19 Tex. Admin. Code § 67.33 - Public Comment on Instructional Materials

(a) The instructional materials public comment period begins when the electronic samples of materials under consideration for approval are posted on the State Board of Education (SBOE) website and ends after 60 calendar days.

(b) Any resident of Texas may submit written comments for, against, or about any instructional materials submitted for review. All feedback shall be submitted to the commissioner of education in a format designated by the commissioner on or before the deadlines specified in the schedule of instructional materials review and approval (IMRA) procedures.

(c) Copies of written feedback and lists of reported alleged factual errors and suitability flags shall be posted on the SBOE website and provided to the SBOE and participating publishers.

(d) The SBOE shall hold a hearing on instructional materials submitted for review during a regularly scheduled meeting prior to the meeting at which the SBOE will vote to approve instructional materials.

(1) Testimony at the hearing shall be accepted from Texas residents and non-residents with priority given to Texas residents.

(2) Copies of written testimony provided at the hearing shall be distributed to SBOE members and to publishers with materials under consideration.

(3) Persons who wish to testify must register in accordance with registration procedures in the SBOE Operating Rules, §2.10 (relating to Oral Public Testimony in Connection with Regular Board and Committee Meetings).

(4) The SBOE may limit the time available for each person to testify to hear from everyone who has registered to testify.

(5) Persons may also be allowed to register to testify at the hearing, but priority will be given to those persons who registered prior to the deadline, in accordance with the SBOE Operating Rules, §2.12 (relating to Public Hearings).

(6) Oral responses to testimony at the hearing may be made by official representatives of publishing companies.

(7) An archived recording of the hearing shall be provided on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website.

(8) All written publisher responses to comments or public testimony provided at the hearing shall be posted to the TEA website within five working days of their receipt from the publisher.

(e) Public comment on instructional materials not approved by the SBOE on the date specified in the schedule of IMRA procedures shall be accepted according to the SBOE Operating Rules, §2.10.

Notes

19 Tex. Admin. Code § 67.33

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 50, Number 12, March 21, 2025, TexReg 2073, eff. 3/30/2025