This is a transcript - there will be mistakes...I do the best I can.
TEA Curriculum Update
I'm excited to be here. I hope today has been a great experience for you thus far in the conference. So my name is Tamara Robert. I'm the reading language arts content specialist at tea. This is my third year, my third year with the agency, so I'm very excited to be here with you all today. I'm going to just tell you a little bit about myself. And then I'm gonna give a few an opportunity to share about yourself. So I'm from Boston, Massachusetts. So super excited for the Patriots going to the Super Bowl. I was going to kind of Texans and the Patriots. But either way, for me, I love all things travel, a big traveler. I love schools. I love to have new experiences and explore the world. I began my educational experience in Boston, so I taught elementary school in Boston. Transferred to Houston, where I continued to teach elementary and then became an instructional coach, and then moved over to working so thoroughly enjoyed just seeing students excel, particularly in the area of reading, not only when I see them excel, but when they see themselves Excel, and they can recognize their book. So that really excites me about RLA. So I'm going to give you a chance to introduce yourselves, just so I know some of the faces that are here, where you guys aren't coming from, so just tell us your name, where you're coming from, your role, and what's one thing you love about your role.
So let's get right into it. So I'm part of the foundation curriculum team. If you've been here in years past, you may have heard of or even team Jim George, who's our former director. He has since retired, and so we have a new director on our team. Her name is .... I am again. Tamara Robert, the reading language arts content specialist. We have Liz Baker, who's our science specialist... who you may have seen also, who's our social studies specialist. And then James Black is our math specialist. And so that's the five of us, thank the curriculum team. And so if you have any questions as the presentation goes on, that is the link to our help desk. So please feel free to have it ready whenever you have questions that I may not be answered, David's answer today, just go ahead and drop those in Help Desk.
So if you want access to the presentation, you can scan the QR code as a password or anything. Just the presentation, there is some information that you may already know, and then there may be some information that's new. And so this is just an update regarding all things are they as it stands today, so you may see some things that you've already heard, and then some new things.
So here's our agenda for today. I have it memorized by now, but so here's our agenda for today. So first we're going to talk about our upcoming commercial groups and months, specifically Black History Month and America 250 the US semi consent centennial. All, we'll talk about the 89th legislative session, which ended last year in June, and we'll have some updates regarding the State Board of Education, else implementation support. Then we'll talk about our pre K guidelines, and then discussions, and then just some closing remarks. So upcoming commemorative month and celebrations starting in just a couple of days. It's Black History Month, which is celebrated in February every year. So we celebrate the history and cultural contributions of black Americans in the United States. So te does have a web page dedicated specifically to Black History Month that has resources and a variety of lessons and instructional materials to support during that month as your as you instruct your students. This is just a quick screenshot of what that web page looks like, and a lot of the links that are provided there to external web pages that provide those resources that can be used for instruction during February, or really any time of the year. And this is specifically off the you can go to the English language arts and reading web page, which most of you have probably been to at least once, if not a million times. And that is at you. So America is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the starting of the Declaration of Independence this year, and that it comes in July, but we are letting you know this now, in case you have an opportunity for your students to actually learn about it before the end of the year. And so this, during this time, our nation will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary, and then thinking about the journey towards historic milestones. So this is just a time to pause. And for those of you who do teach social studies and the Declaration of Independence. This is a great opportunity to tie this into the 250th anniversary. And so share some more. So this, there's a specific web page for Texas America 250 and so this was a joint resolution with the 87 legislative session. Was in 2023 excuse me, 2021 and it's signed by Governor Greg Abbott. So It established the commission to help celebrate the semi quincentennial. And so if you click on or if you click on the link, or if you use the QR code, it'll take you to the tech to the five key goals of the affirmative efforts, specifically Here in Texas. So I'll give you all a moment.
Will look ECM web page for Texas America. 250 provides links to lots of resources that are available to support instruction. So you see some examples of what those are listed on the page, but there's a lot more. To celebrate that time with your students. Now we're going to go on to the 89th legislative session, which the information here, I think, touches on a lot of, if not all, of you in some capacity. So we do have an 89th legislature updates web page, so you can go on here at any time for updates regarding the 89th regular session, including test changes to the Texas Education Code and other Texas statutes. There's also going to be implementation resources shared to support school leaders
Here with one specific bill that does is very relevant, and it's House Bill Two. Is a comprehensive Finance bill that supports students and infused more dollars into education. And so you'll see right in the middle there, those are the specific areas, the specific segments related to House Bill Two. So we see early literacy and numeracy as one of them that impacts everybody here in some capacity. Also. Teacher compensation impacts everybody here in some capacity as well. But House Bill Two is a big bill, and so they've just divvied up. Into the specific areas, and so that QR code does send you straight to that page where you can get information and updates one specific portion of House Bill Two comes from Article Five, section 5.29, this became effective last year in June, and actually was implemented this fall.
