Can Texas Parents Request a Review of Classroom Materials? What HB 1605 Requires

Yes. Under House Bill 1605, a Texas parent can ask the district for a Local Classroom Review, and parents of at least 25% of a campus's students can petition the school board for one. The review checks two things: whether the materials in the classroom match what the district adopted, and whether they meet the rigor of the grade-level TEKS. Reviewers certified by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) do the review. Requests opened September 1, 2025, so this is the second school year the process is in place (TEA, Local Classroom Reviews).

Facts in this article are current as of October 2026.

What is a Local Classroom Review?

A Local Classroom Review is a state-defined check on the instructional materials a teacher uses in a foundation curriculum course. HB 1605 (88th Legislature, 2023) added Texas Education Code §31.0252, which tells TEA to set standards for reviewing whether a teacher's materials (enrolled bill text):

1. "correspond with the instructional materials adopted by the school district or district campus"; and
2. "meet the level of rigor of the essential knowledge and skills … for the grade level in which it is being used."

TEA's FAQ puts it in plain terms. A review reports "how consistently instructional materials used in the classroom are those adopted by the school or school system" and "how consistently assignments issued to students are on grade level" (TEA, HB 1605 FAQs).

The yardstick is a set of rubrics. The State Board of Education (SBOE) approved four of them on April 11, 2025: ELAR K–3 Foundational Literacy Skills, ELAR K–3 Reading Comprehension, ELAR 4–8 Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics K–12. TEA says the materials that can be reviewed follow the Instructional Materials Review and Approval (IMRA) schedule. As of October 2026, TEA's page still lists those four rubrics as the subjects where reviews "could take place" in 2025–26 (TEA). Check that page for any additions this year.

Who can request a review, and how?

There are three paths in.

One parent. The law says a district's process "may not require more than one parent of a student to make the request." The board decides whether to grant it, either at first or on appeal. The district may let the parent look at the materials directly before any review happens (TEC §26.0061, HB 1605). TEA's FAQ describes that first step: walk the parent through the materials, show printed copies, or set up a meeting with the teacher.

A campus petition. If parents of at least 25% of a campus's students petition the board, the board must hold the review. The board can turn it down by majority vote only when fewer than 50% of parents signed. At 50% or more, the review happens (TEC §26.0061(c)).

The district itself. Districts and charter schools can request a district-wide review from TEA, also starting September 1, 2025 (TEA).

The SBOE's rule, 19 TAC §67.69, sets the process every district must have (19 TAC §67.69):

• It must align to a statewide submission window that runs from September 1 through the last instructional day for students.
• The board must consider a petition at the next regular meeting that allows proper posting, as long as the petition meets the district's deadline.
• A petition must name the student assignment, grade level, content area, campus name, and teacher name.
• The process must include an appeal for denied petitions, with steps, criteria, and timelines.
• Districts are asked to notify their SBOE member within one week of approving a parent request, and again within one week of receiving the final report.

A district does not have to review the same classroom, subject, or grade at a campus more than once a school year.

Who conducts the review, and what does it ask of teachers?

TEA-certified reviewers conduct the review, and TEA sends the school system a report afterward (TEA). The statute lets a regional education service center or a TEA-approved provider do the work.

The law also protects teacher time. TEA's standards must "minimize, to the extent possible" a teacher's time on a review and may not, "unless unavoidable, require a teacher to spend more than 30 minutes on a single review" (TEC §31.0252(c)).

On cost, TEA says parent-initiated requests that the district approves are done "at no cost to parents as long as funding is available." District-wide reviews use grant funds while they last (TEA).

Why is this harder than it sounds?

The review asks a question most districts can't answer quickly: what are teachers actually using?

Teachers mix and match materials. RAND's American Instructional Resources Survey found that teachers regularly use two curriculum materials and five supplemental materials on average. Nearly half use a curriculum material they made themselves, and nearly all modify what they're given (RAND, 2025).

The grade-level question is just as hard. In a December 2024 briefing for superintendents, TEA reported that when it reproduced a national study's method in Texas elementary schools, 19% of lessons were at grade level or higher. TEA cites a 2022 TNTP diagnostic of Texas classrooms for that figure (TEA superintendent briefing, Dec 2024).

So the gap a review finds is rarely between the law and the adopted program. It sits between the adopted program and the worksheet a teacher found or made because the unit had a hole in it.

