Government Relations Report
July 9, 2020
The Texas Legislature is not in session and the State Board of Education has not addressed issues relating to mathematics education. COVID-19 has created significant issues for all of public education which then affect mathematics teachers and students.
State Board of Education
TEKS Revision plan was revised in September 2019. CTE courses that qualify for mathematics credit will be considered alongside mathematics TEKS review and revision.
TEKS Review in 2021-22 school year
TEKS Adoption in 2022-23 school year
Instructional materials review in 2023-24 school year
Instructional materials adoption in 2024-25 school year
Instructional materials and revised TEKS implementation 2025-26 school year.
The Texas Legislature convenes in January 2021 and may pass legislation that requires the SBOE to adjust their TEKS Revision plan. If that happens, we will keep this board informed.
COVID-19 Related Issues
The big questions center around (1) what will the start of school look like and (2) will we administer STAAR® in Spring 2021? Since the current COVID-19 outbreak is changing rapidly, it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen as August approaches. To date, TEA has provided guidance for school districts to prepare to provide in-person instruction and has declared their intention to administer STAAR® as scheduled in the 2020-2021 school year. In a highly dynamic situation, it is more important than ever to keep current with changing information. Subscribing to TEA’s listserve (https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/TXTEA/subscriber/new/) is one way you can stay informed. As well, TEA posts their correspondence to superintendents on their website, https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence.
2020 and Beyond
2020 is an election year. We have national elections as well as elections for half of the Texas Senate and all of the Texas House. The 86th Texas Legislature in 2019 was particularly friendly to Texas public education, an outcome that many policy analysts attribute to teachers and their families showing up in force to elect new representatives that were more friendly to education. Legislative leaders seem to have gotten the hint and followed suit with education-friendly legislation.
Please ensure that you, your family, and friends are registered to vote (https://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/) and plan to participate in the general election on November 3.
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