So many of you, anybody who works in the middle school realm, would likely know this. So beginning in the 2526 school year, it repealed the requirements to give students in seventh grade at beginning of the year assessment if they did not pass on the sixth grade star. So that was a previous requirement that everyone had to do, and has been repealed. You no longer are required to give that seventh grade student an assessment if they did not show proficiency on grade six star. It does not mean no longer you should no longer do that. So if you would like to do that, you can. You just don't have to. But of course, if you believe it's in the best interest of the students, give them that assessment for the purpose of interventions, then you are more than welcome to do that. So we did get lots of questions about this in the beginning of the year, so we did our best to answer everybody's questions. But this is no longer a requirement.
So House Bill 100 is specific to which impacts everybody here as well the use of instructional materials in your classrooms. So this became effective again last year, so the instructional materials and technology allotment funding cannot be used by school district to purchase materials that are rejected by imra. So if a publisher sends their materials to imra for the review, to ensure that this is a high quality structure of materials, if that instructional material, that sentence is rejected, please be aware of that so that there are no rejected so Senate Bill 13 relates to the school district, Library Catalog and materials sharing. And so this bill, when end of last school year. This school year, it entitles parents to access school library, catalog and record library materials that the parents child checks out outside of the school library. So if you have a school library. This is outside. Anything outside of that school library, any books that your students have access to, parents have the right to know what those books are. They ask, then they have the right to know which book is reading with your students and authors, etc. So more transparent.
So they can also, so they can let you know, not you specifically, but they'll let your campus or your district know what materials that they don't want their students to have access to. And then, in addition to that, the schools can create a local advisory council, and they're required to adopt a policy by which this process takes place. So if their books are being brought into the school, there needs to be a policy in place for how people ...
...Parent challenges a book, and they're saying they don't want that book to be available. They can actually send and this is not even a parent, anybody in the public, anyone, any public, any person in the public, actually challenge materials, and then that council that's created has 90 days to respond. Now, what happens beyond that? That is beyond my work you have to do, but this is a requirement that. This present. This was also presented to the leaders yesterday, the information and so here yesterday, and it's also available on the website.
So continuation of that there are resources and guidance and policies regarding this. So any additional information regarding Senate Bill 13 that is available now, moving on to state, work, education, there have been some very hot topics as of late. There's always hot topics, but this has been especially hot lately, and so quickly go through this, I have now had a state board of education. I have no power making these types of decisions, but I do want to give you an update on what we're...
So so many of you have heard of house bill 1605 This was after an 88 legislative session, and the State Board of Education is required for jobs addition to the seats for eight as well. So they have to specify a literary works list and a vocabulary list every single grade level, and that those lists will become in addition to the TEKS, so they will then be required for instruction in your classrooms. Okay, so these are the addition to the TEKS, which means that it's expected that everybody in the state of Texas is teaching all the TEKS, which would include the use of these literary works and vocabulary. The goal is for them to support the essential knowledge and skills in the foundation curriculum, so we all know what the foundation subjects are.
And so the goal of these lists is to really support student literacy. Yes, sorry, real quick.
So the list that I've seen, it says draft on it, correct. When does this thing actually happen? So I'll show you a slide coming up of the process. But yes, it is currently in draft form. So whatever you see online is just that it's a draft. The State Board of Education met this week, but will continue to meet, and they will be the ultimate deciders of what goes on the list. So they might use a couple of books that are listed, and they might add their own. They might use the whole list as it stands. The state board of education would not, I would not assume that that list would be the will likely happen, because the state board has the power to do whatever they want that list. So they might say we don't want any of this, which I quite frankly doubt, because there's a lot of books on the list, and some of them are books that we're very well aware of and we know that they're great for for our students, but they can add and they can take away as they please. So it could change quite a bit. There's a tentative deadline which has already timeline, which is already shifted, but I'll explain that a little bit more. Thank you. Sorry. No. No. Wait, there so they're there and Again, but the goal is that I at the house bills...
can you repeat the question
you asked for AP courses, which sometimes can be a little different?
Are they also going to be. In addition to what they're already doing using these vocabulary and literary literary lists, and I said that is up to the State Board of Education to decide. So there's lots of questions that you have, and unfortunately, those answers just haven't come up yet. But so this was the tentative timeline that's already used, but I am going to really encourage you to watch the state board of education meetings.
...November, did a presentation for the State Board of Education of the process by which were created the research. If you all some of you may have filled this out last year, but there was a survey that was sent out to all educators last year that asked, like, what books are you reading? Like, how many books do you read with your students every year, the genres you know? Questions. There were lots of questions on that survey. The purpose of that survey was to support the creation of these lists. So if you were able to answer that survey, including, presentation as to how the literary works, not vocabulary, how the literary works together.
