Lesson Plans and Paperwork Reduction Act

HISD Policy Online – Lesson Plans (EEP Regulation)

HISD Policy Online – Required Plans and Reports (DLB Legal)

Click the links above for local HISD legal policy on Lesson Plans & Required Reports. 

TEXAS EDUCATION CODE 11.164

The board of trustees of each school district shall limit redundant requests for information and the number and length of written reports that a classroom teacher is required to prepare. A classroom teacher may not be required to prepare any written information other than:

• Any report concerning the health, safety, or welfare of a student;
• A report of a student’s grade on an assignment or examination;
• A report of a student’s academic progress in a class or course;
• A report of a student’s grades at the end of each grade reporting period;
• A textbook report;
• A unit or weekly lesson plan that outlines, in a brief and general manner, the information to be presented during each period at the secondary level or in each subject or topic at the elementary level;
• An attendance report;
• Any report required for accreditation review;
• Any information required by a school district that relates to a complaint, grievance, or actual or potential litigation and that requires the classroom teacher’s involvement; or
• Any information specifically required by law, rule, or regulation.

Regarding Lesson Plans

One case–Ysleta ISD and Commissioner of Education v. Porter, et al., 2015–decided a couple of key components to what can be required of in lesson plans.

• A school district may not require information in a lesson plan “that is neither taught to students nor describes the activities that will be used to teach the subject matter.
• The phrase, ‘information to be presented,’ is intended to prohibit school districts from requiring lesson plans that contain anything other than an outline, which is brief and general, of the information that a teacher plans to teach during a particular class period and the activities the students will do in order to learn the subject matter.

Basic Permissible and Not Permissible for Lesson Plan Requirements