September 2016 Committee on Instruction Item 2
Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter D, Other Science Courses
(Second Reading and Final Adoption)
September 16, 2016
COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item presents for second reading and final adoption proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter D, Other Science Courses. The proposal would update course titles for Advanced Placement (AP) courses, modify the amount of credit that could be earned for these courses, and add new AP Physics courses to align with courses recently revised by the College Board. No changes are recommended since approved for first reading.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025.
TEC, §7.102(c)(4), requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish curriculum and graduation requirements.
TEC, §28.002, identifies the subjects of the required curriculum and requires the SBOE by rule to 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, requires the SBOE by rule to determine the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school graduation program that are consistent with the required curriculum under the TEC, §28.002.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The proposed effective date of the proposed revisions is 20 days after filing as adopted with the Texas Register. Under TEC, §7.102(f), the SBOE must approve the rule action at second reading and final adoption by a vote of two-thirds of its members to specify an effective date earlier than the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. The earlier effective date will allow school districts to award credit for appropriate AP science courses beginning in the 2016-2017 school year.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE initially adopted rules in 19 TAC Chapter 112, Subchapter D, effective September 1, 1998. Additional rules were adopted in Subchapter D effective July 12, 2010 and August 24, 2015. The SBOE approved proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Subchapter D, for first reading and filing authorization at the July 2016 SBOE meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Rules in 19 TAC Chapter 112, Subchapter D, identify the requirements for high school advanced placement, international baccalaureate, and career and technical education science courses.
Section 112.61 would be amended to remove an implementation date that has passed. The proposed amendments to §§112.62-112.66 would modify the amount of credit that could be earned for AP courses to eliminate the range of credits. The section titles would be updated to indicate the change in credit as well as align with AP course titles where necessary. In addition, §112.65 would be modified to update the recommended prerequisites and add a co-requisite.
Proposed new 19 TAC §112.67, Advanced Placement (AP) Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism (One Credit), and §112.68, Advanced Placement (AP) Physics C: Mechanics (One Credit), would add new College Board courses for science credit and reflect the level of the courses and the credit to be awarded. No changes are recommended since approved for first reading.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Texas Education Agency has determined that that there are no additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed rule action. In addition, there is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses or microbusinesses; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required. There is no effect on local economy for the first five years that the proposed revisions are in effect; therefore, no local employment impact statement is required under Texas Government Code, §2001.022.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include appropriate science credit options aligned with other subject areas for students who take AP courses.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed revisions would have no new procedural and reporting requirements.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed revisions would have no new locally maintained paperwork requirements.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Following the July 2016 SBOE meeting, notice of the proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter D, Other Science Courses, was filed with the Texas Register, initiating the official public comment period. No comments had been received at the time this item was prepared. A summary of any public comments received regarding the proposal will be provided to the SBOE during the September 2016 meeting.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
By an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the board, approve for second reading and final adoption proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter D, Other Science Courses, with an effective date of 20 days after filing as adopted with the Texas Register.
Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Support Services
Shelly Ramos, Senior Director
Curriculum Standards and Student Support
Attachments:
I. Statutory Citations (PDF, 24KB)
II. Text of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter D, Other Science Courses (PDF, 22KB)