That is a gap in the materials, not a gap in the teacher. HB 1605 says as much in other sections. A district can't require a teacher to spend protected planning time "creating or selecting instructional materials to initially cover" the TEKS without a supplemental agreement (TEC §21.4045). It also can't penalize a teacher for adjusting the pacing when students need more or less time (TEC §28.0027(b)) (HB 1605). If teachers are filling holes on their own time, the fix belongs to the district.

What this means for your district

You can't control when a request arrives. You can control how ready you are. Use this list before the spring semester.

Policy and process

• The board has adopted a request and petition process that matches 19 TAC §67.69: the September 1 to last-instructional-day window, the five required petition fields, a submission deadline, and an appeal path.
• Someone owns the process, and the board calendar shows how a petition reaches the next properly posted meeting.
• A short parent-facing page explains the steps in plain language.

Know what is in use

• For each grade and course in math and K–8 reading, you can name the adopted materials by campus.
• You have a list of the supplemental materials teachers actually use, not just the ones you bought.
• You know which units have holes that teachers routinely fill on their own.

Check grade-level rigor before a reviewer does

• Your curriculum team has read the four SBOE-approved rubrics and tried them on a few real assignments.
• Where a supplement falls below grade level, you have a grade-level replacement your curriculum team approved.

Make it easy for parents to look first

• Parents can see the materials through the parent portal, in person, or at a teacher meeting, as TEA's FAQ describes.
• Principals know how to set up that first conversation before a formal request.

Protect teachers

• No teacher is required to use protected planning time to build initial materials without a supplemental agreement.
• Your communication to staff says the review looks at materials, not at teachers.

Where Nvitis fits

Nvitis does not conduct or certify Local Classroom Reviews. TEA-certified reviewers do. Nvitis Education helps with the question underneath the review: is every required standard covered by usable, approved material?

Our Gap Analysis is designed to line up each required standard with the materials teachers can use and with your exam and performance reports, then rank the gaps by what to fix first. Overlap Analysis shows where materials cover the same standards more than once. When a gap needs filling, Companion Materials drafts the missing pieces from the program you already use, and your curriculum team reviews them before anyone uses them.

The goal is simple. When a parent asks what is being taught, you can show them.

FAQ

What is a Local Classroom Review in Texas? It is a review, created by HB 1605 (TEC §31.0252), of whether a classroom's instructional materials match what the district adopted and meet the rigor of the grade-level TEKS. TEA-certified reviewers conduct it, and TEA sends the school system a report.

Can one parent request a Local Classroom Review? Yes. A district's process may not require more than one parent of a student to make the request. The school board decides whether to grant it, either at first or on appeal.

When can parents submit a request? Each year from September 1 through the last instructional day for students, under 19 TAC §67.69. Requests first opened September 1, 2025.

What happens if 25% of parents at a campus sign a petition? The board must hold the review unless fewer than 50% of parents signed and a majority of the board votes to deny it. At 50% or more, the review must happen.

How much teacher time does a review take? The law says TEA's standards may not, unless unavoidable, require a teacher to spend more than 30 minutes on a single review.

Which subjects can be reviewed? The SBOE approved four rubrics in April 2025: K–3 foundational literacy skills, K–3 reading comprehension, 4–8 reading comprehension, and K–12 math. Reviews follow the IMRA schedule, so check TEA's Local Classroom Reviews page for current subjects.

Ready to see where your materials stand?

Bring one subject and one grade band. We'll show you where the standards, the materials, and the evidence line up and where they don't.

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Sources

1. Texas Education Agency. "Local Classroom Reviews." https://tea.texas.gov/curriculum-and-instruction/instructional-materials/local-classroom-reviews (accessed Oct 29, 2026)
2. Texas Legislature. HB 1605, 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, enrolled version (TEC §§21.4045, 26.0061, 28.0027, 31.0252). https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/HB01605F.HTM
3. Texas Education Agency. "House Bill 1605 FAQs" (last updated Feb 25, 2025). https://tea.texas.gov/curriculum-and-instruction/instructional-materials/house-bill-1605/house-bill-1605-faqs
4. 19 Texas Administrative Code §67.69, Local Review of Classroom Instructional Materials (eff. May 25, 2025). https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/texas/19-Tex-Admin-Code-SS-67-69
5. Doan, S., et al. Teachers' Use of Instructional Materials from 2019–2024. RAND, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA134-30.html
6. Texas Education Agency. "High-Quality Instructional Materials and School Supports Provided by House Bill 1605," Superintendent Call, December 2024. https://tea.texas.gov/educators/superintendents/imra-and-bluebonnet-updates-0.pdf