A TCTA-initiated law on paperwork requirements provides that:
- Districts must limit redundant requests for information and the number and length of written reports that a teacher must prepare.
- Reports that teachers may be required to prepare are limited to a specific list that essentially covers grading, lesson plans, attendance reports, reports related to the health or safety of students, accreditation information or material related to a grievance or other legal matter. Teachers may be required to prepare only unit or weekly lesson plans that outline, in a brief and general manner, the information to be presented in each period at the secondary level or in each subject or topic at the elementary level. The complete list is available at tcta.org/paperwork_reduction.
- School boards are required to review paperwork requirements and transfer to noninstructional staff any reporting tasks that could be reasonably accomplished by that staff.
- Districts may collect other essential information, but such situations require the agreement of the teacher.
- The commissioner of education must review paperwork that TEA requires of districts and adopt a policy that limits written reports and other paperwork that TEA requires a principal or teacher to complete.