Online Instructional Materials Reviews
Instructional materials are one of the most important tools educators use in the classroom to enhance student learning. It is critical that they fully align to state standards—what students are expected to learn and be able to do at the end of each grade level or course—and are high quality if they are to provide meaningful instructional support.
The Louisiana Department of Education is committed to ensuring that every classroom has access to a high-quality curriculum. In Louisiana, all districts are able to purchase instructional materials that are best for their local communities since those closest to students are best positioned to decide which instructional materials are appropriate for their district and classrooms.
SUPPORT FOR LOCAL SCHOOL SYSTEMS
To support local school systems in making their own local, high-quality decisions, the Louisiana Department of Education leads online reviews of instructional materials. The tiered reviews describe the degree of alignment with state content standards. Each local school system should determine if their use is appropriate to meet the educational needs of their students.
School systems can use the Instructional Materials Professional Learning Partner Guide to identify partners who provide initial and ongoing support for high-quality instructional materials (HQIM). The guide identifies partners who specialize in helping districts and schools with designing and implementing a cohesive academic system focused on high-quality curriculum, professional learning, and curriculum-embedded assessment.
The Department also offers districts textbooks policy guidance which outlines the choices school systems have when adopting textbooks and other instructional materials.
CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW: 2023-2024 Review Cycle
The online instructional materials review focuses on materials in:
- Early childhood education (supporting early care and education networks for children age birth to five),
- K-12 English language arts full courses,
- Foundations of Reading intensive intervention materials,
- K-12 math full courses,
- K-12 science full courses, and
- K-12 social studies full courses.
Publishers
The submission window for the 2024-2025 review cycle opened on October 1, 2023 and will close on February 28, 2024. As a reminder, science and social studies materials with grade levels that add to a Tier 1 series in any subject area, and updated Tier 1 materials can be submitted year-round. See the Publisher's Guide for IMR Submission for details.
Vendors interested in being included in the Instructional Materials Professional Learning Partner Guide or requesting edits to their current entry should follow the steps outlined in the IM PLPG Submission and Review Process.
Send all questions and concerns to LouisianaCurriculumReview@la.gov.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Parents and other members of the public are invited to participate in the review process. Once released for public review, materials are open for public comment for a period of four weeks. To submit a public comment, contributors must agree to the rules for participation.
IMPORTANT:
Comments submitted will be made available to the public. Comments will be posted as part of the completed reviews posted on the Curricular Resources Annotated Reviews page.
The Department will not verify the accuracy or validity of public comments, nor do public comments reflect the opinions or policies of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or the State Superintendent of Education.
