Public Hearing on Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development, Subchapter O, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, §§127.788-127.794

April 5, 2022

COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION

SUMMARY: A public hearing before the State Board of Education (SBOE) is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in the William B. Travis Building, Room 1-104. Testimony will be presented regarding proposed new 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 127, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Career Development, Subchapter O, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, §127.788, Fundamentals of Computer Science (One Credit), Adopted 2022, §127.789, Computer Science I (One Credit), Adopted 2022, §127.790, Computer Science II (One Credit), Adopted 2022, and §127.791, Computer Science III (One Credit), Adopted 2022; §127.792, Foundations of Cybersecurity (One Credit), Adopted 2022, §127.793, Digital Forensics (One Credit), Adopted 2022, §127.794, Cybersecurity Capstone (One Credit), Adopted 2022. In accordance with SBOE operating procedures, oral testimony will be limited to two minutes per person.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4); 28.002(a), (c), (c-3), and (f)(2); and 28.025(a), (c-1)(1) and (c-10).

TEC, §7.102(c)(4), requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish curriculum and graduation requirements.

TEC, §28.002(a), identifies the subjects of the required curriculum.

TEC, §28.002(c), requires the SBOE to by rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum that all students should be able to demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating instructional materials and addressed on the state assessment instruments.

TEC, §28.002(c-3), requires the SBOE to adopt rules for technology applications in kindergarten through grade 8 that include coding, computer programming, computational thinking, and cybersecurity.

TEC, §28.002(f)(2), requires the SBOE to approve courses in cybersecurity for credit for high school graduation.

TEC, §28.025(a), requires the SBOE to by rule determine the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school graduation program that are consistent with the required curriculum under TEC, §28.002, and to designate the specific courses in the foundation curriculum that are required under the foundation high school program.

TEC, §28.025(c-1)(1), establishes that an endorsement may be earned in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), which includes courses related to science, including environmental science; technology, including computer science, cybersecurity, and computer coding; engineering; and advanced mathematics.

TEC, §28.025(c-10), requires the SBOE to adopt or select five technology applications courses on cybersecurity to be included in a cybersecurity pathway for the STEM endorsement.

The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: The 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, passed House Bill (HB) 3593, requiring that the SBOE approve courses in cybersecurity for credit for high school graduation. The legislation also added cybersecurity and computer coding to the courses to be included in a STEM endorsement and required that the SBOE adopt or select five technology applications courses on cybersecurity to be included in a cybersecurity pathway for the STEM endorsement.

In August 2018, a committee of secondary and postsecondary educators and business and industry representatives was selected to develop recommended TEKS for new cybersecurity courses for the required pathway. In April 2019, the SBOE approved for second reading and final adoption TEKS for two new cybersecurity courses, Foundations of Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity Capstone. At the June 2019 meeting, the board approved revisions to the TEKS for the existing Digital Forensics course so that it would better align with the new pathway. In 2020, the SBOE approved the consolidation of the high school technology applications courses, which included these three courses, into the CTE TEKS. A discussion of proposed new TEKS for these STEM courses was presented to the board at the January 2022 SBOE meeting.

Proposed new 19 TAC §§127.788-127.794 is presented for first reading and filing authorization as a separate item in this agenda.

Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner, Standards and Programs
Shelly Ramos, Senior Director, Curriculum Standards and Student Support