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Bryan ISD outlines changes to instructional-materials adoptions under Texas House Bill 1605 and $40-per-student entitlement
Summary
District staff summarized how House Bill 1605 changes textbook and instructional-materials adoption, described new state funding streams ($40 and $20 per student), and said a local committee will review K‑8 math materials beginning in January.
Bryan ISD officials briefed the board on statewide changes to instructional-materials adoption under House Bill 1605 and described how the district plans to respond, including a January committee to review K‑8 mathematics materials.
Associate Superintendent Dr. Barbara Abara and Jana Wenzel, assistant director of technology and resources, told trustees that HB 1605 replaced the old proclamation cycle with a rolling Instructional Materials Review process (IMRA). Wenzel said the new process creates more robust rubrics, requires publishers to include lesson plans and parent-facing portals, and allows publishers to submit materials year-round for approval by the State Board of Education.
“Now these rubrics are built in a way to identify high quality instructional materials,” Wenzel said. She said approved products must include implementation supports, progress monitoring guidance and differentiation.
Dr. Hugo Ibarra and other staff described new funding components: a continuing instructional materials and technology allotment (the district's regular allotment), a new $40-per-student entitlement that can be used on approved publisher products and which accumulates, and a separate $20-per-student annual allocation restricted to state-developed instructional materials (the $20 allocation expires if unused). At the meeting staff estimated the district’s baseline allotment at roughly $2.8 million and said the $40 entitlement began arriving for the 2023 school year.
District leaders said the shift gives more flexibility than the old eight‑year proclamation cycle but requires local planning. Dr. Leslie Holtkamp and others said a local review committee will form to evaluate K‑8 math materials; staff said several math products were already on the State Board of Education's initial approved list and the district will score those products on local rubrics and arrange community review opportunities in January before recommending a purchase to the board.
Staff also noted scheduling and budget trade-offs: adopting too early could preclude later options as more publishers submit products in subsequent years; conversely, delaying adoption could leave teachers using gap-funded materials. The board did not vote on a purchase; staff said they will bring a recommendation to the board after the local review process.
