Texas State Senator Dan Patrick (R-Houston), chair of the Texas Senate Education Committee, announced the end of CSCOPE through a press release issued this morning. This comes prior to a vote that was supposed to occur today in the Texas House. He said that a letter signed by all 20 members of the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC) Board stated this morning that they would notify their 875 school district clients that all of their lesson plans will be removed from their website on August 31st, 2013 and that school districts cannot use any lessons they currently have beyond that date. They also state that the 20 Regional Service Centers will not produce lessons in the future and that they will go back to just providing a management tool for teachers to stay on schedule in regards to teaching TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) in their classrooms.
The August 31st date, the letter says, corresponds with a notice clause that they have in their contract with school districts.
“I’m pleased that the CSCOPE Board has made the decision to get out of the lesson plan business. This is a positive development for students, parents, teachers, and for the Regional Service Centers,” said Senator Patrick. “I want to thank the members of the Senate Education Committee for their months of work on this issue. I also want to thank Attorney General Abbott and his staff in providing valuable assistance in our review of CSCOPE.”
“Once the TESCCC officially approves this measure Friday I will notify the SBOE that they do not need to review the 1600 CSCOPE lesson plans. The CSCOPE era is over. However, what the last several months has proven is that the state will have to create a plan to monitor all on line material in the future so that our schools and classroom remain completely transparent to parents and the legislature knows what is being taught in our classrooms across Texas,” Senator Patrick added.
The official vote will take place at a previously scheduled board meeting on May 24th.
HT: Adam Cahman
NotFooled says
Yes, but what about the instructional materials and assessments…that is where the true danger lies. The lessons are just a distraction from the real problem. For example, students will still be going to websites such as “The Islam Project” to get supposed “fair and balance” information. And they will still be taking assessment with questions and answers that slowly indoctrinate them into a socialist, atheist mindset.
Shane Vander Hart says
Who provides the assessments? Who determines the instructional material? It seems to me that the instructional material would be a local issue. The assessments wouldn’t they align with TEKS?