Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1484 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Taylor of Galveston, et al. S.B. No. 1484
2		-	(Huberty)
	1	+	By: Taylor of Galveston S.B. No. 1484
3	2
4	3
5	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	5		AN ACT
7	6		relating to the creation of an instructional materials web portal
8	7		by the commissioner of education.
9	8		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	9		SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Education Code, is amended by adding
11	10		Subchapter B-2 to read as follows:
12	11		SUBCHAPTER B-2. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL
13	12		Sec. 31.081. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS WEB PORTAL. (a) The
14	13		commissioner shall develop and maintain a web portal to assist
15	14		school districts and open-enrollment charter schools in selecting
16	15		instructional materials under Section 31.101.
17	16		(b) The web portal must include general information such as
18	17		price, computer system requirements, and any other relevant
19	18		specifications for each instructional material:
20	19		(1) on the instructional materials list, including the
21	20		list adopted under Section 31.0231; or
22	21		(2) submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web
23	22		portal.
24	23		(c) The commissioner by rule shall establish the procedure
25	24		by which a publisher may submit instructional materials for
26	25		inclusion in the web portal.
27	26		(d) The commissioner shall use a competitive process to
28	27		contract for the development of the web portal.
29	28		(e) The commissioner shall use money in the state
30	29		instructional materials fund to pay any expenses associated with
31	30		the web portal.
32	31		Sec. 31.082. QUALITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SUBMITTED
33	32		BY PUBLISHER. (a) The commissioner shall contract with a private
34	33		entity to conduct an independent analysis of each instructional
35	34		material submitted by a publisher for inclusion in the web portal
36	35		developed under Section 31.081. The analysis must:
37	36		(1) evaluate the quality of the material; and
38	37		(2) determine the extent to which the material covers
39	38		the essential knowledge and skills identified under Section 28.002
40	39		for the subject and grade level for which the material is intended
41	40		to be used, including an identification of:
42	41		(A) each of the essential knowledge and skills
43	42		for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the material;
44	43		and
45	44		(B) the percentage of the essential knowledge and
46	45		skills for the subject and grade level or levels covered by the
47	46		material.
48	47		(b) The commissioner shall include in the web portal
49	48		developed under Section 31.081 the results of each analysis
50	49		conducted under Subsection (a).
51	50		Sec. 31.083. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS REPOSITORY. (a) In
52	51		this section, "open educational resource" means a teaching,
53	52		learning, or research resource that is in the public domain or has
54	53		been released under an intellectual property license that permits
55	54		the free use and repurposing of the resource by any person. The
56	55		term may include full course curricula, course materials, modules,
57	56		textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools,
58	57		materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.
59	58		(b) The commissioner shall include in the web portal
60	59		developed under Section 31.081 a repository of open educational
61	60		resources and other electronic instructional materials that school
62	61		districts and open-enrollment charter schools may access at no
63	62		cost, including state-developed open-source instructional
64	63		materials purchased under Subchapter B-1.
65	64		(c) A publisher may submit instructional materials for
66	65		inclusion in the repository.
67	66		Sec. 31.084. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
68	67		necessary to implement this subchapter.
69	68		SECTION 2. Section 31.004(b), Education Code, is amended to
70	69		read as follows:
71	70		(b) To determine whether each student has instructional
72	71		materials that cover all elements of the essential knowledge and
73	72		skills as required by Subsection (a), a school district or
74	73		open-enrollment charter school may consider:
75	74		(1) instructional materials adopted by the State Board
76	75		of Education;
77	76		(2) materials adopted or purchased by the commissioner
78	77		under Section 31.0231 or Subchapter B-1;
79	78		(3) open-source instructional materials submitted by
80	79		eligible institutions and adopted by the State Board of Education
81	80		under Section 31.0241;
82	81		(4) open-source instructional materials made
83	82		available by other public schools; [and]
84	83		(5) instructional materials developed or purchased by
85	84		the school district or open-enrollment charter school; and
86	85		(6) open educational resources and other electronic
87	86		instructional materials included in the repository under Section
88	87		31.083.
89	88		SECTION 3. Section 31.021(c), Education Code, is amended to
90	89		read as follows:
91	90		(c) Money in the state instructional materials fund shall be
92	91		used to:
93	92		(1) fund the instructional materials allotment, as
94	93		provided by Section 31.0211;
95	94		(2) purchase special instructional materials for the
96	95		education of blind and visually impaired students in public
97	96		schools;
98	97		(3) pay the expenses associated with the instructional
99	98		materials adoption and review process under this chapter;
100	99		(4) pay the expenses associated with the purchase or
101	100		licensing of open-source instructional material;
102	101		(5) pay the expenses associated with the purchase of
103	102		instructional material, including intrastate freight and shipping
104	103		and the insurance expenses associated with intrastate freight and
105	104		shipping;
106	105		(6) [fund the technology lending grant program
107	106		established under Section 32.201; and
108	107		[(7)] provide funding to the Texas School for the
109	108		Blind and Visually Impaired, the Texas School for the Deaf, and the
110	109		Texas Juvenile Justice Department; and
111	110		(7) pay the expenses associated with the instructional
112	111		materials web portal developed under Section 31.081.
113	112		SECTION 4. Not later than September 1, 2018, the
114	113		commissioner of education shall develop the web portal required
115	114		under Subchapter B-2, Chapter 31, Education Code, as added by this
116	115		Act.
117	116		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
118	117		a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
119	118		provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
120	119		Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
121	120		Act takes effect September 1, 2017.