Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Texas Education
Code (TEC), §31.002, defines instructional materials as content that
conveys the essential knowledge and skills of a subject in the public-school
curriculum through a medium or a combination of media for conveying information
to a student. The term includes a book; supplementary materials; a combination
of a book, workbook, and supplementary materials; computer software; magnetic
media; DVD; CD-ROM; computer courseware; online services; or an electronic
medium or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise
contributing to the learning process through electronic means, including open
education resource instructional material.
(b) Upon the adoption of revised Texas
essential knowledge and skills (TEKS) or Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines
(TPG), the State Board of Education (SBOE) shall conduct an investigation to
determine the extent of the revisions and whether revisions have created a need
for new instructional materials.
(c) The SBOE shall issue a proclamation
calling for instructional materials according to the review and adoption cycle
adopted by the SBOE if the investigation required in subsection (b) of this
section results in the determination that a proclamation is necessary. The
proclamation shall serve as notice to all publishers and to the public that
bids to furnish new materials to the state are being invited and shall call
for:
(1) new instructional materials aligned
to all of the TEKS for a specific subject and grade level or course(s) or to
the TPG and to TEC, §28.002(h), as it relates to that specific subject in
understanding the importance of patriotism and functioning productively in a
free-enterprise society with appreciation for the basic democratic values of
our state and national heritage;
(2) supplemental material aligned to new or
expanded TEKS for a specific subject and grade level or course(s) or to new or
expanded TPG and to TEC, §28.002(h), as it relates to that specific
subject in understanding the importance of patriotism and functioning
productively in a free-enterprise society with appreciation for the basic
democratic values of our state and national heritage;
(3) new information demonstrating alignment
of current instructional materials to the revised TEKS for a specific subject
and grade level or course(s) or the revised TPG and to TEC, §28.002(h), as
it relates to that specific subject in understanding the importance of
patriotism and functioning productively in a free-enterprise society with
appreciation for the basic democratic values of our state and national
heritage; or
(4) any combination of
the calls described by paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection.
(d) The essential knowledge and
skills adopted in this title effective in the year in which instructional
materials are intended to be made available in classrooms are the SBOE's
official rule governing essential knowledge and skills that shall be used to
evaluate instructional materials submitted for consideration under the
corresponding proclamation.
(e) The
essential knowledge and skills that will be used to evaluate instructional
materials submitted for consideration under a proclamation and a copy of each
proclamation issued by the SBOE may be accessed from the Texas Education Agency
website and are available for examination during regular office hours, 8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays, at the Texas
Education Agency, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701.
(f) Proclamations calling for supplemental
materials or new information only shall be issued at least 12 months before the
scheduled adoption of instructional materials. Proclamations that include a
call for complete new materials to cover all of the TEKS or TPG shall be issued
at least 18 months before the scheduled adoption of the new instructional
materials.
(g) Each proclamation
shall contain the following:
(1) information
about and reference to essential knowledge and skills in each subject for which
bids are being invited;
(2) the
requirement that a publisher of adopted instructional materials for a grade
level other than prekindergarten must submit an electronic pre-adoption sample
of the instructional materials as required by the TEC, §31.027(a) and (b),
and may not submit a print sample copy;
(3) the requirement that electronic samples
include a word search feature;
(4)
the requirement that publishers file with the Texas Education Agency (TEA)
print samples, electronic samples in an open file format or closed format, or
galley proofs for use by state review panels;
(5) the student enrollment of the courses or
grade levels called for, to the extent that it is available, for the school
year prior to the year in which the proclamation is issued;
(6) specifications for providing computerized
files to produce braille versions of adopted instructional materials;
(7) specifications for ensuring that
electronic instructional materials are fully accessible to students with
disabilities;
(8) a schedule of
adoption procedures; and
(9) an
option for the submission of open education resource instructional materials
that are available for use by the state without charge on the same basis as
instructional materials offered for sale.
(h) The proclamation shall require the
instructional materials submissions to cover:
(1) content essential knowledge and skills
for the subject area and grade level or course for which the materials are
intended:
(A) at least once in the student
text narrative; and
(B) once in an
end-of-section review exercise, an end-of-chapter activity, or a unit test;
and
(2) process
essential knowledge and skills:
(A) at least
once in the student text narrative and once in an end-of-section review
exercise, an end-of-chapter activity, or a unit test; or
(B) twice in an end-of-section review
exercise, an end-of-chapter activity, or a unit test.
(i) A proclamation for
prekindergarten materials shall require the instructional materials submissions
to cover the end-of-year outcomes at least twice in the teacher materials and
as deemed developmentally appropriate in the student materials. The coverage
must include both an opportunity for the teacher to teach and the student to
practice or demonstrate the knowledge or skill.
(j) A draft copy of the proclamation shall be
provided to each member of the SBOE and posted on the TEA website, and the TEA
shall solicit input regarding the draft proclamation prior to its scheduled
adoption by the SBOE. Any revisions recommended as a result of input from
publishers shall be presented to the SBOE along with the subsequent draft of
the proclamation.
(k) If the SBOE
determines that good cause as defined by the SBOE exists, the SBOE may adopt an
emergency, supplementary, or revised proclamation without complying with the
timelines and other requirements of this section.
(l) The SBOE may issue a proclamation for
instructional materials eligible for midcycle review. The midcycle adoption
process shall follow the same procedures as the regular adoption except to the
extent specified in this subsection.
(1) The
midcycle proclamation shall include a fee not to exceed $10,000 for each
program or system of instructional materials intended for a certain subject
area and grade level or course submitted for midcycle review. Publishers
participating in the midcycle review process are responsible for all expenses
incurred by their participation.
(2) A publisher that intends to offer
instructional materials for midcycle review shall commit to provide the
instructional materials to school districts in the manner specified by the
publisher. The manner in which instructional materials are provided may
include:
(A) providing the instructional
materials to any district in a regional education service center area
identified by the publisher; or
(B)
providing a certain maximum number of instructional materials specified by the
publisher.
(3) The
publisher of instructional materials submitted for midcycle review shall enter
into a contract with the SBOE for a term that ends at the same time as any
contract entered into by the SBOE for instructional materials for the same
subject and grade level.
(4) The
publisher of instructional materials submitted for midcycle review is not
required to provide samples to education service centers or school districts as
specified in the TEC, §31.027.
(5) The publisher of instructional materials
submitted for midcycle review shall make available one electronic examination
copy of each submitted instructional materials product, including materials
intended for teacher use and ancillaries, to each SBOE member upon that
member's request, beginning on the date in the adoption schedule when
publishers file their samples at the TEA. The state does not guarantee return
of these SBOE-requested materials.