As you see, January 2026, at the top in blue, if you watch the sessions this week, because it's happening this week, they were not able to come to a mutual decision what's going to happen. So this has actually moved over to April. So first reading and private authorization did not happen this week. They have moved it over to April, because we need more time to discuss this. So then spoe Second Reading and final adoption is now moved out. We don't know when that will be in June. So this is a tentative timeline, and this is the order in which things happen. So first there's a discussion, there's first reading authorization, there's the second reading, final adoption, and then they're adopted by which implementation happens. So that's currently happening for the literary list. They have at the bottom, these are happening almost simultaneously, so the literary works list discussion happens this week. First Reading and Fallon authorization is supposed to be for April, but there is a portion of the vocabulary works. So as literary work get pushed out, the vocabulary, discussions and decisions also get pushed out. So just know that those things the vocalist has done them. So this is already is there are no if the teks are adjusted to include these lists, you know I might that I have once these implemented publishers will have a chance to adjust their instructional materials to cover 100% of teks, including the vocab and the list, ...list, and then they will resubmit their product through the imra process for approval and so. And then, obviously, this is also going to assessments, right? If these are part of the teams, that means they have to also be assessed. And so our assessment team is going to have to come in and start doing their part to ensure that these lit lists and vocalists are somehow covered in student assessments. And that's that's out there that could be some time from now before that happens.
Yes, well, this also ... does go through the IMRA, and so they won't get will they be redoing the teks so the lit works and vocabulary will be an added portion to the teks, so the ELA teaks are not being revised at all ... these will just be in addition to that. But again, the sBoe could decide to revise the early teks next year if they wanted to so. But as of right now, that's not for textbook adoptions.
If we're in a 10 year contract, will that contract have ...?
That is not a question that I can answer, that is an instructional material question, so I will have to, I would suggest, so, included... are of things happening all the time in our leg. Now you'll see at the top cycle for 2029 is going to be happening. And then you'll see two figures out??? some of the things that are very high. ...regarding our products, and then you'll see at the bottom the social studies and state assessment advisors we developed for the field and field tested in 2829 because of like to watch the State Board of Education meeting for January.
Item number three was the discussion of the vocabulary list. So that was a much shorter conversation. And then for also this week, they discussed which was item four. This is really long, but it's just the literary list so if you want, if you go onto that web page and go to the live stream,
...you to go into the Elps, which also impacts us here. So the new ELPS were adopted in 2024 will be implemented in two years, two months from now, I session. So this is an example of a side by side document, and it just shows the language pattern they've added. One thing they've added is the language pattern that students are expected to are going to be working on as they're doing this particular skill. So this is to be so you'll see this speaking using language pattern is language structure of syntax. So that's the language that's something that has been added to the else. So these are the side by side tables. There are else. It'll show you the current elps and the new elps....
And then additionally report as well. And these are also available on the Spanish language support Web. This is a timeline for the implementation of the elps so in fall, in the fall of last year, they did create the side by side documents that I just showed you. In the spring of this year, the elps side is going to be made available. There will be some outside 101 sessions to support implementation, to get the new ELS implemented, and then in the spring of 2027 is going to suggesting stakeholder sessions, some of you have likely been to them, or we do partner with other teams or divisions at CEA, specifically giving information, providing things specific to rla, so it's possible that we'll have a stakeholder engagement.
High Level Assessment timeline. So it shows you the year and then the grades and what's going to be happening when it comes To the assessment. And so you'll see is the subtitle... So during the transition here, which I just mentioned, 27 the current blueprint the same, but it's going to include questions, gives everybody an opportunity to transition.
So there is information at the page just mentioned on that timeline that elps Academy is going to be beginning to be available this year. And so we're here to look at the timeline in the spring. And so during the spring, you'll see at the bottom, it tells you that they're going to be aligning the ELPS Academy materials with the newly adopted ELPS. So they're kind of working on adjusting, updating the elps Academy to reflect new ELPS. The summer of this year will be the final draft of the teal course it'll be published and available, and the revised elps companion tools will be released in ... All of this upcoming school year, all educators will be able to see to expect in the new elps Academy, so they're going to continue of course to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to teach our students, and it's going to integrate content based language instruction methods throughout the courses so that you Are are able to support your students with their acquisition of the English language. And so they are currently, like I mentioned, working on these now, and so they're revamping them, making them better, so that you are able to support your students as you go through these courses. So there's an integration of content based language instruction, which I just mentioned, and the ELPS. So you can see there how the two, the two are going to come together to support of Millie, the goal is to truly support our students with improving their second language acquisition and doing that in a way that is.
Relation, but really embedding them into instruction.
This is our emerging bilingual programming team. So if you have any questions about the ELPS Academy, please feel free to reach out to them via either their personal view, their tea emails, or the general emergent bilinguals.
