AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

S.B. 1211 intends to address an often overlooked part of the textbook selection process for public schools.  School districts may use their instructional materials allotment to purchase content from a variety of sources, not necessarily scrutinized through the public State Board of Education (SBOE) review process.  SBOE may not exclude a text from its approved textbook list if a strong bias does not rise to the level of factual error. Furthermore, after the review process is complete, publishers can revise these adopted texts as long as the revision does not affect a TEKS-bearing passage for which they received credit. Following approval by SBOE, a textbook must be certified by a local school board as addressing all TEKS.  As part of this process, some school districts lay out hard copies of proposed textbooks for review by local parents. This presents a substantial accessibility issue as a parent must leave their place of employment during normal business hours and review these materials during school hours.  Moreover, school districts are not required to have a local period of public comment for textbooks selected by the local school board.

 

As a result, a local school board of trustees could certify that purchased materials address all TEKS without the selected textbook being subject to any substantive public comment from local parents.  S.B. 1211 would ensure that all interested parties have an opportunity to review textbooks selected by the local school board before they are used in the classroom.

 

As proposed, S.B. 1211 amends current law relating to procedures for the review and selection of certain instructional materials by public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 31, Education Code, by adding Section 31.1011, as follows:

 

Sec. 31.1011.  LOCAL REVIEW AND SELECTION.  (a)  Requires each board of trustees of a school district and governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to adopt procedures for selecting instructional materials that apply to the selection of instructional materials for English language arts, health, science, and social studies.

 

(b)  Requires that the procedures adopted under Subsection (a) include procedures for:

 

(1)  providing public notice of any instructional material scheduled for review and selection;

 

(2)  providing public access, including electronic access if available, to the instructional material scheduled for review and selection; and

 

(3)  conducting a public meeting and allowing public comment regarding any instructional material scheduled for review and selection.

 

(c)  Requires that the procedures adopted, for purposes of Subsection (b)(2), grant public access to the instructional material for at least 30 days before the date the district or school officially selects the instructional material.

 

(d)  Requires a school district or open-enrollment charter school to use the procedures adopted as required by this section during the year in which instructional material for a subject described by Subsection (a) is selected.

 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2015.