September 2017 Committee of the Full Board Item 8
Discussion of International Baccalaureate Courses
September 13, 2017
COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the opportunity for the committee to consider adding International Baccalaureate (IB) courses that are not currently included in the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) and to discuss the appropriate amount of state credit that should be awarded for each IB course.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025, as amended by House Bill (HB) 3593 and Senate Bill (SB) 826, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017.
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, as amended by HB 3593 and SB 826, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, 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.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE originally adopted the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for IB courses in English language arts and reading, mathematics, science, and economics effective September 1, 1998; IB social studies courses effective September 1, 2001; IB technology applications courses effective September 26, 2011; and IB languages other than English courses effective July 15, 2014. The IB mathematics TEKS were amended effective October 21, 2007, and the IB Further Mathematics Higher Level course was again amended effective October 10, 2012. IB History: Americas Higher Level and IB Geography Standard and Higher Levels were amended effective August 24, 2015. The TEKS for IB science courses were last revised effective August 24, 2015. The Committee on Instruction was presented with the addition of TEKS for additional IB courses for discussion at the January/February 2017 meeting. At the June 2017 SBOE meeting, the Committee of the Full Board held a work session, which included a discussion of IB courses currently included in the TAC and proposed courses to be added to the TAC.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: Upon request by the SBOE, proposed revisions to the TEKS to add IB courses and address the amount of state credit for IB courses will be presented for first reading and filing authorization at a future SBOE meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: In order for students to earn state credit toward specific graduation requirements, a course must be approved by the SBOE and included in the TAC. This item allows the SBOE to consider the addition of TEKS for IB courses not yet approved by the board and to discuss the appropriate amount of state credit that should be awarded for each IB course.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Texas Education Agency does not anticipate any additional costs to persons or entities required to comply with the proposed revisions; however, fiscal implications will be assessed after the committee gives direction regarding proposed revisions to bring forward for first reading and filing authorization.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include the availability of additional TEKS-based IB courses to allow students more flexibility in meeting state requirements for graduation.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: Procedural and reporting implications will be assessed after the committee gives direction regarding proposed revisions to bring forward for first reading and filing authorization.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: Locally maintained paperwork requirements will be assessed after the committee gives direction regarding proposed revisions to bring forward for first reading and filing authorization.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: The official public comment period will begin when the proposal, approved for first reading and filing authorization by the SBOE, is published in the Texas Register.
ALTERNATIVES: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Support Services
Shelly Ramos, Senior Director
Curriculum Standards and Student Support
Attachment:
Statutory Citations (PDF, 35KB)