Texas Clout Over Textbooks Could Shift With Market

By Erik W. Robelen With the Texas board of education expected to adopt controversial new standards for social studies next month many observers and news outlets have emphasized that the action may have ripple effects that reach classrooms far beyond the Lone Star State. A typical refrain came in the headline on an editorial this month in USA Today: Texas School Board Seeks to Rewrite Your Textbooks."   Yet the extent of Texas reach is a matter of debate and recent legislation opens up new sources of digital learning materials for the states school districts. That development seems likely to loosen the hold of the polarized state board on the market even within its own borders. Texas has long been seen as having an outsized influence on publishers wares because of both the size of the market which is second only to Californias and the fact that its among the 20 adoption" states that identify lists of approved instructional materials for districts to use. Texas revised social studies standards will guide the eventual adoption of new textbooks and related materials for the state. Because of its purchasing power Texas has unique force with the educational publishers" said Gilbert T. Sewall the director of the American Textbook Council a nonprofit research group based in New York City. Publishers want to use as much of the Texas edition as possible in what theyre selling nationwide." And some analysts say Californias decision last year to postpone new textbook adoptions for several years may give Texas still more influence. But publishing-industry officials and some consultants argue that its influence is often overstated. In any case amid concerns about the high cost of printed textbooks and the rapidity with which they become outdated the Texas market for instructional materials is poised for a potential sea change. The recent legislation is expected to provide districts with new sources of digital textbooks and other electronic classroom materials. Now we have all of these new ways of acquiring instructional materials in addition to the traditional process" said Anita G. Givens an associate commissioner at the Texas Education Agency. For instance the state education commissioner was given authority to approve a list of digital textbooks that districts may buy with state textbook aid providing them with new options beyond the materials adopted by the state board. Also districts for the first time will be able to use a portion of that aid to pay for hardware such as laptop computers to access digital content. Meanwhile Gov. Rick Perry this month declared that he wants Texas to do away with the purchase of printed textbooks altogether. Delays Ahead? Texas is wrapping up work on revising state social studies standards for the first time since 1997. In March the elected state board tentatively approved the standards on a party-line vote of 10-5 with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. The board has considered more than 300 amendments since January touching on matters from the separation of church and state to whether hip-hop merits study as a cultural movement. Social conservatives on the board have said one priority is to balance a perceived liberal bias in the presentation of history while critics argue that the conservatives are using the standards to skew history and promote a right-wing agenda. (Rewriting of States Standards on Social Studies Stirs Debate March 31 2010.) Next month the state board is set to consider any further changes to the standards and vote on final adoption. Once that process is completed the next step by the board will be to issue a proclamation" soliciting bids for instructional materials that adhere to the standards. Then publishers spend the next two years writing the books" said Debbie Graves Ratcliffe a spokeswoman for the state education agency. The materials are subject to an extensive state review before the board votes on their adoption. Texas does not preclude districts from using materials not on the approved list but local school systems qualify for less state aid to pay for them. Currently new social studies textbooks are scheduled to arrive in classrooms in the fall of 2013. Now the wild card here is the budget" she added. The board may postpone the textbook proclamation because of the strained fiscal climate. In fact the state has so far delayed by about a year a similar proclamation for new science texts. With the gradual consolidation of the K-12 textbook industry three companies now dominate the market nationally and in Texas observers say:

• Pearson Education
• McGraw-Hill Cos. and
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

The textbooks may be the most visible piece but along with that comes a host of other resources" said Diskey from dedicated websites with electronic versions of textbooks to practice tests lesson plans aligned to state standards and resources to help with differentiated instruction among other tools. Theyre always trying to come up with new things to kind of sweeten the pot for districts to choose their materials" said Wesley J. Null an associate professor of curriculum and foundations of education at Baylor University in Waco Texas. Josef Blumenfeld a spokesman for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said his Boston-based company tailors content to local needs. We are committed to meeting local standards and have the ability through technological advances to meet the standards of any district" he said. We couldnt sell in the marketplace if we didnt." The Upper Saddle River N.J.-based Pearson Education and McGraw-Hill in New York City declined to comment referring inquiries to Mr. Diskey of the publishers association. Mr. Sewall from the American Textbook Council said publishers face powerful incentives to maximize uniformity. The more they have to customize the more expensive their development costs are their upfront costs and that cuts into earnings" he said. So they dont want to do that." Lee Wilson the president and chief executive officer of PCI Education a San Antonio-based company that provides supplemental educational products for students with disabilities said the steep costs of developing and marketing textbooks in Texas and California give the states national influence. Its very practical. Theres a big Texas adoption or a big California adoption for a subject area" he said. All the publishers scramble to get on the list. ... It can cost tens of millions of dollars to put the materials together and additional millions to promote them. So once youve invested that money what almost all the publishers do is take that bookthat becomes the bones of whatever theyre offering for all other states." He added: Yes theyll modify and change some things but once youve invested at that level you dont go back and rewrite it from the ground up." Jeffrey P. Zaring a senior official at the Indiana education department said hes not sure whether Texas has influenced the textbooks in his state. The publishers claim that they customize" he said. But for instance when the state recently reviewed math texts we discovered the match wasnt all that great" he said. All the books had some kind of gap in terms of alignment." Commissioners List Texas lawmakers in 2009 passed two measures that could alter the states publishing landscape and potentially diminish its national influence observers say. House Bill 4294 allows districts to purchase digital textbooks with state textbook aid from an approved list developed by the state education commissionernot the state boardand also to use a portion of that money to buy hardware to access digital content. A district must first buy at least one classroom set" of textbooks for each subject and grade level approved by the state board before using remaining funds to pay for digital textbooks and equipment. The Texas Education Agency is now reviewing digital texts submitted for approval. The second measure HB 2488 aims to help districts gain access to high-quality open-source textbooks meaning texts available free over the Internet. The state may offer districts state-developed and state-owned open-source materials. Also many Texas higher education institutions can supply open-source texts to districts if those materials meet certain requirements including alignment with state standards. Districts will have a lot more flexibility and choice and use whatever combination of print and electronic material meets the needs of their children" said the TEAs Ms. Givens. David Anderson an Austin-based education lobbyist who previously was the TEAs curriculum director and worked for many years in the publishing industry said he believes the changes afoot will have a far-reaching impact but not right away. Changing behavior and changing habits in education is not easy" he said. I dont think the measures will have a tremendous impact this year ... but if you look over the course of three or four years it could be significant." Furthermore he notes that the state recently introduced incentives for districts to consider the cost of instructional materials more carefully. That 2007 legislation makes all districts eligible for textbook credits money they can spend on other priorities if their choice of instructional materials falls below the state maximum per-student allotment for such purchases. Not everyone is pleased with some of the recent changes in Texas. Some conservative groups for instance urged Gov. Perry to veto the digital-textbook bill saying it would diminish the state boards role. The oversight of the content was removed from the elected body and given to the unelected and unaccountable commissioner of education" said David Bradley a Republican on the board. From the public standpoint I think everyone should be concerned." Gov. Perry issued an executive order last June saying the board must be an integral part of the digital-content review process" but Mr. Bradley argues that the move was strictly for political cover" and would not be binding on a future governor. Observers say a driving force behind the legislation to promote electronic materials is concern about the growing expense of textbooks. In fact several times this decade the legislature provided less money for books than the state board had requested. Mr. Bradley said hes not persuaded that digital textbooks will save money given hardware costs. But Ms. Givens said the state needs to explore new ways of being cost-effective and she argues that providing districts with new options for digital materials will help lower costs over time. Were soon going to get to 5 million students" she said. Five million times any number is a really big number."