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Thoroughly Vet and Approve High Quality Instructional Materials
Why it Matters: When the State Board of Education adopts instructional materials, schools receive extra funding for using them.
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These materials are approved and adopted for an 8-12 year period.
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Schools should be able to trust that the SBOE and its reviewers have micro-analyzed these materials before they are adopted for this extensive amount of time.
What it looks like:
🔍 Delving into materials myself to analyze instructional quality
📑 Using data and analysis from the experts hired to review materials
✅ Recommending adjustments to how instructional materials are rated to make sure lessons are using principles of the science of learning
Why it Matters: The standards for a subject area are analyzed and revised about every 8-15 years. Teachers are required to teach all of the standards for their grade level- also known as TEKS.
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Curriculum experts, educators, and community members weigh in on how the TEKS should be changed.
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The SBOE elects experts to lead committees to make these changes.
What it looks like:
🗳️ Voting for committee experts who make decisions based on data and the science of learning, rather than their own ideologies
🗓️ Staying up to date with committee discussions and suggestions
📑 Make recommendations based on my knowledge of appropriate grade-level standards
Fight for Academic Standards Backed by Experts, Not Ideology
Make the Decisions and Inner Workings of the SBOE Transparent
Why it Matters: The SBOE's decisions impact families, students, and educators across Texas. The public deserves to have its thoughts represented in the decision-making process.
Opportunities to get involved exist, but are often not well publicized.
The SBOE makes decisions quickly, and the public often does not realize it until after the vote.
What it looks like:
💻 Utilizing my media platforms to make information accessible to the public
📑 Researching and reporting on complex processes of the SBOE
🎤 Announcing opportunities for the public to get involved in decision-making
🗒️ Breaking down actions taken by the board during SBOE meetings
What is the State Board of Education?
The State Board of Education (SBOE) consists of 15 elected officials across Texas. The SBOE is required to meet at least 4 times a year. While members can be reimbursed for travel expenses, this is an unpaid position.
The SBOE's responsibilities
#1 Setting curriculum standards
These standards describe what students should learn in their respective grade and subject area. Think Texas Essentials Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
#2 Reviewing & adopting instructional materials
Curriculum companies can submit instructional materials—curriculum, textbooks, virtual tools, and more—for review. If adopted, the state incentivizes schools to use these materials leading to a bigger payout for the company. The SBOE does not review materials entirely. They hire panels of expert educators to review and write reports which are later reviewed by the SBOE.
#3 Accept or veto new charter school proposals
The Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency brings a list of proposed charters to the SBOE. Members can veto any recommendations, so it's vital board members stay up-to-date and informed on the charter school's application.
#4 Establishing graduation requirements
Texas high school students have a set of required courses for graduation. The board determines which classes satisfy certain course credits. The board updates graduation requirements based on legislation. For instance, recent legislation now requires students take a half credit of personal financial literacy. The board must also update classes that count towards endorsement tracks and can approve a district's proposal for new endorsement tracks if deemed rigorous. Additionally, the board adopts uniform transcript standards such as endorsement level, activities, awards, and how they're placed on the transcript.
#5 Overseeing the Texas Permanent School Fund
This fund was established in the late 1800s when land was set aside whose revenue would be directed towards public schooling. The revenue generated can be reinvested into more property/land or directed to an investment portfolio managed by the board. Each year, the board analyzes the gains and decides whether to diversify investments. Portions of the money are put into the available school fund. Every year, funds partially pay for instructional materials and partially pay for the general operating expenses of public schools. The SBOE cannot take out more than 6% of the investment portfolio to use for the available school fund, so each year they have to decide what percentage they'll be placing into the available school fund.
#6 Appointing board members to military or special districts
Since military reservations are on federal land, they don't have a district to elect school board members to—the responsibility lies on the SBOE. The board receives a list from one of the commanding officers on military bases, and the board vets recommended candidates and chooses which would be best suited for the job.
#7 Providing final review of rules developed by State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC)
The State Board of Educator Certification dictates requirements for new educators to become certified as teachers. Before any rules developed by the SBEC can go into effect, the SBOE must approve them. Proposed rules can only be vetoed if 10 or more SBOE members are in agreement.
