Attorney General Greg Abbott has published his response to a request for opinion from Sen. Robert Duncan and the Senate Committee on State Affairs.
Duncan’s request was in regard to whether model lesson plans developed by the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative are subject to the records retention requirements applicable to local governments and/or those applicable to state agencies.
The following summary was included in the Attorney General’s response:
A court would have reason to defer to the conclusion of the State Library and Archives Commission that the model lesson plans maintained by Regional Education Service Centers are local government records subject to the local Government Records Act. In addition, Education Service Centers must comply with Government Code chapter 441, subchapter J with regard to the maintenance of model lesson plans. The State Library and Archives Commission's Local Schedule SD applies to the retention of lesson plans maintained by Regional Education Service Centers. Local Schedule SD requires that lesson plans be maintained for as long as administratively valuable. Any final disposition of lesson plans must comport with the absolute right of parents to access teaching materials used in the classroom of the parents' child pursuant to subsection 26.006(a) of the Education Code.