The November meeting of the State Board of Education (SBOE) began Monday with the fanfare of another public hearing on the instructional materials submitted for consideration and adoption under the new process established by House Bill 1605. The focus was almost entirely on the Texas Education Agency-developed English language arts and reading (ELAR) product Bluebonnet Learning. After significant stakeholder resistance to these materials at the September meeting, the testimony for and against the materials in this hearing appeared more balanced.
In addition to the persistent objection that these materials contain a number of inaccurate and inappropriate references to the Bible and teachings of Christianity, testifiers objected to the relative age- and developmental-appropriateness of the materials. Testifiers also voiced opposition to TEA acting as a publisher of curriculum in general, citing these open education resources (OER) amount to government overreach.
Many on the board agreed with these arguments, but unfortunately the vote on Tuesday to remove them from the recommended approval list went down 8-7 with Vice-Chair Pam Little (R-Plano), Evelyn Brooks (R-Waco), and outgoing member Pat Hardy (R-Ft. Worth) voting with Democrats against the Bluebonnet ELAR materials. The Bluebonnet Math program later received the same vote. In this vote, we see the result of Gov. Greg Abbott’s last-minute decision to appoint Leslie Recine to the board for a single meeting: in order to assure the passage of these materials
Though the primary focus has been on Bluebonnet, over 140 materials were submitted for consideration; the SBOE moved through the entire list of commissioner recommendations to determine whether the board would send forward materials that met the quality and suitability criteria adopted earlier this year. The board chose to recommend the majority of the materials that met requirements.
Tuesday continued with many items related to the continued implementation of HB 1605. Of particular interest to our members will be the instructional materials review calendar that contemplates the next decade of standards development and materials adoption and a discussion of the local review of classroom instructional materials. This review is intended to be a snapshot of pedagogy, limited in time and scope, but some SBOE members seemed to want to greatly expand the nature of this review creating an opportunity to litigate a teacher’s materials and methodology. No action was taken, but Texas AFT will be closely watching the development of this process.
Education Commissioner Mike Morath began the day on Wednesday with a short presentation related to the additional day school year (ADSY). This is a grant program run by TEA that allows districts to draw down an additional half day of funding (based on average daily attendance) for adding up to 30 days of instruction to their elementary teaching calendar. His argument is that for the small number of campuses that have participated in the program, they have seen substantial gains in mathematics proficiency as compared to pre-pandemic achievement.
The implication in the commissioner’s presentation was that strategic investments in efforts like a longer school year are a better use of taxpayer dollars than a broader investment in public education like raising the basic allotment. He also signaled support for broadening access to Math Academies, though he stopped short of saying they should be required.
The body spent considerable time revising the rules concerning the training of school board members, adding eligibility requirements and limitations on political advocacy during training. They also took action to begin the development of a new set of standards related to middle school advanced mathematics pathways (Senate Bill 2124) and heard discussion on proposed new courses for the high school engineering pathway.
On Thursday, the Committee on School Initiatives heard an update on the Generation 30 charter school approval. As a reminder to Hotline readers, TEA has introduced a new process for “high performing entities,” that could include out-of-state charter operators, that is abbreviated and less transparent. TEA could receive applications for this new approval process in December and present them to SBOE for approval in April. Texas AFT will be monitoring this process closely.
In addition to the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) preview, the committee voted to approve a measure to assist teacher candidates in entering an educator preparation program by adjusting the English language proficiency standards.
Later that day, the board voted on the percentage distribution to be provided by the Permanent School Fund for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. These dollars are sent to the Legislature for the express purpose of funding public education. The board approved a 3.45% rate amounting to $1.81 billion annually ($3.62 billion total over two years). This is over $500 million more than the previous distribution and the largest the SBOE has ever approved.
Wrapping up Thursday was a discussion of the board’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session. These discussions are often wide ranging prior to determining a consensus list of recommendations. The board adopted a set of priorities that included:
- Expanding the printing allotment from HB 1605 to cover any OER approved by the SBOE
- Grant authority to SBOE to conduct the process of rating sexually explicit and sexually relevant materials (some bills have already been filed related to this)
- Support the TEA priority of implementing the recommendations of the Texas Commission on Special Education Funding
Friday began with a choir performance from LD Bell High School’s A Capella Choir. Departing member Pat Hardy, always a supporter of the fine arts, invited this group from Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD in her district for her final meeting. The board honored each departing member — Dr. Melissa Ortega, Pat Hardy, and Aicha Davis — with a resolution and thanks for their service. Hardy ends 21 years of service on the board, and Davis will soon be sworn in to the Texas House.
After another fractious conversation regarding Bluebonnet Learning, the SBOE upheld the preliminary vote to approve the ELAR component materials 8 to 7. In a parliamentary twist, they considered Bluebonnet Math in a separate vote and that content area was approved 13 to 2. Though the state has approved these OER materials, they are not mandated for Texas classrooms. It will now fall to local districts to determine if they are appropriate for the students they serve, and that is where the next phase of our advocacy must focus.
The SBOE will meet again in January 2025 when three new members will be sworn in to continue the work of supporting standards and instructional materials for Texas students.