At a May 1 Cypress‑Fairbanks Independent School District Board of Trustees work session, trustees reviewed the district’s annual instructional‑materials certification form and discussed whether to adopt the state’s new Bluebonnet open educational resources (OER) for elementary math and English language arts.

Trustees were briefed on the certification form the board must file to confirm that the district provides instructional materials aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and that materials do not contain obscene or harmful content. District staff explained how the instructional materials allotment (IMA) and the state’s new IMRA/16‑05 rules affect future adoptions and existing, “grandfathered” materials.

Dr. Killian, district staff, told trustees that local curriculum teams supplement publisher materials “so you can get to the depth and complexity you need to cover the TEKS.” She said that districts routinely use scope‑and‑sequence work and supplemental resources to ensure the TEKS are fully covered even when a publisher’s textbook lists TEKS coverage.

Finance staff reviewed projected costs and funding buckets connected to adopting Bluebonnet materials. Karen, district finance staff, described three funding “buckets” available for instructional materials and said district staff must submit a transition plan to unlock certain state funds. She summarized the district’s rough cost estimates for adopting Bluebonnet math as presented: annual teacher program and manipulative kit costs roughly in the $1.8 million range, annual student materials roughly $1.7 million, and annual consumable/operational costs bringing the total to about $3.6 million per year in the district’s estimates. Karen also said bucket‑2 funding available for IMRA‑approved resources is roughly $4.5 million per year (about $9 million over the biennium) and the OER printing entitlement (bucket‑3) is roughly $2.13 million annually, as presented to the board.

Trustees pressed staff on process and timing. Several trustees said they wanted teachers to “test drive” Bluebonnet resources before a full adoption and asked staff to begin the review and training work this summer. A trustee proposed and trustees discussed a target of presenting a possible adoption package to the board in October with a November vote if campuses and staff recommend it; staff agreed to accelerate planning and review work to meet that timeline if feasible.

No formal adoption motion was made during the work session; the TEEX certification form remained on the consent agenda for the regular meeting. Trustees asked staff to return with more detailed cost breakdowns, transition plans required to access state funds, and pilot feedback from teachers before any final board action.

The board’s discussion also noted that the 16‑05/IMRA changes were intended to expand OER and reduce teacher workload, but that existing adoptions remain grandfathered under the new law, meaning the district is not automatically required to re‑adopt previously approved materials.

Background and next steps: staff will continue summer review of Bluebonnet/OER and other resources, develop a transition plan required for certain state funding, and aim to present a fuller adoption recommendation and cost analysis to the board in October for possible action in November.