The Texas Education Agency’s new curriculum could potentially save taxpayers money.
TEA released a new state-wide curriculum, marking the first time Texas is a publisher of instructional materials.
The coursework was created under the Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) process.
Through IMRA, proposed instructional materials are run through the system’s process and procedures, and their outputs are reviewed in a quality rubric score that details whether they will provide quality educational value in a classroom, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
State Board of Education Member Julie Pickren (R-Pearland) told DX the new curriculum is a “return to basics.”
“It’s bringing back a classical education in the public school setting and then raising the bar on academic rigor,” said Pickren.
Typically, school districts must pay publishers to use their instructional material. However, TEA is offering its curriculum to Texas educators for free.
“School districts spend a lot of tax dollars on instructional materials,” said Pickren. “I mean, it can go from the thousands to the millions what school districts are spending on instructional materials, so the fact that the states already paid for it and it’s free is huge for the local taxpayer.”
By opening up the opportunity for school districts to reallocate money spent on instructional materials, money could be directed toward alleviating teachers’ financial pressure.
“If the school district is already paying teachers a great wage, then it could be [put towards] lowering property taxes for the local school district because they’re not having to spend all that money on instructional materials,” Pickren told DX.
Additionally, the new curriculum provides the teachers with already-created lesson plans instead of relying on educators to create their own.
“Teachers have had to spend so much of their personal time putting lessons together,” explained Pickren. “This is huge for teachers because it gives them back their personal time outside of the classroom.”
Pickren added that supplying teachers with lesson plans ensures that students are being presented with rigorous and challenging coursework to help them develop their critical thinking skills from an early age.
By boosting a teacher’s salary and taking the burden off of additional lesson planning in their free time, the TEA is targeting two major factors that have led to a recent historic teacher attrition rate in Texas.
A TEA study shows that the attrition rate in Texas rose to a record high of 13.4% between the fall of 2021 and the fall of 2022, as previously reported by DX.
The state-wide coursework also ensures that students receive the same education regardless of where they are located in the state.
“The problem with the academic rigor that we have seen throughout Texas is it varies so greatly from district to district, and the way the Texas economy is now, people tend to move a lot,” said Pickren.
“Parents are really seeing this. They’re saying, ‘Okay, in one district, my child was at this reading grade level, and then I go to another district, and they’re behind.’ Or, ‘I moved to another, and they’re ahead.’ The state providing instructional materials, especially in the lower grades…where kids are learning how to read, is going to provide a standard throughout the state.”
All of a student’s learning materials, worksheets, and teacher guides will be available online for parents to view in an effort to increase transparency between educators and parents.
While Pickren said she’s received lots of positive feedback and appreciation from teachers, the new instructional material does not come without criticism.
Religious references in the educational material have sparked debate among parents.
The program review guide for K-5 reading language arts explains that religious source material is added to lesson plans to “give students access to rich texts that further their understanding of our society.”
The guide lists each religious text students will encounter, including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and more.
“It is important to note that including content from or about religious source material in these instructional materials is not for the purpose of advancing any particular religious belief,” reads the program review guide. “Rather, it is included for the literary and historical value of the content and its connection to creating a strong background of knowledge for students.”
The curriculum is undergoing its final set of reviews after years of development and planning.
