District 9 State Board of Education member Thomas Ratliff has asked ATPE to share the following information with members regarding efforts to review the CSCOPE curriculum management system:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=25769804296

CSCOPE Ad Hoc Committee

CSCOPE is a curriculum management system created by Texas Education Service Centers with assistance from content experts. It is now used in 875 public school districts, charter schools and private schools in Texas, which educate 34 percent of the state's total student population. Neither the State Board of Education nor the Texas Education Agency were involved in the development of CSCOPE. However because of concerns raised by parents and educators about CSCOPE, Barbara Cargill, chair of the State Board of Education, at the behest of the Senate Education Committee chair, appointed an ad hoc committee to review CSCOPE content. Members of the committee are:

• SBOE members Marty Rowley, R-Amarillo, chair of the ad hoc committee;
• SBOE member Mavis Knight, D-Dallas;
• SBOE member Pat Hardy, R-Fort Worth;
• SBOE member Tom Maynard, R-Florence;
• John Bass, executive director of  the Region 16 Education Service Center, Amarillo;
• Clyde Steelman, executive director of  the Region 11 Education Service Center, Fort Worth; and
•  Elizabeth Abernethy, executive director of  the Region 7 Education Service Center, Kilgore.

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. CSCOPE scope of review 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. Audio of March 29, 2013 organizational meeting of the CSCOPE Ad Hoc committee (MP3) Next meeting of the CSCOPE Ad Hoc Committee: 10 a.m. May 16 in Dallas, location to be determined

Review Committee Nomination Process

The CSCOPE Ad Hoc Committee is seeking assistance from educators, parents, business leaders and other stakeholders who are willing to serve on review committees that will examine CSCOPE social studies material.  Each review committee will have three to nine members. Interested citizens may submit a nomination form through April 29.  The CSCOPE Ad Hoc Committee expects to make committee assignments in May. The review panels would then work June 3-16 to review the material. CSCOPE review timeline (PDF, 12 KB)