Education
BY HANNAH NORTON
Texas aims to support students, teachers with new textbooks The Texas State Board of Education is set to approve a new collection of language arts and math textbooks this fall that state leaders hope will help close student achievement gaps and reduce time teachers spend creating lesson plans.
Student outcomes under TEA pilot program Lubbock ISD began piloting the TEA’s elementary-level materials at four schools during the 2021-22 school year. All 28 elementary schools were using the materials by the 2023-24 school year. The percentage of LISD elementary students who met grade level standards on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness increased from 2019-2024 across all grade levels and demographics.
Among the proposed materials are textbooks developed by the Texas Education Agency since 2020. The state-developed textbooks would be available for free online and include kindergarten through fifth grade reading and language arts; kindergarten through eighth grade math; and Algebra 1. If the SBOE approves the textbooks in Novem- ber, public school districts could begin using them during the 2025-26 school year. Use of the state-sanctioned materials is entirely optional, but districts that do so would receive up to $60 per student to purchase and print them. Districts currently receive about $171 per student, plus $16 for emergent bilingual students, to acquire textbooks, according to the TEA. The overview Texas lawmakers passed House Bill 1605 last year, amid concerns about whether teachers are using instructional materials that meet state standards. For the first time, the law directs the state to create a list of high-quality textbooks and sets aside $324 million for districts to purchase the new materials. The state textbooks will ensure students learn at their grade level and build on important concepts each year, said Shannon Trejo, the TEA’s deputy commissioner of school programs. The TEA has piloted its textbooks in school districts around the state, such as Lubbock ISD, since 2021. Some districts have recorded “tremen- dous” success and student growth with the state materials, Trejo said. Put in perspective Some Texans have objected to frequent ref- erences to the Bible in the elementary school curriculum and raised concerns that the materials do not depict other religions equally. For example, a fifth grade reading passage about the Renaissance describes Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting, “The Last Supper,” and includes excerpts of the Book of Matthew, which focuses on the crucifixion of Jesus. Other religions are also included in the text- books. A proposed fourth grade poetry lesson, which is available on the SBOE website, features Kshemendra, a 12th-century poet who “studied
2019 2024
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NOTE: STUDENTS DO NOT BEGIN TAKING THE STAAR TEST UNTIL THIRD GRADE.
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Buddhism and Hinduism, and ... wrote epic poems based on various stories and gods from those religions.” “A big part of the concern for the faith com- munity is that there is so much Christian content that is presented as fact,” said Bee Moorhead, the executive director of Texas Impact, an interfaith policy organization. “The point of faith is that it’s not the same thing as knowledge.” TEA leaders defended the use of religious stories in the textbooks and said they are tied to American history. “In Texas, there is a wide diversity of folks that have different ethnic and religious backgrounds. [The curriculum] is not going to proselytize or seek to have someone believe a certain way about a certain religion,” a TEA spokesperson said. “Any sort of religious aspect is presented in an educa- tional or historic context, not like someone would receive it in a vacation Bible school.” At the Capitol Lawmakers discussed the state-developed materials during an Aug. 12 Texas House hearing. “I think if we do this right, it could be a game changer for teachers and students across the state,” Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said. Talarico, a seminary student and former middle school teacher, noted that “there is a difference between teaching and preaching” and said he was concerned the TEA’s textbooks would do the latter. Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, said public schools “should never be ashamed” of teaching students
How we got here
May 2023 Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1605, directing the Texas Education Agency to create state-owned textbooks for the first time Spring 2024 Publishers submitted materials to be examined by the State Board of Education and 295 trained reviewers, 53% of whom are classroom teachers May 29-Aug. 16, 2024 Public comment period for 142 proposed instructional materials Sept. 10-13, 2024 The SBOE discussed the proposed materials and hear public testimony November 2024 The SBOE will vote to approve or reject each of the materials August 2025 Public schools may begin using the approved materials in the classroom
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
about Christianity. “The world’s major religions did not have an equal impact on the founding belief systems of our country,” Schaefer said. “They did not have an equal impact on the American and Texas legal system or Western civilization and our culture today. That’s just a fact.”
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