The State Board of Education (SBOE) is meeting in Austin this week, with several hearings scheduled today through Friday, April 11. Many of the agenda items relate to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the state's curriculum standards. Topics for discussion include giving Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff members direction on the creation or potential creation of new TEKS-based courses. These include advanced math courses such as Statistics and Algebraic Reasoning, which have been discussed as options for students to take under new graduation requirements passed by the Legislature last year via House Bill (HB) 5. SBOE will also talk about a possible new course in Mexican American Studies that is being sought by some board members. The board also plans to update the list of courses that school districts are required to offer students. This list is separate from the list of courses a student must take in order to graduate, although there are many overlaps between the two lists. Additionally, the SBOE Committee on Instruction will continue its work toward revising the process by which TEKS are adopted or modified. You can you view streaming video of this week's meetings of the board and its subcommittees here. Stay tuned to Teach the Vote for updates on actions taken by the board.