Regulatory Update

Science Standards Update

Regulatory process update: On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the State Board of Education unanimously voted to approve the final-form amendments to Chapter 4 (Academic Standards and Assessments).

Key points:

  • The Board approved all the recommended changes based on the work last fall that was presented to the Chapter 4 Committee on December 1: for example, the Environmental Literacy and Sustainability domain standards.

  • All the proposed standards that weren’t revised last fall move forward now, too: for example, the 6-12 T&E standards.

  • The standards will take effect on July 1, 2025. This was changed from July 1, 2024, to maintain our commitment to a 3-year implementation window.

  • The first year of mandated implementation of the revised standards will be school year 2025-26.

  • The Biology Keystone and science PSSAs will be updated, and the new tests will be implemented in school year 2025-26.

  • Two documents were approved:

Reading guide for the above documents:

      • Strike-through text is deleted in the final form.

      • CAPITALIZED AND BOLDED TEXT is added in the final form.

      • [Bracketed items] are text deleted in the proposed rulemaking.

      • Underscored items highlighted in bold text are additions in the proposed rulemaking.



What happens now: The Board prepares the regulatory package for the final-form regulation stage. The Board and PDE will:

    • Complete the “comment and response document,” which addresses every comment received on the proposed regulation.

    • Revise the “Preamble” to explain the reasoning behind each of the changes made to the proposed regulation.

    • Prepare any supplemental materials that will be included in the regulatory package for context (e.g., a sample standard with foundation boxes).

    • Share the regulatory package with the executive-branch offices for policy, budget, and legal review.

After that: The State Board of Education submits the final-form regulatory package to the House and Senate Education Committees and IRRC. See the IRRC manual, page 30 for a high-level overview, and pages 13-22 for a detailed explanation of the process.

In the graphic APPENDIX A, we are currently at step 1D, preparing documents for step 2A.

Appendix A