SECTION 66.27. Proclamation, Public Notice, and Schedule for Adopting Instructional Materials

(a) Texas Education Code (TEC), §31.002, defines instructional materials as content that conveys the essential knowledge and skills of a subject in the public-school curriculum through a medium or a combination of media for conveying information to a student. The term includes a book; supplementary materials; a combination of a book, workbook, and supplementary materials; computer software; magnetic media; DVD; CD-ROM; computer courseware; online services; or an electronic medium or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contributing to the learning process through electronic means, including open education resource instructional material.

(b) Upon the adoption of revised Texas essential knowledge and skills (TEKS) or Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines (TPG), the State Board of Education (SBOE) shall conduct an investigation to determine the extent of the revisions and whether revisions have created a need for new instructional materials.

(c) The SBOE shall issue a proclamation calling for instructional materials according to the review and adoption cycle adopted by the SBOE if the investigation required in subsection (b) of this section results in the determination that a proclamation is necessary. The proclamation shall serve as notice to all publishers and to the public that bids to furnish new materials to the state are being invited and shall call for:

(1) new instructional materials aligned to all of the TEKS for a specific subject and grade level or course(s) or to the TPG and to TEC, §28.002(h), as it relates to that specific subject in understanding the importance of patriotism and functioning productively in a free-enterprise society with appreciation for the basic democratic values of our state and national heritage;

(2) supplemental material aligned to new or expanded TEKS for a specific subject and grade level or course(s) or to new or expanded TPG and to TEC, §28.002(h), as it relates to that specific subject in understanding the importance of patriotism and functioning productively in a free-enterprise society with appreciation for the basic democratic values of our state and national heritage;

(3) new information demonstrating alignment of current instructional materials to the revised TEKS for a specific subject and grade level or course(s) or the revised TPG and to TEC, §28.002(h), as it relates to that specific subject in understanding the importance of patriotism and functioning productively in a free-enterprise society with appreciation for the basic democratic values of our state and national heritage; or

(4) any combination of the calls described by paragraphs (1)-(3) of this subsection.

(d) The essential knowledge and skills adopted in this title effective in the year in which instructional materials are intended to be made available in classrooms are the SBOE's official rule governing essential knowledge and skills that shall be used to evaluate instructional materials submitted for consideration under the corresponding proclamation.

(e) The essential knowledge and skills that will be used to evaluate instructional materials submitted for consideration under a proclamation and a copy of each proclamation issued by the SBOE may be accessed from the Texas Education Agency website and are available for examination during regular office hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays, at the Texas Education Agency, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701.

(f) Proclamations calling for supplemental materials or new information only shall be issued at least 12 months before the scheduled adoption of instructional materials. Proclamations that include a call for complete new materials to cover all of the TEKS or TPG shall be issued at least 18 months before the scheduled adoption of the new instructional materials.

(g) Each proclamation shall contain the following:

(1) information about and reference to essential knowledge and skills in each subject for which bids are being invited;

(2) the requirement that a publisher of adopted instructional materials for a grade level other than prekindergarten must submit an electronic pre-adoption sample of the instructional materials as required by the TEC, §31.027(a) and (b), and may not submit a print sample copy;

(3) the requirement that electronic samples include a word search feature;

(4) the requirement that publishers file with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) print samples, electronic samples in an open file format or closed format, or galley proofs for use by state review panels;

(5) the student enrollment of the courses or grade levels called for, to the extent that it is available, for the school year prior to the year in which the proclamation is issued;

(6) specifications for providing computerized files to produce braille versions of adopted instructional materials;

(7) specifications for ensuring that electronic instructional materials are fully accessible to students with disabilities;

(8) a schedule of adoption procedures; and

(9) an option for the submission of open education resource instructional materials that are available for use by the state without charge on the same basis as instructional materials offered for sale.

(h) The proclamation shall require the instructional materials submissions to cover:

(1) content essential knowledge and skills for the subject area and grade level or course for which the materials are intended:

(A) at least once in the student text narrative; and

(B) once in an end-of-section review exercise, an end-of-chapter activity, or a unit test; and

(2) process essential knowledge and skills:

(A) at least once in the student text narrative and once in an end-of-section review exercise, an end-of-chapter activity, or a unit test; or

(B) twice in an end-of-section review exercise, an end-of-chapter activity, or a unit test.

(i) A proclamation for prekindergarten materials shall require the instructional materials submissions to cover the end-of-year outcomes at least twice in the teacher materials and as deemed developmentally appropriate in the student materials. The coverage must include both an opportunity for the teacher to teach and the student to practice or demonstrate the knowledge or skill.

(j) A draft copy of the proclamation shall be provided to each member of the SBOE and posted on the TEA website, and the TEA shall solicit input regarding the draft proclamation prior to its scheduled adoption by the SBOE. Any revisions recommended as a result of input from publishers shall be presented to the SBOE along with the subsequent draft of the proclamation.

(k) If the SBOE determines that good cause as defined by the SBOE exists, the SBOE may adopt an emergency, supplementary, or revised proclamation without complying with the timelines and other requirements of this section.

(l) The SBOE may issue a proclamation for instructional materials eligible for midcycle review. The midcycle adoption process shall follow the same procedures as the regular adoption except to the extent specified in this subsection.

(1) The midcycle proclamation shall include a fee not to exceed $10,000 for each program or system of instructional materials intended for a certain subject area and grade level or course submitted for midcycle review. Publishers participating in the midcycle review process are responsible for all expenses incurred by their participation.

(2) A publisher that intends to offer instructional materials for midcycle review shall commit to provide the instructional materials to school districts in the manner specified by the publisher. The manner in which instructional materials are provided may include:

(A) providing the instructional materials to any district in a regional education service center area identified by the publisher; or

(B) providing a certain maximum number of instructional materials specified by the publisher.

(3) The publisher of instructional materials submitted for midcycle review shall enter into a contract with the SBOE for a term that ends at the same time as any contract entered into by the SBOE for instructional materials for the same subject and grade level.

(4) The publisher of instructional materials submitted for midcycle review is not required to provide samples to education service centers or school districts as specified in the TEC, §31.027.

(5) The publisher of instructional materials submitted for midcycle review shall make available one electronic examination copy of each submitted instructional materials product, including materials intended for teacher use and ancillaries, to each SBOE member upon that member's request, beginning on the date in the adoption schedule when publishers file their samples at the TEA. The state does not guarantee return of these SBOE-requested materials.

Source Note: The provisions of this §66.27 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 7236; amended to be effective September 1, 1997, 22 TexReg 3779; amended to be effective March 4, 2001, 26 TexReg 1706; amended to be effective October 12, 2006, 31 TexReg 8354; amended to be effective December 25, 2007, 32 TexReg 9611; amended to be effective February 22, 2010, 35 TexReg 1454; amended to be effective July 8, 2012, 37 TexReg 4911; amended to be effective May 5, 2016, 41 TexReg 3137; amended to be effective March 27, 2018, 43 TexReg 1846; amended to be effectiveMarch 24, 2020, 45 TexReg 1989