Current through September 24, 2024
(1) A Local Board
may apply for a waiver to use Textbooks and Instructional Materials that are
not on the list approved by the Textbook Commission and State Board when, in
the State Board's judgment, the unique or unusual needs of the LEA require it;
provided, however, waivers are not required for Textbooks and Instructional
Materials previously included on the list approved by the Textbook Commission
and State Board and purchased with public funds. A waiver request may be
submitted for the following categories of Textbooks and Instructional
Materials:
(a) Textbooks or Instructional
Materials that were reviewed by the Textbook Commission but that did not pass
the review and were not included on the list approved by the Textbook
Commission and the State Board.
(b)
Textbooks or Instructional Materials that were not reviewed by the Textbook
Commission, including:
1. Publisher-Created
Materials;
2. Open Education
Resources; and
3. District-Created
Materials.
(2) Each waiver request shall be approved by
the Local Board and submitted by the Director of Schools or the Director's
designee to the State Board on the waiver application developed by the State
Board staff and posted on the State Board's website. The application shall
include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(a) The publisher(s) and title(s) of the
requested Textbooks and/or Instructional Materials, if applicable;
(b) Grade levels and/or courses for the
requested waiver;
(c) A clear
explanation of the unique or unusual needs of the school system necessitating
the waiver request;
(d) Evidence of
student outcomes with the requested Textbooks and/or Instructional Materials,
if applicable;
(e) Evidence of
improved student outcomes when utilizing Textbook and/or Instructional
Materials waivers the district has been granted in the past, if
applicable;
(f) A statement of
assurance by the LEA that the requested Textbooks and/or Instructional
Materials and any Supplemental Materials the LEA plans to use as part of the
waiver request were not created to align exclusively with the Common Core State
Standards or are not marketed or otherwise identified as Common Core Textbooks
or Instructional Materials;
(g) For
Textbooks and/or Instructional Materials that were reviewed by the Textbook
Commission but did not pass and were not included on the list approved by the
Textbook Commission and the State Board, the Local Board shall submit:
1. For district-wide adoptions, a completed
rubric from the local adoption committee created pursuant to T.C.A. §
49-6-2207
that explains how it will address the deficiencies identified by the Textbook
Commission. If the Textbook Commission failed the Textbooks and/or
Instructional Materials for lack of alignment to Tennessee Academic standards,
the rubric submitted by the Local Board shall also include but not be limited
to a table indicating the alignment of the proposed Textbooks and/or
Instructional Materials with each Tennessee Academic Standard in the relevant
grade and subject. The rubric shall also include any planned use of
Supplemental Materials to address misalignment with the Tennessee Academic
Standards to ensure comprehensive coverage; or
2. For limited use adoptions which include
credit recovery programs, alternative schools, virtual schools, and virtual
education programs, the Local Board shall submit a completed rubric that
explains how it will address the deficiencies identified by the Textbook
Commission If the Textbook Commission failed the Textbooks and/or Instructional
Materials for lack of alignment to Tennessee Academic standards, the rubric
submitted by the Local Board shall also include but not be limited to a table
indicating the alignment of the proposed Textbooks and/or Instructional
Materials with each Tennessee Academic Standard in the relevant grade and
subject. The rubric shall also include any planned use of Supplemental
Materials to address misalignment with the Tennessee Academic Standards to
ensure comprehensive coverage.
(h) For Textbooks and/or Instructional
Materials that were not reviewed by the Textbook Commission, the Local Board
shall submit:
1. A completed rubric from the
local adoption committee created pursuant to T.C.A. §
49-6-2207
that indicates the extent to which the Textbook and/or Instructional Materials
are aligned to the Tennessee Academic Standards. The rubric shall include, but
not be limited to, a table indicating the alignment of the proposed Textbooks
and/or Instructional Materials with each Tennessee Academic Standard in the
relevant grade and subject. The rubric shall also include any planned use of
Supplemental Materials to address areas of misalignment, if any, with the
Tennessee Academic Standards to ensure comprehensive coverage; or
2. For limited use adoptions which include
credit recovery programs, alternative schools, virtual schools, and virtual
education programs, the Local Board shall submit a completed rubric that
indicates the extent to which the Textbook and/or Instructional Materials are
aligned to the Tennessee Academic Standards. The rubric shall include, but not
be limited to, a table indicating the alignment of the proposed Textbooks
and/or Instructional Materials with each Tennessee Academic Standard in the
relevant grade and subject. The rubric shall also include any planned use of
Supplemental Materials to address areas of misalignment, if any, with the
Tennessee Academic Standards to ensure comprehensive coverage.
(i) Any additional evidence of the
requested Textbooks and/or Instructional Materials' quality.
(3) Waiver requests shall be
submitted no later than March 15th of the local
adoption year during the adoption cycle established by the Textbook Commission
for the applicable subject area; provided, however, a Local Board may submit an
emergency waiver request outside of this established deadline for the
applicable subject if emergency circumstances exist justifying the emergency
waiver request. Emergency circumstances include:
(a) The LEA has submitted a request to the
Department to implement its Continuous Learning Plan as defined in State Board
Rule 0520-01-17 and the LEA's CLP includes the use of the requested Textbooks
and/or Instructional Materials.
(b)
The LEA has submitted an application to the Department to open a new virtual
school and is seeking a waiver specifically to use Textbooks and/or
Instructional Materials that support virtual learning.
(c) The LEA intends to offer, for the first
time, a course for which no state-approved Textbooks and/or Instructional
Materials exist.
(4) The
Department shall assist the State Board staff in administering the Textbook and
Instructional Materials waiver review process by providing staff to serve as
subject-matter experts for each content area. The Department subject matter
experts shall provide feedback on the rubric developed by State Board staff for
each completed and properly submitted waiver application no more than ninety
(90) calendar days after receipt of the following from State Board staff:
(a) The completed and properly submitted LEA
application, and
(b) Access to the
relevant Textbooks and/or Instructional Materials for which the waiver is being
requested.
(5) State
Board staff shall develop a process for review of completed and properly
submitted waiver applications in consultation with the Department's
subject-matter experts.
(6) State
Board staff may request additional information, clarifications, and/or
revisions to waiver applications from the Local Board prior to preparing a
recommendation for the State Board.
(7) In consultation with Department
subject-matter experts, State Board staff shall prepare and present a
recommendation to the State Board on each completed and properly submitted
waiver application utilizing the rubric ratings provided by Department
subject-matter experts, additional input from Department subject-matter
experts, and information provided to State Board staff by the Local Board. The
recommendation shall address all factors outlined in Rule 0520-01-18-.03.
Textbooks and Instructional Materials waiver requests that do not comply with
the requirements of T.C.A. §§
49-6-2202,
49-6-2206
and all other relevant state laws shall not be recommended for approval or
approved by the State Board.
(8)
Waivers approved by the State Board shall remain in effect until the next
adoption cycle for the course for which the waiver was granted, unless a
shorter period of time is specified by the State Board or by the Local Board. A
waiver request that has been denied by the State Board shall not be
re-submitted by the Local Board to the State Board for consideration during the
term of the adoption cycle for the specific content area.
(9) LEAs shall not use textbooks or
instructional materials that are not either on the state-approved adoption list
or approved for use in the LEA via the waiver process set out in this rule,
pursuant to T.C.A. §
49-6-2206.
(10) A public charter school may request a
waiver for the use of Textbooks and Instructional Materials in accordance with
T.C.A. §
49-13-111.
Authority: T.C.A. §
49-6-2206.
