DRAFT 1.1 • September 2026 • Audience: school boards, district leaders, policymakers

Instructional Mandate Review

If the state mandates it, the state should explain it, measure it, fund it, and say what classroom instruction it will displace.

This review form is a proposed decision tool for any new statewide instructional mandate or major local requirement. A proposal should not advance merely because its subject is important. It should show what students will learn, why the requirement belongs at that age, how much time and money it consumes, and how success will be measured.

The review questions

1. Competency	What specific knowledge or skill should students be able to demonstrate?
2. Evidence	What evidence supports the claim that this requirement will improve that competency?
3. Grades and age	Which grades are affected, and why is the content age-appropriate at those grades?
4. Instructional time	How many hours per year will implementation require?
5. Opportunity cost	What existing reading, mathematics, science, history, arts, electives, intervention, or other instruction will be reduced or displaced?
6. Cost	What are the state and local costs for materials, training, staffing, reporting, and administration?
7. Assessment	What will students actually produce or demonstrate, and how will learning be distinguished from mere program completion?
8. Intellectual freedom	Does the requirement ask students to affirm a belief, organize for a cause, engage in advocacy, or disclose sensitive personal information as a condition of academic credit?
9. Local authority	Which parts truly require statewide uniformity, and which methods, texts, examples, or projects can remain local?
10. Review date	When will the mandate be reviewed, and what evidence would justify continuation, revision, or repeal?

Burden of proof

Under this draft framework, the authority proposing a new statewide requirement bears the burden of providing these answers. Missing documentation is a reason to delay the mandate, not a reason to guess after implementation.

Board use

A local board can use the same form to review curriculum additions, purchased programs, external lesson packages, and major district initiatives. The purpose is disciplined governance: know the competency, know the cost, know the time, know the assessment, and know what is being displaced.

Status: Draft framework; not adopted law. Related: Policy Standards • Student Intellectual Freedom • Age-Appropriate Standards.