According to ECISD Superintendent Dr. Muri, the conversation will continue as to what's next to improve the quality of Texas teachers to benefit their students.   The Texas State Board of Education vetoed the new teacher certification exam, edTPA, on Friday.  Texas State Board members felt the exam would limit teachers entering the workplace in the current presence of a teacher shortage.   "We all understand we're in the middle of a teacher shortage not only in our state but our nation as well," said Dr. Scott Muri, ECISD Superintendent. view article

During last week’s State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting, the Board voted to veto four of five charters approved by Commissioner of Education Mike Morath as well as State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rules proposing the edTPA be used as a certification licensure exam for Texas teacher candidates. The board also had an opportunity to recognize and hear from the 2022 Texas Teachers of the Year. view article

The Texas State Board of Education Friday again rejected an application of a Houston charter school whose founder gave money to a political action committee that backed anti-critical race theory candidates for the board and whose board member accused organizers of the Women’s March of trying to impose Sharia in America. The Heritage Classical Academy, which had plans to open in 2023 using a curriculum developed by the conservative Christian Hillsdale College, was one of four applicants for charters that were rejected by the board this week. The elected body made up of nine Republicans and six Democrats did move forward with a new charter school in Fort Worth, the Academy of Visual Performing Arts for sixth to twelfth grade students. The Heritage charter’s application has been vetoed multiple times, most recently in June 2021. Members voted 8 to 6 on Friday to deny its application after a lengthy debate on the issue the day before. view article

The Texas State Board of Education is preparing for a once-in-a-decade rewrite of the state’s social studies curriculum, at a time when education politics is especially heated amid a push from conservative groups to reign in discussions about topics like racism and gender. The board had been initially expected to unveil the new draft curriculum for its June meetings, happening this week, but delayed the release until next month. It’s now set to delve into the overhaul in a special meeting in late July, with public testimony. Keven Ellis, the chair of the board and a Lufkin Republican, said he’s hopeful the board can avoid being drawn into a messy fight, given the national debates.  “We’re going to have — because of what’s happening in our country right now — a lot of testimony around that and a lot of input and a lot of discussion,” Ellis said. “But I want to focus on what our students need.” view article

The Texas Education Agency, at the request of the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), has been working with various groups of educators to review and revise the K-8 Technology Applications TEKS and four high school computer science courses. At the April board meeting, the SBOE approved the revisions on first reading. This triggered a required period for the public to provide comments on the new TEKS. The board will vote to approve the revised standards at their June meeting. Below is a brief summary of their work with instructions on how you can provide feedback to the board. I have also included a link to the proposed TEKS at the bottom of this post. view article

Homeowners in some of the region’s fastest-growing communities are feeling ‘sticker shock’ as notices of their home’s appraised value start arriving in the mail this week. In a press release, the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts announced ‘historic growth in Texas real estate values’ with regions experiencing increases in values between 10-50% since last year, including 23.55% in DFW. The increase is due, in part, to massive population growth and competition for fewer homes. Collin County homeowner James Anning just about got the wind knocked out of him after opening his home’s appraisal notice.    (20) view article

With three top leaders in education as panelists, guests of the Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce’s “State of Education” luncheon were able to get a glimpse of the cooperative synergy unfolding between Kerrville Independent School District, Schreiner University and Alamo Colleges. From Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment programs to vocational education and certification efforts, all three entities shared how they work together and independently toward helping students succeed upon graduation. Kerrville ISD KISD Superintendent Dr. Mark Foust said the district serves 4,800 students over 161 square miles at various levels, including early childhood education, elementary and secondary schools, as well as through the district’s Alternative Education Center. The district operates with approximately 700 employees, half of which are teachers, and on a budget of $43 million. view article

School districts are not required to adopt the agency’s recommendations but can use them as guidance as they develop new procedures or alter their policies for selecting or removing library books.  The Texas Education Agency released statewide standards Monday for how school districts should remove and prevent “obscene content” from entering Texas public school libraries.  In the agency’s model policy, there is an emphasis that parents should have a role in how books are selected. The agency says that districts should make new selections readily available for parents to review. School librarians or staff should be “encouraged” to ask parents what their children can and cannot read. view article

AUSTIN, Texas – April 8, 2022 – At its April meeting, the State Board of Education voted to significantly increase instruction in Texas History. The board directed its Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) review work groups to include Texas-specific standards in Kindergarten-Grade 2, Grade 6, and Grade 8, and to keep Texas-specific standards as a focus for Grade 7. Currently, Texas History is taught in Grades 4 and 7; with this significant increase, students will study Texas and the people and events that define it in most grade levels prior to high school. The next step is for the board’s TEKS review work groups to develop recommendations for the specific standards to be included at each grade level. view article

Texas may change how your child understands biology when taught in a public high school classroom. The Texas' Board of Education tentatively approved changes to portions of the states Biology curriculum. Instead of asking Texas public school students to “evaluate” scientific explanations for the origins of DNA and the complexity of certain cells, the state will now ask that the students "examine" the scientific explanations for the origins of DNA and complexity of certain cells. In the past, some educators have argued that the word "evaluate" encouraged students to challenge the scientific theory of evolution and opened the door to teaching creationism. view article

The Georgetown Board of Trustees has hired Fred Brent as the district's newest superintendent. view article