the next meeting a draft of the current standards that only adds content to address requirements from Senate Bill (SB) 3, 87th Texas Legislature, Second Called Session, 2021. Proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 113, Subchapters A-C, are presented for first reading and filing authorization as a separate item in this agenda.

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