My state senator Dan Patrick has been leading the investigation on CSCOPE. Here is what he posted on March 12th on FB as an update:
As most of you know I held a hearing on CSCOPE as one of my first actions as Chair of Senate Education in January. Since then I have been able to get the CSCOPE Board of Directors to agree to a number of things that were of concern to parents and legislators. One item was to turn over all of their lesson plans, 1600 in all, to the SBOE for full review. It will take several months or more. There ar...e 82 Social Study lesson plans just for Kindergarten and First Grade alone.
I have worked with the Commissioner of Education, Michael Williams to get the SBOE some help, they do not have paid staff, and with SBOE Chair Barbara Cargill on setting up a team of volunteer expert panels, as they do in textbook review.
Barbara is a terrific Chair of the SBOE and is taking on this big job. You may also know that Senator Campbell and I filed a bill to place CSCOPE, if it survives after the review, under permanent review by the SBOE.
We will have a hearing on that bill in early April. Here is the press release today from the State Board of Education.
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
March 11, 2013
Concerns have been raised by parents and educators about the CSCOPE curriculum management system. CSCOPE was created by 19 regional education service centers and is now used by more than 800 public school districts and private schools in Texas. The system’s lesson plans, like all lesson plans, are not under the authority of the State Board of Education (SBOE). However, in response to growing public concern, legislative leaders have asked the SBOE to review CSCOPE content.
As a result, SBOE Chair Barbara Cargill has appointed an ad hoc committee to include SBOE members Marty Rowley, R-Amarillo; Mavis Knight, D-Dallas; Pat Hardy, R-Fort Worth; and Tom Maynard, R-Florence. She has also named three members of the CSCOPE governing board to the committee: John Bass, Region 16 in Amarillo, Clyde Steelman, Region 11 in Fort Worth and Elizabeth Abernethy, Region 7 in Kilgore. Marty Rowley will chair the committee. The first organizational meeting will occur in late March. All meetings will be posted as open to the public.
The chair’s ad hoc committee will appoint review panels to examine the CSCOPE instructional content, beginning with social studies. A public process will solicit nominations for the review panels which will be composed of parents, educators, curriculum specialists, business professionals and other stakeholders.
Results of the review will be given to the CSCOPE governing board for its consideration. As the review is voluntarily and non-binding, it will be up to the CSCOPE governing board to decide whether to take any actions based on the results.
“I believe this process will be of great benefit to everyone involved, especially the students, parents, teachers and citizens of Texas,” said SBOE Chair Cargill. “I thank concerned citizens for bringing this issue to light. All instructional materials must be easily accessible to parents, not only to reinforce learning at home but also to assure that quality, error-free content is taught in our classrooms.”
More information:
AUSTIN- State Sen. Dan Patrick, in coordination with the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC), announces significant changes to the CSCOPE curriculum management system.
The TESCCC has worked with Patrick, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and the State Board of Education (SBOE), to address concerns raised at a recent committee hearing on the CSCOPE system. The two parties have agreed to several immediate as well as forthcoming changes.
The changes that take effect immediately include:
•All future meetings of the TESCCC Governing Board, beginning with the February meeting, will be public with all the respective notice requirements being met.
•The TESCCC will begin a joint review process of all CSCOPE lessons with the SBOE beginning with Social Studies.
•Amendment of all Terms of Use Agreements, signed by both teachers and districts, removing civil or criminal penalties associated with the release of CSCOPE content.
•Clarifying that all teachers and districts may post any and all CSCOPE lessons that they deem necessary.
In addition to these immediate transparency and quality control changes, CSCOPE will also undergo structural, governance, and other changes, including:
•Ending the non-profit 501(c)3 arrangement that incorporates CSCOPE.
•Initiating the posting of CSCOPE lesson content to their public website.
•Creating a standing curriculum review panel, comprised of: parents, teachers, school administrators, members of the SBOE, and TESCCC board members.
Finally, CSCOPE is notifying all participating school districts that lessons are not intended to be taught verbatim, and the Governing Board generally recommends that local districts utilize CSCOPE lessons solely as a resource. Until CSCOPE lessons can be reviewed through a collaborative process with the SBOE and TESCCC, districts are strongly encouraged to review all lessons at the local level, to ensure that lessons are appropriate for their students.