Districts still retain local control to select materials that best meet the needs of their students, but changes enacted during the 88th Texas Legislative Session last year could bring a new set of materials with incentives for districts, said Molly May, Eanes ISD’s assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and assessment.
Breaking it down
Along with SBOE-approved curriculum, May said a district's instructional materials can include physical and online textbooks, videos, instructional software, apps, subscriptions, visual aids and more.
May said EISD ensures its instructional resources are aligned with the goals outlined in the district improvement plan, and the only instructional materials used by staff are vetted through her department.
“This allows us to make sure we are able to properly train staff on using whatever materials we have chosen,” May said in an email to Community Impact. “Additionally, our technology services department can be sure that the vendors we are using comply with our data privacy agreements.”
When new curriculum standards are introduced or materials go out of adoption, May said EISD looks at available resources to determine what will be used.
“When provided with multiple choices, those materials are vetted through teacher groups to determine what aligns best with the needs of our students and our instructional practices,” May said. “We often receive samples of materials or are allowed [to] 'sandbox' modules so we can truly see how the materials work.”
Similarly, in Lake Travis ISD, curriculum staff conduct a review of TEA- and SBOE-approved resources and bring forward recommendations to committees of teachers, according to LTISD Director of Curriculum and Instruction Amanda Prehn.
The committees review and select the primary instructional resources for each content area, and then share the selections with employees and community members for consideration. Final recommendations are then submitted to the board of trustees for approval.
“We have the flexibility to select non-state-adopted resources that better meet our students’ needs, as long as the materials still align with TEKS,” Prehn said in an email to Community Impact. “However, we must ensure that their chosen materials meet state requirements and prepare students for state assessments and graduation standards.”
What else?
May said EISD utilizes its School Safety and Health Advisory Committee to make recommendations to the school board regarding the district’s health curriculum and TEKS instructional materials around human sexuality.
In LTISD, Prehn said its School Health Advisory Council is responsible for this.
In special education, May said students receiving these services have access to all of the same materials as general education but may require supplemental materials that are vetted like others.
Prehn said students receiving special education services are “always considered general-education first,” so core curriculum resources are always chosen with student abilities in mind. However, these materials must be adaptable and offer accessibility, such as Braille, large print or digital formats with accessibility features.
On the other hand
May said the process for reviewing and adopting instructional materials has been changing since the last legislative session in 2023.
House Bill 1605 established a new Instructional Materials Review and Approval process, or IMRA, for the State Board of Education to evaluate and approve high-quality instructional materials, or HQIM, for districts.
Per the TEA, some of the requirements these materials must meet in order to fit IMRA criteria include:
- Ensuring full coverage of the TEKS
- Aligning with evidenced-based best practices for reading-language arts, math, science and social studies
- Prohibiting obscene or harmful content and be in compliance with with the Children’s Internet Protection Act
- Prohibiting three-cueing, or a reading instruction method where students draw on context or sentence structure to read words instead of sounding words out, in kindergarten through third grade
- Be free from factual error
SBOE documents state that adopting HQIM is optional, but districts that do so are entitled to additional funding. Per the TEA, the bill provides an additional $540 million in instructional materials formula funding for districts that select these SBOE-approved materials.
Additionally, teachers using these materials are given certain employment protections. TEA documents state teachers cannot face disciplinary action for using these materials, and they are also not required to turn in weekly lesson plans if their district adopted materials that include lesson plans.
Looking ahead
As the state is in the middle of transitioning to the new process, May said EISD is waiting on further guidance from the TEA.
“What we have done in the past is changing, but what exactly we will be provided with for the future has yet to be determined,” May said. “So unfortunately, it’s a bit complex right now.”
According to the TEA, there are 142 different products from 25 different publishers being reviewed as part of the first IMRA cycle. The SBOE must meet certain milestones in order for approved materials to be made available for the 2025-26 school year.
- November: SBOE will vote on placing reviewed instructional materials on the approved list or rejected list, or take no action.
- December: IMRA reports will be made available for districts to compare the reviewed instructional materials.
- March: Approved materials will be made available on the state’s online instructional materials ordering system.
- July: New instructional materials will be shipped, and districts will conduct professional development for teachers to go over the material.
- August: Districts that purchased the new materials will begin classroom implementation.
