SECTION 66.63. Report of the Commissioner of Education

(a) State review panels appointed by the commissioner of education shall review all instructional materials submitted for consideration for adoption. The commissioner shall prepare a preliminary report on instructional materials under consideration for adoption that includes the following:

(1) the findings of the review panels regarding Texas essential knowledge and skills (TEKS) or Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines (TPG) and English language proficiency standards (ELPS) coverage; and

(2) alleged factual errors identified by state review panels.

(b) The preliminary report will be provided to publishers participating in the review process. According to the schedule of adoption procedures, a publisher with a product that meets one of the criteria in subsection (d) of this section shall be given an opportunity for a show-cause hearing if the publisher elects to protest the commissioner's preliminary report.

(c) The show-cause hearing is a formal opportunity for a publisher to present evidence that the preliminary report does not accurately reflect the extent to which the content provided to the state review panels addresses the required TEKS or TPG and/or designated ELPS. The show-cause hearing is not a forum to address complaints alleging procedural irregularities or violations of statutes or rules.

(d) To be eligible for a show-cause hearing, a product must meet the requirements of §66.41(b) of this title (relating to Adding Content During the Panel Review) regarding eligibility to provide new content and, upon completion of the final review, be identified as meeting:

(1) at least 95% of the TEKS or TPG coverage percentage indicated by the publisher on the correlation document for that product; or

(2) less than 50% of the TEKS or TPG for the subject and grade for which the product is intended and/or less than 100% of the ELPS designated for the subject and grade for which the product is intended.

(e) Upon the conclusion of the period of time designated for show-cause hearings, the commissioner shall submit to the State Board of Education (SBOE) a final report regarding TEKS or TPG and ELPS coverage, alleged factual errors identified by either the publisher or the review panel, and information regarding whether a publisher on the list has refused to rebid instructional materials according to §66.72 of this title (relating to Contracts).

Source Note: The provisions of this §66.63 adopted to be effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 7236; 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 March 13, 2014, 39 TexReg 1709; amended to be effective May 5, 2016, 41 TexReg 3137; amended to be effective March 24, 2020, 45 TexReg 1989