BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1484

By: Taylor, Larry

Public Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties suggest that public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools would benefit from a tool that assists them in selecting instructional materials. S.B. 1484 seeks to provide that tool by requiring the commissioner of education to develop and maintain an instructional materials web portal that includes a repository of open educational resources and other electronic instructional materials.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the commissioner of education in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1484 amends the Education Code to require the commissioner of education to develop not later than September 1, 2018, and maintain a web portal to assist public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in selecting instructional materials. The bill requires the web portal to include general information such as price, computer system requirements, and any other relevant specifications for each instructional material on the instructional materials list and for each instructional material submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web portal. The bill requires the commissioner to establish by rule the procedure by which a publisher may submit instructional materials for inclusion in the web portal, to use a competitive process to contract for the development of the web portal, and to use money in the state instructional materials fund to pay any expenses associated with the web portal.

S.B. 1484 requires the commissioner to contract with a private entity to conduct an independent analysis of each instructional material submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web portal and to include in the web portal the results of each analysis. The bill requires the analysis to evaluate the quality of the material and to determine the extent to which the material covers the essential knowledge and skills for the subject and grade level for which the material is intended to be used. The bill requires the commissioner to include in the web portal a repository of open educational resources and other electronic instructional materials that districts and charter schools may access at no cost, including state-developed open-source instructional materials. The bill defines "open educational resource" as a teaching, learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has been released under an intellectual property license that permits the free use and repurposing of the resource by any person. The bill authorizes a publisher to submit instructional materials for inclusion in the repository. The bill authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules as necessary to implement the bill's provisions relating to the instructional materials web portal.

S.B. 1484 authorizes a district or charter school, for the purpose of determining whether each student has instructional materials that cover all elements of the applicable essential knowledge and skills, to consider open educational resources and other electronic instructional materials included in the repository included in the web portal.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2017.