Texas State Board of Education adopts new operating rules after hours of debate over TEKS reviews, public testimony and ad hoc committees

The Texas State Board of Education on Jan. 28 adopted a revised set of operating rules after extensive debate over how the board will handle TEKS reviews, instructional‑materials procedures, public testimony and the transparency of ad hoc committees.

The rules were approved following several hours of line‑by‑line amendment work by the board in Austin. The adoption, made by vote of the full board, establishes procedures for how the board and its committees will review and adopt the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), how the board will accept and distribute written testimony, and how ad hoc committees will share their work with the public.

Why it matters: The operating rules set the board’s internal process for major responsibilities including TEKS review and instructional‑materials consideration. Changes approved at the meeting affect how educators, publishers and members of the public will interact with the review process and how the board’s committees will provide advance notice and materials for their work.

What the board adopted

- TEKS review procedures: The board added explicit language saying its committee process includes “adoption of procedures and processes related to TEKS reviews and adoptions.” That language, proposed and repeated in multiple motions by Member Maynard, is intended to make clear the board’s role in establishing the practical steps and work groups used during TEKS revision work.

- Instructional‑materials language: Members removed older “proclamation” wording from the rules and replaced it with a reference to “review and adoption of instructional materials pursuant to the board’s internal process and adoption of related processes and rubrics,” a change board members tied to implementation of House Bill 1605 (as discussed during the meeting) and to the board’s newer instructional‑materials review process (IMRA). Legal staff advised the board that proclamations still exist in the Education Code for certain TEKS‑triggered…