April 5, 2022 Committee of the Full Board Item 1
Public Hearing on Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 126, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Technology Applications, Subchapter A, Elementary, §§126.1-126.3 and 126.8-126.10; and Subchapter B, Middle School, §§126.17-126.19
April 5, 2022
COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: A public hearing before the State Board of Education (SBOE) is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in the William B. Travis Building, Room 1-104. Testimony will be presented regarding proposed new 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 126, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Technology Applications, Subchapter A, Elementary, §126.1, Technology Applications, Kindergarten, Adopted 2022; §126.2, Technology Applications, Grade 1, Adopted 2022; §126.3, Technology Applications, Grade 2, Adopted 2022; §126.8, Technology Applications, Grade 3, Adopted 2022; §126.9, Technology Applications, Grade 4, Adopted 2022; and §126.10, Technology Applications, Grade 5, Adopted 2022; and Subchapter B, Middle School, §126.17, Technology Applications, Grade 6, Adopted 2022; §126.18, Technology Applications, Grade 7, Adopted 2022; and §126.19, Technology Applications, Grade 8, Adopted 2022. In accordance with SBOE operating procedures, oral testimony will be limited to two minutes per person.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102(c)(4); and §28.002(a), (c), (c-3), and (z).
TEC, §7.102(c)(4), requires the 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, §28.002(c-3), requires the SBOE to include coding, computer programming, computational thinking, and cybersecurity in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for technology applications for kindergarten through grade eight. This section also requires that, as needed, the SBOE review and revise the technology applications TEKS every five years to ensure that the standards are relevant to student education and align current or emerging professions.
TEC, §28.002(z), requires the SBOE to require each school district to incorporate instruction in digital citizenship into the district's curriculum, including information regarding the potential criminal consequences of cyberbullying.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: In accordance with statutory requirements that the SBOE by rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum, the SBOE follows a board-approved cycle to review and revise the essential knowledge and skills for each subject. Technology applications is part of the required curriculum for Kindergarten-Grade 8 only. In 2020, the SBOE approved the consolidation of the high school technology applications courses into the career and technical education (CTE) TEKS.
At the January 2021 meeting, SBOE members were asked to designate content advisors for the review and revision of the technology applications TEKS. Applications to serve on the TEKS review work groups were posted on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website in March 2021. In April 2021, TEA distributed a survey to collect information from educators regarding the review and revision of the technology applications TEKS. TEA staff provided applications for the technology applications review work groups to SBOE members on a monthly basis from May 2021 to September 2021.
Technology applications TEKS review content advisor and work group meetings convened in 2021 were conducted virtually. In July 2021, technology applications TEKS review content advisors met virtually to develop consensus recommendations regarding revisions to the technology applications TEKS and met with representatives from Work Group A to discuss their recommendations. Also in July 2021, Work Group A convened to discuss the consensus recommendations, review survey results, and develop recommendations for how subsequent technology applications TEKS review work groups could address the feedback received. Work Group B was convened in September 2021 and was charged with developing recommendations for a new strand framework. The work group recommended six new strands and reorganized the current technology applications TEKS into the proposed new strands. Work Group C was convened in October 2021 to draft recommendations for student expectations for two of the strands in the proposed new strand framework. Work Group D was convened at the end of October 2021 to draft recommendations for the remaining four proposed new strands. The work group recommended eliminating one of the strands, which would reduce the original proposed strand framework to a total of five strands. Work Group E was convened for a virtual meeting in December 2021 to review the vertical alignment of the strands across all grade levels and to ensure the proposed new standards could be reasonably taught in an academic year. In December 2021, content advisors were sent the draft recommendations for review. A discussion item on the draft recommendations was presented to the board at the January 2022 SBOE meeting.
Proposed new 19 TAC §§126.1-126.3, §§126.8-126.10, and §§126.17-126.19 is 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