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The State Board of Education November Meeting & other updates
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The November meeting of the State Board of Education (SBOE) included a wide-ranging list of agenda items, including ongoing implementation of new laws passed in the 90th Legislature and final decisions on the 2025 Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) process.
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IMRA Cycle 2025
In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed HB 1605 to replace the existing textbook approval and proclamation process with IMRA. Part of that process requires the SBOE to develop quality and suitability rubrics across content areas and grade bands. Materials for ELAR K-8, SLAR K-6, Mathematics K-12, and Supplemental Mathematics K-12 were accepted during the 2025 cycle. As more rubrics for more content areas and grade bands are developed, more materials will be accepted by the SBOE each cycle.
For each product submission, the SBOE can either approve, reject, or take no action.
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LEAs using SBOE approved materials will receive an additional annual entitlement of $40 per enrolled student to support the procurement of those materials. The funds will be credited to a district’s Instructional Materials and Technology Account.
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LEAs using SBOE approved State-Developed Open Education Resource materials (“Bluebonnet Learning”) will receive an additional annual entitlement of $20 per enrolled student for printing expenses. The funds will be credited to a district’s Instructional Materials and Technology Account.
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LEAs using materials that have been neither approved or rejected (“take no action”) may continue to use those materials but are not eligible for additional funding.
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SBOE Rejected materials may not be procured using the Instructional Materials and Technology Fund. It is important to note, however, that publishers have until the January 2026 SBOE meeting to make revisions that could alter the final status of the material.
More detail on instructional materials funding can be found here. IMRA decisions made by the SBOE at its November meeting can be found here.
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New Curriculum Requirements
The Board had a lengthy discussion on changes to curriculum and high school graduation requirements for personal financial literacy (PFL) as a result of HB 27, passed in the 2025 session. Educator witnesses emphasized the importance of flexibility for identifying existing courses that could qualify for the provisions of HB 27, as well as addressing CTE teacher certification to ensure those teachers can be eligible to teach PFL.
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Literary Works Lists
HB 1605 also requires the SBOE, in adopting English language arts TEKS, “shall specify a list of required vocabulary and at least one literary work to be taught in each grade level.” This topic was posted as a discussion item and will likely draw public attention at future meetings.
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Parental Rights Training
An initial public hearing was held on the implementation of SB 204 (2025), which requires the SBOE to require trustees to complete training on the rights of a parent regarding the education of the parent’s child. The SBOE, with assistance from TEA, must develop the curriculum and materials for the training. Details on this new law can be found here.
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Latest TEA News and Guidance
TEA released a number of "To the Administrator Addressed" updates in the past two weeks. We've pulled these highlights for you:
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Finance
- The Federal Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) grant is a competitive application funding after school and summertime programs. It’s now open for submissions until Feb. 17, 2026.
- Reimbursement for industry-based certifications and fingerprinting is now included for up to two certifications per student (was previously just one), per HB 2. Districts may only receive one reimbursement for college prep or career readiness assessments (SAT, ACT, TSIA).
- SB 2 created the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, which will give parents the option of using funds for private school tuition, including private pre-K, and approved goods and services. Some impacts are highlighted for public schools:
- Districts will receive $1,000 per initial special education evaluation completed for any student, including those not in public school. Districts will also need to complete the ARD committee process for these students.
- The district of residence or the district of the private school is required to perform the evaluation if a parent requests one.
- The Texas Comptroller has announced the adoption of final administrative rules governing the program, which will open for families to apply on Feb. 4, 2026 for the 2026-27 school year.
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Operations
- UIL rules have been updated to allow students to participate in up to two extracurricular activities per week, rather than one.
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Accountability
- Part 4 of the 2028 A-F Refresh Roadshow will have two options for district stakeholders to register to attend. This webinar will cover proposed changes to Domain 3: Results-Driven Accountability Integration.
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Other Education News
- A US District Judge ordered that the districts named in the case regarding the Ten Commandments displays take them down by Dec. 1. Other related cases are pending.
- The increase in immigration enforcement across the country is having impacts on schools, including enrollment.
- Brookings released a report describing special education teacher turnover, including Texas as one of 7 states studied. They highlighted Texas’s teacher retention allotment in HB 2 as a promising policy for addressing the issue. Read the full report.
- Schools are increasingly incorporating AI training into teacher professional development.
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Your Texas School Policy Network Team
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