Wednesday, March 20, 2013

TEXAS SENATORS TAKE REAL ACTION AGAINST CSCOPE -- SB 1406 - By Donna Garner

The following article is from Donna Garner:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Logan Spence (512) 463-0107
March 7, 2013

TEXAS SENATOR DONNA CAMPBELL AND SENATOR DAN PATRICK FILE CSCOPE BILL  -- SB 1406

AUSTIN— Senator Donna Campbell has joined Senator Dan Patrick as author of SB 1406 that will enact significant reforms of CSCOPE.


CSCOPE, is a teaching management tool with lesson plans that have come under scrutiny with parents, teachers, and legislators over the past year. In February, Senator Patrick conducted a Senate Education Committee hearing with CSCOPE representatives that exposed problems including a lack of management oversight, a lack of transparency, questionable lesson plans, and troubling legal documents.


Since the hearing, Senator Patrick was able to get CSCOPE to agree to the following:

1. Begin the process of closing down the non-profit corporation controlling CSCOPE.
2. Immediately open up all meetings to the public.
3. Begin the process of turning over lessons for review by the SBOE. The first set of lesson plans will be social study lesson plans
4. Begin to put lesson plans on the CSCOPE website and make them easy to locate and read.
5. Establish an oversight board comprised in part by both parents and non-parents.

Senator Patrick and Campbell have filed SB 1406 in order to ensure these reforms are placed in statute. "The agreed-to reforms were a step in the right direction, but they still have much to do and need to do it sooner than later," said Senator Patrick.

"If they don't get their act together soon, they run the risk of having the entire program shut down," said Senator Campbell.

"No educational curriculum should ever leave parents in the dark. This bill ensures parents have access to the material and that it's correct, credible, and consistent with what Texans want taught in our schools," Sen. Campbell said. "CSCOPE must go through the same rigorous review process as our textbooks."

"My recommendation is that CSCOPE remove itself from supplying lesson plans to school districts and go back to the original mission of the supplying a management tool for teachers to keep them on pace to teach the TEKS as required," said Patrick. "If they continue to supply lesson plans that are flawed, incorrect, or raise concerns about content, they risk closure of the entire program.

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Texas Legislature Online – SB 1406 – Sen. Donna Campbell, Sen. Dan Patrick:




By:  Patrick, Campbell                                                                                       S.B. No. 1406

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to State Board of Education oversight of regional education service center services and products concerning student curriculum.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 8, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 8.0531 to read as follows:
Sec. 8.0531.  STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION OVERSIGHT OF CURRICULUM-RELATED SERVICES AND PRODUCTS.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter or Section 8.001(c), the State Board of Education shall maintain oversight and direction of the activities of a regional education service center, acting alone or in collaboration with one or more other regional education service centers, concerning:
(1)  any service or product related to student curriculum, or;
(2)  integration of instructional materials with curriculum management materials for delivery of instructional materials and related materials or aids to enable public access, including parental access, in accordance with Section 26.006.
SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.

Donna Garner

2 comments:

  1. CSCOPE needs to be shut down and out of Texas schools, period. Why keep dabbling around with it? They will try to find another way to brainwash the children!

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