SECTION 66.1405. Procedures for Publishers and Open Education Resource Licensors to Submit Instructional Materials for Inclusion in the Instructional Materials Portal

(a) A publisher or an open education resource (OER) licensor that submits instructional materials for an evaluation of quality (EoQ) shall:

(1) submit a completed Texas Education Agency (TEA)-generated EoQ submission form by the deadline stated in the submission form. TEA may adapt the submission form, as it deems necessary, to develop and maintain the instructional materials web portal;

(2) sign a set of assurances at the time of submission assuring compliance with the requirements listed in this subchapter;

(3) submit instructional materials that are:

(A) in electronic format;

(B) complete and include all content to be used in the final product; and

(C) fully functional for review purposes;

(4) ensure submitted instructional materials remain final and unchanged throughout the quality review process, unless otherwise specified by TEA;

(5) make submitted instructional materials available for reviewers for the duration of a review period to be determined by TEA and made known to publishers and OER licensors;

(6) include information required for reviewers to complete electronic reviews of instructional materials, including, but not limited to:

(A) computer hardware and system requirements for the review of any item included in an instructional material submission; and

(B) information for online products, including internet location, keycodes, passwords, and other login information required to ensure access to the materials being reviewed throughout the review period;

(7) provide specialized computer hardware or other equipment necessary to use an instructional material as intended by a student and/or teacher. Such equipment will be returned to the publisher or OER licensor at the conclusion of the review period. Such equipment must be provided:

(A) for the duration of the review period; and

(B) in a quantity to be determined by TEA and communicated to the publisher or OER licensor at the time the materials are submitted for review;

(8) provide the following information in a format determined by TEA and communicated to publishers or OER licensors by way of the EoQ submission form regarding the instructional materials submitted:

(A) computer hardware and system requirements for use of the materials;

(B) availability and description of professional development services;

(C) a report for each electronic component that verifies that the component complies with §66.28(a)(2) of this title (relating to Requirements for Publisher Participation), which can be satisfied by a report prepared for submission to the SBOE; and

(D) a complete description of all student and teacher components;

(9) provide accurate and up-to-date pricing information for each instructional material in a form and format to be determined by TEA and communicated to publishers and OER licensors in the application for submission of materials;

(10) make samples of instructional materials available for public review during a review period determined by TEA, as deemed necessary by TEA and made known to publishers or OER licensors by TEA;

(11) assume responsibility for all expenses incurred by participation in the review process, as TEA does not guarantee return of sample instructional materials;

(12) acknowledge that TEA and its designee have final authority for determining all quality ratings;

(13) with the exception of OER licensors, provide evidence in the form of an identification number provided by the Texas Secretary of State proving that the publisher is approved to conduct business in the state of Texas;

(14) verify that the publisher or OER licensor is the copyright owner of the instructional materials; and

(15) verify that the individual submitting the materials is legally authorized to act on behalf of the publisher or OER licensor.

(b) TEA may not include materials in the quality evaluation process if:

(1) materials have been authored by a current employee of TEA, unless those materials are open education resources;

(2) materials have been authored by the TEA's designated independent evaluator: or

(3) reviewers lack capacity to evaluate all submitted materials.

(c) Publishers or OER licensors that submit materials for quality evaluation may not withdraw those materials from the review process after the review process is underway as communicated by TEA.

(d) This section does not apply to or otherwise limit the submission of instructional materials by TEA for inclusion in the instructional materials portal.

(e) Publishers or OER licensors that submit materials for quality evaluation may not directly or indirectly contact reviewers before or during the review process if such contact or solicitation relates to the EoQ process.

(f) The TEA may satisfy the requirement set forth in Texas Education Code (TEC), §31.082(a)(2), by:

(1) conducting Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) coverage reviews and English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) coverage reviews, for subject areas in which ELPS exist, of instructional materials that have been submitted for an EoQ; or

(2) using the results of TEKS coverage reviews and ELPS coverage reviews, for subject areas in which ELPS exist, of materials under consideration for adoption under a current proclamation or adopted in a previous proclamation as authorized by TEC, §31.022, and 19 TAC Chapter 66, Subchapter B, of this title (relating to State Adoption of Instructional Materials).

Source Note: The provisions of this §66.1405 adopted to be effective September 10, 2019, 44 TexReg 4857