Discussion of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Subchapter C, High School
November 18, 2009
COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the opportunity for the committee to discuss proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Subchapter C, High School, pertaining to English language arts electives.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for English language arts and reading to be effective September 1, 1998. New TEKS for English I, II, III, and IV were adopted to be effective September 4, 2008.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: Proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Subchapter C, High School, will be presented for first reading and filing authorization at a future meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: In February, April, and July 2009, committees were convened to review the high school English language arts electives TEKS. Initial drafts of the recommendations for revisions to the English language arts electives TEKS were posted on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website for informal feedback. During the September 2009 SBOE meeting, the board directed the TEA staff to instruct the speech TEKS review committee to attempt to align TEKS for additional speech courses to the Communication Applications TEKS.
The English language arts electives TEKS review committees met again in October 2009 to review feedback and complete recommendations for revisions to the English language arts electives TEKS. Recommendations from the review committees will be sent to SBOE members as a separate exhibit prior to the November meeting.
FISCAL IMPACT: There will be normal business costs associated with this process for the TEA, including staff and committee travel, meeting accommodations, and production and dissemination of documents.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include better alignment of the TEKS and coordination of the standards with the adoption of instructional materials.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: None.
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: An action item is presented separately in this agenda to repeal select sections in 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, that were superseded beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert Scott
Commissioner of Education
Staff Members Responsible: Anita Givens, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs
Norma Torres-Martinez, Deputy Associate Commissioner
Standards and Alignment
Karen Batchelor, Acting Managing Director
Curriculum
Attachment:Statutory Citations
Separate Exhibit: Text of Proposed Revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, Subchapter C, High School (to be provided prior to the November SBOE meeting)