English Language Arts Newsletter

Please note that the purpose of this correction newsletter is to provide registration links for the Celebrate Freedom Week Stakeholder Engagement Sessions. The registration links were inadvertently omitted from yesterday’s newsletter.

Thank you for subscribing to the TEA English language arts newsletter.

Today's newsletter provides information related to the following topics:

• Proposed New English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)
• Celebrate Freedom Week: Social Studies Stakeholder Engagement Sessions
• Timely Topic: Beginning of the Year (BOY) Assessments
• Updated Innovative Course Application Timeline
• Texas Virtual School Network (TXVSN) Course Offerings

Proposed New English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)

The State Board of Education (SBOE) gave preliminary approval for proposed new ELPS at the June 2024 SBOE meeting. The official public comment period for the proposed new ELPS opens on August 2, 2024, and will close at 5:00 p.m. on September 3, 2024.

To view the proposed new ELPS and submit public comments, visit the TEA Proposed State Board of Education Rules web page.

The proposed new ELPS would be relocated to 19 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 120, Other Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, Subchapter B, English Language Proficiency Standards. The SBOE will consider the proposal for second reading and final adoption at its September 2024 meeting.

Proposed New 19 TAC Chapter 120, Other Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, Subchapter B, English Language Proficiency Standards

Kindergarten-Grade 3 Proficiency Level Descriptors

Grades 4-12 Proficiency Level Descriptors

Public Comment Period: August 2, 2024 – 5:00 p.m. on September 3, 2024.

Celebrate Freedom Week: Social Studies Stakeholder Engagement Sessions

During Celebrate Freedom Week, which occurs each year during the week that includes September 17, Texas schools emphasize the values and ideals on which the United States was founded as well as the sacrifices that were made for freedom in the founding of the country.  The emphasis on these values can be done in both social studies and reading language arts.

Topic: Celebrate Freedom Week Requirements and Resources

Target Audience: Teachers, District Administrators, Campus Administrators, Education Service Center Specialists, Parents, Professional Organizations

Sessions Description: The TEA social studies team will focus on Celebrate Freedom Week (TEC § 29.907).This TEA stakeholder engagement sessions will highlight Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and required instruction related to Celebrate Freedom Week and instructional resources found on the TEA Celebrate Freedom Week web page. The two sessions will provide the same information.

Dates & Times:
Monday, August 26 @ 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Registration Link
Tuesday, August 27 @ 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Registration Link

Timely Topic: Beginning of the Year (BOY) Assessments

To support Texas reading language arts educators and stakeholders, the reading language arts newsletter occasionally highlights a commonly asked question and response focused on a timely reading language arts topic. This edition’s timely topic question is below. Question: Which beginning of the year (BOY) assessments must be administered to students? Prekindergarten: Per Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.153 (c-1), a prekindergarten class under this section for children who are at least four years of age must comply with the program standards required for high quality prekindergarten programs under Subchapter E-1:   (c) An assessment instrument administered to a prekindergarten program class must be selected from a list of appropriate prekindergarten assessment instruments identified by the commissioner. Circle Progress Monitoring System COR Advantage CPALLS+STEM Frog Street Assessment GOLD LION for Prekindergarten Ready, Set, K! Kindergarten: Per TEC §28.006 (c-2), each school district must administer at the kindergarten level a reading instrument adopted by the commissioner under Subsection (b) or approved by the commissioner under Subsection (b-1). The district must administer the reading instrument in accordance with the commissioner's recommendations under Subsection (a)(1). Instruments on this list include: TX-KEA mCLASS Texas Grades 1 and 2: Per TEC §28.006 (c), each school district must administer, at the first and second grade levels, a reading instrument on the list adopted by the commissioner or by the district-level committee. The district must administer the reading instrument in accordance with the commissioner's recommendations under Subsection (a)(1). Instruments on this list include: mCLASS Texas TRPI/Tejas Lee For the most up-to-date required BOY assessment information for prekindergarten, kindergarten, and grades one and two, visit the TEA Early Learning Assessments web page.   Grade 7: TEC §28.006(c-1) requires each school district to administer at the beginning of the seventh grade a reading instrument adopted by the commissioner to each student whose performance on the Grade 6 STAAR Reading assessment did not demonstrate reading proficiency.  The admission, review, and dismissal committee or the Section 504 committee for each student who was administered an alternate form of the state assessment in reading may determine if the diagnostic assessment is appropriate for use with that student. Instruments on this list include: i-Ready Assessment for Reading Istation’s Indicators of Progress (ISIP) LION for Reading MAP® Suite (MAP Growth Reading and MAP Reading Fluency) MindPlay Literacy STAR Reading Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (TMSFA) (State-offered free option) For the most up-to-date BOY assessment information for grade seven, visit the TEA Grade 7 Reading Instruments web page.

Updated Innovative Course Application Timeline

Texas Virtual School Network (TXVSN) Course Offerings

Do you need help meeting a student’s course needs?   The Texas Virtual School Network (TXVSN) can help meet students’ needs through TEA-approved online courses. The TXVSN statewide course catalog provides schools and students access to high school, Advanced Placement, career and technical education, and dual credit courses for initial credit or credit recovery. The TXVSN courses are aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and taught by Texas-certified teachers trained in best practices in online instruction. Schools can use the TXVSN courses to create flexibility in a student’s schedule, allow a student to accelerate their learning, or address local teacher shortages. Students enrolled in a TXVSN course can generate funding regardless of whether the student is physically present at school while participating in the course.   For more information about the courses offered through the TXVSN, please visit the TXVSN website or contact the TXVSN Help Desk.

Thank you for your commitment to serving Texas students.

Reading Language Arts Team
Curriculum Standards and Student Support Division
(512) 463-9581

For questions or additional information, please visit the English language arts and reading webpage or submit a Curriculum Request Form through the TEA Help Desk.