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Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills are being revised to adhere to changes stipulated in SB 3. TEKS REVIEW process
What is SB 3?
Senate Bill 3 was passed by Texas State Legislature in 2021, providing new guidelines for social studies instruction in the classroom.
TEKS are statewide curriculum standards in which students must demonstrate knowledge.
Social studies TEKS revised draft presented to State Board of Education for discussion, nal recommendations
Revised social studies TEKS implemented
SBOE adopts new K-12 social studies TEKS
1 Discussion of current events cannot be required.
2 Current events must be discussed objectively.
Summer 2024
2025-26 school year
Summer 2022
September 2022
November 2022
3 Teachers may not instill that a race is superior/inferior.
4 Teachers cannot teach The 1619 Project.*
SBOE public hearing and rst reading
Instructional materials reviewed
5 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills must include appreciation for free speech and the United States.
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
SOURCES: TEXAS LEGISLATURE, RAISE YOUR HAND TEXAS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER *A longform journalistic project on U.S. history emphasizing the consequences of slavery
they trust teachers a “great deal or good amount” as opposed to the local school board, district administrators and state elected o cials. “It shows you where the paren- tal support is for our teachers and the belief they have in our teachers to teach their kids all of the [Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills],” said Bob Popinski, senior director of pol- icy for Raise Your Hand Texas, a sister organization of the Charles Butt Foun- dation. “That’s someone that the par- ent sees on a regular basis.” Popinski said the TEA is going through the process of revising the social studies TEKS, the state- wide curriculum dictating what topics students must demonstrate knowledge in, to t the boundaries of the bill. The revised TEKS must include “key documents and Amer- ican ideas” and an “appreciation” of the United States, free speech and civil discourse, according to the bill. According to state legislature, the bill will cost about $14 million to imple- ment, but Popinski said it will not have much of a direct nancial impact on individual districts. The bill also states teachers can- not be compelled to discuss current events, and the topic must be pre- sented in an objective way that exam- ines both sides of the issue. Toth said last November that enforcement will be up to the dis- trict, but CISD o cials have said the lack of guidance from the state on how to implement the guidelines remains an issue. Puente said he believes the bill has a ected teacher morale.
“The teaching profession has been under attack for years. ... They don’t get paid nearly enough, especially considering ination right now. They are dealing with testing, high-stakes testing; they’re dealing with all of these other systemic issues,” he said. According to information from the TEA, teacher attrition in the 2021-22 school year was 11.57% statewide, the highest it has been since the g- ure began being tracked in 2007-08. As of 2020-21, the most recent year available from the TEA for CISD, the district’s turnover rate was 12.1% compared to the statewide average of 14.3%. STAAR transitions online In addition to changes to school curriculums, the district is continu- ing its e orts to implement new STAAR procedures in line with laws taking e ect this school year. HB 3906 was the beginning of a longstanding process to redesign STAAR and move it online by this school year. All students—except students who require accommoda- tions that cannot be provided online and students taking the alternate assessment—will be required to take the exams online. Other elements of the STAAR rede- sign include adding new item types, placing a cap on the percentage of multiple-choice questions, and elim- inating standalone writing exams for grades four and seven. “This past school year, Con- roe ISD worked on addressing the STAAR redesign by introducing teachers to the new assessment
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in 2019, stating that by the 2022-23 school year, the TEA and school dis- tricts should be administering the State of Texas Assessments of Aca- demic Readiness in an online format. The TEA also released a new library book policy in April emphasizing par- ents’ participation in selecting library books and stating districts should establish a committee to review books that receive complaints. CISD o cials said the district is working to implement new policies to adhere to state legislation and pro- vide funding to support STAAR’s shift online. In addition, it approved a new library materials policy at its Aug. 2 board of trustees meeting. CISD Director of Communications Sarah Blakelock said the district is working on how to implement mea- sures such as SB 3. “Teachers are provided scope and sequences that detail pacing and resources,” Blakelock said. “On topics with multiple perspectives, teachers are provided guidance about how to present facts without bringing in their personal opinion.” Revising social studies curriculums The content of SB 3 is based on HB 3979, written by Rep. Steve Toth, R The Woodlands, Toth said. Toth was also a co-sponsor of the Senate bill. Toth said in an interview that the purpose of the bill was to eliminate discrimination of all kinds in the classroom.
“We want to make sure that what’s taught in the classroom has nothing to do with race but has everything to do with opportunity and believing in the individual,” Toth said. However, several education advo- cacy organizations took positions against the bill when it was intro- duced and still identify issues with the implementation of the bill. Every Texan, an Austin-based public pol- icy organization, along with 43 other organizations issued a joint state- ment in August condemning the bill, saying it is restrictive and could limit the scope and content of classroom conversations. Jaime Puente, a public policy ana- lyst for Every Texan, said the bill over- rides the process of the State Board of Education and scholars that informs decisions the board makes. “[The State Board of Education] incorporates the input of education professionals, teachers and scholars,” Puente said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into these standards, and the state Legislature with SB 3 came out and just did away with most of that. ... If they don’t abide by these very narrow frameworks, then you know, districts and teachers … can be held accountable.” A study throughout 2022 measur- ing Texans’ attitudes toward public education conducted by the Charles Butt Foundation shows most Tex- ans trust teachers to make decisions supporting students with 71% saying
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