After announcing a set of changes scheduled for the third year of the Reading Academies in 2022-23,TEA recently shared information on how it will provide more flexibility for educators:

During its meeting last week, the State Board of Education voted to significantly increase instruction in Texas History. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills social studies review work groups were directed to include Texas-specific standards in Kindergarten-Grade 2, Grade 6 and Grade 8. Texas-specific standards will remain a focus for Grade 7.

Work groups will develop recommendations for the specific standards to be included at each grade level. SBOE members will discuss proposed revisions to the social studies TEKS at their June meeting and are expected to adopt final revisions in November. Click here to read more.

TRS Chief Benefit Officer Barbie Pearson joined TCTA last week to discuss what educators need to know to get ready for retirement, including time frames and resources available on the TRS website. If you missed the live webinar, you can click here to watch it now.

Save the date and join us at 6 p.m. CDT May 3 for the next Tuesdays with TCTA webinar. Our staff attorneys will review what should be on your end-of-year checklist and discuss summer/off-calendar professional development and training. Click here to register and submit questions.

The Texas Education Agency released recommended statewide standards Monday for Texas public school libraries.

TEA's guidelines say districts should make new selections readily available for parents to review and that school librarians or staff should be “encouraged” to ask parents what their children can and cannot read. They also suggest that school boards have final approval of new books and that a committee be put in place to review books if parents file a formal “request for reconsideration.”

School districts are allowed to set their own policies for library content and are not required to adopt the agency’s recommendations, which were released in response to Gov. Greg Abbott's request for TEA, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and State Board of Education to develop guidelines to ensure that “inappropriate” or “pornographic” materials are not in Texas public school libraries.

Current efforts to review books in Texas school libraries are playing out across the country. The American Library Association recently released its list of the Top 10 most challenged books of 2021:

Last year, the ALA said it recorded 729 challenges to library, school and university materials and services — up from 156 and 377 challenges reported to the ALA in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Watch your mailbox! TCTA's Spring issue of The Classroom Teacher has more information about the current efforts to ban books. It will be mailed soon.

A complaint was filed against a teacher with the State Board for Educator Certification, alleging that the teacher's certificate should be sanctioned for inappropriate text messages with a student.

After considering the evidence, an administrative law judge determined that the teacher's actions violated two provisions of the Educator's Code of Ethics, specifically that the teacher failed to comply with local school board policies and failed to refrain from inappropriate communications with a student. SBEC members ordered that the teacher's certificate be suspended for two years. Click here to read more.

Voters statewide will decide whether to amend the Texas Constitution to lower some property taxes in a May 7 special election.

Many school districts and city councils also have seats on the May 7 ballot. Early voting is April 25 to May 3. Some school board elections are particularly heated this year, with candidates running on issues such as what books should be in school libraries and parental rights. The winners will have a lot to do with what happens in your districts going forward, so research the candidates and vote. In elections like these where turnout is usually low, educators can have a big impact. Click here to see what's on your ballot.

The Biden administration announced last week that it is extending the moratorium on federal student loan payments, interest and collections until Aug. 31. The U.S. Department of Education also unveiled a plan to reset nearly 7 million borrowers who are in default. Click here to read more.

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