Next we have our pre K guidelines. So implementation of the revised guidelines is expected to happen in the 2031, school year, so we have quite a bit of time. And so with that, the guidelines will include the following steps. So the first bullet that you see there has already happened, where they gathered stakeholder input through a statewide survey. So that has already that survey has closed, so now they're using that survey to gather feedback, reviewing that survey. Next, we conducting internal review of the current pre K guidelines. They're going to have a committee, and then they're going to get some feedback, obsession, to get an input as they work on the guidelines. So this is all these steps are taking place for the purpose of really including some additional folks in the process of creating the guidelines and getting feedback. Any updates will be sent through the early childhood newsletter. So if you have not, if this applies to you and you have not registered for that newsletter, you can do that using the first QR code. Or if you have any questions, you can send those in via the support program. So that is the end of the presentation. So I take a moment for questions, there may be questions again that I'm not able to answer, or I might ...
Yes, only your slide to talk about the interdependency I can't remember, from the new teks to the curriculum and to the assessment.
Can you say a little bit more about that slide? Yeah.
So basically, when it comes to the teks, these are going to impact the high quality instructional materials, and they also impact student assessment. And so it's just showing that the work that's being done on ... we at this point, is going to trickle down or snowball, however you want to look at it. And so, like I mentioned, the high quality instructional materials. So the teachers tell us what students have to learn. The materials are the house so this is going to these decisions are going to impact that.
Let me tell you my reason for asking this question, because I'm reading between some lines here that you don't really have up here I see the literary work of vocabulary was going to be embedded in the assessment. So when we look at the works that's on this list, so I'm not teaching those words, the kids won't be ready for the assessment, and the key vocabulary is the new learning that students will receive in Texas.
Yes, yeah, it's going to be a part of the teks. So as always, every ...single teacher and so the requirement is to teach the teks, which means whatever these and again, the SBOE can decide. The rules. The law states that they can decide on a minimum of one literary works list. So they can do one, they can do five, required for grade level. That is up to them to decide. It, but if it's a minimum of one, they only have this one book on there. And then, of course, I know that the conversation a lot of times, I'm like making sure that districts have the autonomy to choose the text that students are learning. And so that's why I encourage you all to watch the meetings, because there's a lot of discussions about that.
Question: So with the STAR test being now divided into three, and then this also coming up, is the text list and vocabulary list going to be tested?
great question. So that is a good question, and I don't have the answer, but it's a good question, because, like you mentioned, the assessment is different now. So how are you going to actually grow if there's not some sort of, some sort of cadence by which the instruction is happening? So again, questions that need answers that I can't give you.
Comment: Just a couple of comments. There probably will be another State Board of Education meeting before April 2026... they learned that today during their meetings, so part of that will be to complete the things that were unfinished from this meeting, this week of meetings, so it will be something that we will need to listen for and watch. Also at the assessment meeting, Chelaine Marion and Joseph Cisneros mentioned that the decisions that will be made can't be made until the State Board of Education acts on these items, then it will go through a review of which these materials would be suitable and accessible, and so the assessed curriculum documents would be updated. And then there would be processes to look at how that would impact assessment. And then after that happens, then decisions will be made by committees that address the accountability. So it is a long process that is involved.
QUestion: Based on House Bill on the grade and the list of reviewed works...If you are a text on the list, you're good to go yes. If you're a no, you cannot. Anything not reviewed is a Gray area.
If you didn't go through the process, you are not rejected. It correct. If it's a no, it's not permitted. So anything outside of that is up to the discretion of the district
Unknown Speaker 47:59
because the thing said it
Speaker 5 48:05
maybe, which, it depends on what you're talking about.
Speaker 7 48:13
School money can't be used to purchase materials that didn't pass from you. So it didn't say they can't be used. It said the funding can't be
Question: Does your team handle the TEKS guide for high school?
Yes, we do. When will that be released? I would like to also know why it has been delayed
for high school, so I will say that we are currently in the process, like right now, of actually updating the teks guide that we currently have. And as a part of that process, high school, of that process, high school is actually in that part of that conversation.
Question: So does that mean the work that the original committees did on the taste guide is disregarded?
No, I would say in this regard. So a lot of the things are still going to be the same, the format might be a little different, the resources that we might provide might be a little different, how it looks might be a little different, but I wouldn't say that it will be completely disregarded.
Question: Why has there been such a big delay?
that I again, thank you. We ask our leadership every time you guys ask, and we're not clear on it. Thank you. But the conversation is happening now, and we have been bringing it up.
Question: Do you have an anticipated date of release?
No anticipated date of release. Okay, so I keep going with a couple more slides so we have our student assessment.
...And then here is the survey for today, so we look very closely at your feedback, so let me know how I did today.
Comment: You did great
if there's anything else that we didn't talk about there, so that we have an opportunity to review those and then come back later. More important. So once you've completed that, I want to say thank you for having me.
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