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• Received a rare briefing from Education Commissioner Mike Morath. Morath, who described what he believes needs to be done to reverse what he
  
  called the “catastrophic declines” in student achievement levels in the aftermath of COVID-19.

  “We’ve got to get a lot better, faster,” Morath said, adding that unless something is done, we can assume that the 5.5 million students enrolled in Texas schools can expect to see a 6 percent reduction in their lifetime earnings.

  The commissioner noted that as a result of the learning loses due to the pandemic, 3rd grade reading achievement slipped by 7 percentage points, and declined 18 percentage points for math — and 8th grade math slipped by 19 percent.

  Morath called teachers — especially “high quality teachers” the single most important factor that impacts student outcomes, and that beginning teachers — who are less effective because they have not yet gained the required experience — are too often assigned to struggling student populations.

  Beginning teachers, and teachers with 1 to 5 years experience, have the highest attrition rates, according to data shared by Morath with the board.

  Morath said that effective policies, including better teacher training, could reduce the attrition rates, and in turn the need to hire an additional 3,500 teachers in a school year.

  Morath, among other things, called for increased rigor in teacher preparation programs — and pointed to the teacher incentive allotment, district of innovation, and grow-your-own efforts (to encourage paraprofessionals and high school students to become teachers) — as promising solutions.

  Time was not allotted after the commissioner’s comments for questions by SBEC board members.

• Adopted rules — Gave final adoption to three rules, subject to State Board of Education clearance later this month.

  One of the most discussed, and controversial of the rules revises the criteria for SBEC to issue sanctions for educators who “abandon” their contract by resigning after the deadline to do so.

  The adopted rule (agenda/final version) includes additional mitigating factors that could be used in reducing the length of a sanction, and clarifies the “good cause” reasons why an educator’s contract would not be sanctioned.

  SBEC will continue to consider sanctioning an educator for contract abandonment only when a referral is made to SBEC by the educator’s school board, subject to the provisions in the rule.

  The other two adopted rules:

  -- Updates requirements for individuals seeking Texas certification who would otherwise have to demonstrate English language proficiency to be exempt from the requirement (agenda/final version), and

  -- Adds the space force to the list of U.S. armed forces branches that would allow service members, their spouses, and veterans to get credit toward educator certification requirements for clinical and professional experience (agenda/final version).

• Proposed rules — Tentatively approved these four rules for public comment (Feb. 11), with additional public comments allowed when the board takes a final vote on the rules at its Feb. 11 meeting:

  -- Revises (agenda) several provisions related to educator preparation programs, including by giving them the flexibility to conduct certain required formal observations virtually.

  -- Updates (agenda) requirements for individuals certified in other states to qualify for a Texas educator certificate.

  -- Revises (agenda) continuing professional education (CPE) requirements.

  -- Updates (agenda) the requirements for the certification of educators from other countries.

  Click here for the final versions of the proposed rules that were approved for public comment.

• Revised (agenda) some of the language on the surveys given to principals and to beginning teachers that are used as ratings indicators in the Accountability System for Educator Preparation (ASEP).

• Approved (agenda) a new educator preparation program for the International Leadership Texas (IL Texas) charter district that is headquartered in Dallas County.

  The proposal was criticized in testimony — and in a letter to the board — by the state’s four major teacher groups, who asked that the vote be postponed due to concerns over the charter’s track record with teacher turnover and retention.

  After some discussion, the board voted to approve the item, after hearing from the applicant about the charter’s need for teachers.

• Extensively discussed (agenda) the edTPA (“educative” Teacher Performance Assessment) — a Pearson Education assessment that has been piloted in Texas for the past three years to be a replacement for the pedagogy and professional responsibilities (PPR) certification exams. This item will return to the board in February.

  Click here and here for summary info about the Texas edTPA pilot.