Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3487 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R12534 KJE-F
2	2	By: Huberty H.B. No. 3487
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of an instructional materials web portal
8	8	by the commissioner of education.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subchapter B-2 to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER B-2. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL
13	13	Sec. 31.081. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL. (a) The
14	14	commissioner shall develop and maintain a web portal to assist
15	15	school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in selecting
16	16	instructional materials under Section 31.101.
17	17	(b) The web portal must include general information such as
18	18	price, computer system requirements, and any other relevant
19	19	specifications for each instructional material:
20	20	(1) on the instructional materials list, including the
21	21	list adopted under Section 31.0231; or
22	22	(2) submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web
23	23	portal.
24	24	(c) The commissioner by rule shall establish the procedure
25	25	by which a publisher may submit instructional materials for
26	26	inclusion in the web portal.
27	27	(d) The commissioner shall use a competitive process to
28	28	contract for the development of the web portal.
29	29	Sec. 31.082. QUALITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED
30	30	BY PUBLISHER. (a) The commissioner shall contract with a private
31	31	entity to conduct an independent analysis of each instructional
32	32	material submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web portal
33	33	developed under Section 31.081. The analysis must:
34	34	(1) evaluate the quality of the material; and
35	35	(2) determine the extent to which the material covers
36	36	the essential knowledge and skills identified under Section 28.002
37	37	for the subject and grade level for which the material is intended
38	38	to be used, including an identification of:
39	39	(A) each of the essential knowledge and skills
40	40	for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the material;
41	41	and
42	42	(B) the percentage of the essential knowledge and
43	43	skills for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the
44	44	material.
45	45	(b) The commissioner shall include in the web portal
46	46	developed under Section 31.081 the results of each analysis
47	47	conducted under Subsection (a).
48	48	Sec. 31.083. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS REPOSITORY. (a) In
49	49	this section, "open educational resource" means a teaching,
50	50	learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has
51	51	been released under an intellectual property license that permits
52	52	the free use and repurposing of the resource by any person. The
53	53	term may include full course curricula, course materials, modules,
54	54	textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools,
55	55	materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
56	56	(b) The commissioner shall include in the web portal
57	57	developed under Section 31.081 a repository of open educational
58	58	resources and other electronic instructional materials that school
59	59	districts and open-enrollment charter schools may access at no
60	60	cost, including state-developed open-source instructional
61	61	materials purchased under Subchapter B-1.
62	62	(c) A publisher may submit instructional materials for
63	63	inclusion in the repository.
64	64	Sec. 31.084. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
65	65	necessary to implement this subchapter.
66	66	SECTION 2. Section 31.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
67	67	read as follows:
68	68	(b) To determine whether each student has instructional
69	69	materials that cover all elements of the essential knowledge and
70	70	skills as required by Subsection (a), a school district or
71	71	open-enrollment charter school may consider:
72	72	(1) instructional materials adopted by the State Board
73	73	of Education;
74	74	(2) materials adopted or purchased by the commissioner
75	75	under Section 31.0231 or Subchapter B-1;
76	76	(3) open-source instructional materials submitted by
77	77	eligible institutions and adopted by the State Board of Education
78	78	under Section 31.0241;
79	79	(4) open-source instructional materials made
80	80	available by other public schools; [and]
81	81	(5) instructional materials developed or purchased by
82	82	the school district or open-enrollment charter school; and
83	83	(6) open educational resources and other electronic
84	84	instructional materials included in the repository under Section
85	85	31.083.
86	86	SECTION 3. Not later than September 1, 2018, the
87	87	commissioner of education shall develop the web portal required
88	88	under Subchapter B-2, Chapter 31, Education Code, as added by this
89	89	Act.
90	90	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
91	91	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
92	92	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
93	93	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
94	94	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.