Board reviews sweeping K–12 social studies rewrite; staff briefs board on textbook adoption and report‑card timing

Department staff and committee members presented a comprehensive rewrite of the K–12 social studies course of study and outlined the related textbook‑adoption process.

Marsha Gearby (instruction, Gadsden City Schools) told the board the committee began with public feedback and identified recurring challenges: teachers said they do not have enough time to cover too many standards in depth, the state needed more Alabama‑centered content, and the seventh‑grade sequencing caused transfer and counseling issues.

"We started the work before we met in person by soliciting feedback and insight from educators of all levels across the state," Gearby said, and the committee said it had reviewed every comment and sought to address concerns about pacing and depth.

Key course changes presented to the board include:

- Greater Alabama focus and earlier embedding of state connections in grades 3–5. - Sixth grade reimagined as a bridge year to align elementary and secondary sequences. - World history expanded across grades 7–9 so teachers can cover material in greater depth. - High‑school US history shifted to include more modern events (presenters cited adding content such as 9/11 and a standard describing national elections "from 1992 to the present"). - New electives: Alabama studies, Holocaust studies and historical studies (a research/writing framework course) to give students choices for in‑depth study.

Committee members said they added readability features (color coding and icons) and made standards more specific to support new teachers and counselors. Ebony King (Desroyal High School) said the design helps practitioners quickly find civics, geography, economics and history connections.

Board members raised questions about where and how contemporary presidents and local leaders are taught. Staff answered that community and civic leaders are identified in early grades and that grade 11 includes a standard requiring discussion of national elections from 1992 to the present.

Staff then briefed the board on the textbook‑adoption process: textbook committees (23 members) use a rubric with nonnegotiables, alignment checks, classroom utility, and an additional criteria tier to rate materials; only titles meeting expectations are recommended. During the review stage the packet is confidential and the department cautioned that discussing confidential textbook content outside the legal process can violate state law and result in penalties.

The department said local districts make final adoption choices from the state‑approved list; if the state rejects a title, a local board cannot use state textbook funds to purchase it. Staff also noted work with a digital portal (Publishers Warehouse) to provide districts with review scores and comments to help local selection.

Separately, staff told the board the state report card will be publicly released on Nov. 22 at 3:00 p.m.; district‑level validation of data is ongoing. Staff also said the legislature provided a one‑time increase in per‑textbook funding to assist districts during the science adoption cycle.

Presenters asked the public to use the department’s superintendent@alsde.edu address for follow‑up questions and to submit additional comments during the open period.