How Oregon school districts select Instructional Materials, or Curriculum:
Oregon requires all public school districts to select and adopt high-quality, research-based materials for instruction. Oregon school districts follow a “State Board of Education Adopted Materials” or “Independent Adoption” process to choose the curriculum:
State Board of Education Adopted Materials: These materials are approved by the state because they meet research-aligned criteria for that content area, developed by content specialists and educators. This means the curriculum is research-aligned.
Independent Adoption: If a district chooses to select core materials that are not on the ODE approved list, they must conduct an independent adoption, as outlined in OAR 581-022-2350 The district must review the curriculum to ensure it meets the criteria.
Postponement of Adoption: In some cases, districts may request a postponement for up to two years starting with the publisher contract year of the latest adoption.
In all cases, the local school board must approve the materials before teachers can use them in the classroom.
Note: This requirement only applies to core curriculum. Districts also may use supplemental materials such as intervention materials and assessments.
Want to learn more about your school districts’ adopted instructional materials?
Parents and community members can contact their district for more details about how they select and evaluate their adopted instructional materials. Additionally you can check if the curriculum is research-aligned by looking it up on EdReports, an independent organization that reviews language arts, math, and science materials. The State Board of Education is responsible for maintaining a review cycle at the state level. In 2023, the State Board approved
the following schedule for review and adoption of instructional materials.
Why do High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) Matter?
HQIM help engage students
High-quality instructional materials allow students to engage more deeply and meaningfully with Oregon's standards.
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Oregon Instructional Materials Adoption Schedule
- Request for Postponement : Postponement is good for up to two years starting with the publisher contract year of the latest adoption. All adopted Instructional materials must be implemented in September.
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Oregon Department of Education Curriculum Directors Listserv
Please subscribe to this mailing list if you are a curriculum director or would like updates about instructional materials in Oregon.
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National Center on Accessible Educational Materials
A central repository that receives and catalogs publishers' electronic files of print instructional materials in a standard (NIMAS) format. NIMAC significantly expedites the time frame in which instructional materials are delivered to students with special needs in the classroom.
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Northwest Textbook Depository
Serves as a one-stop resource for K-12 instructional materials in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. This resource eliminates the need to contact each publisher directly, saving time, reducing freight costs and simplifying purchasing procedures.
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State Instructional Materials Review Association
SIMRA, the State Instructional Materials Review Association, is dedicated to the process of thorough and ongoing review of instructional materials that assures alignment of content to state standards, accessibility for use by all students, and quality pedagogy as determined by established criteria. Nineteen representatives of member states, including Oregon, facilitate the evaluation of instructional materials by committees of teachers, administrators, educational professionals, and other stakeholder groups.
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SETDA Digital Instructional Materials - Acquisition Policies for Oregon
- FAQs about IDEA and NIMAS
Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Individuals with Disabilities in Education (IDEA) Act and the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)
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Instructional Materials Comparison Tool from EdReports (ELA, Math, and Science)
See how materials are rated in comparison to each other. Browse an entire content area or sort by subject, grade level, and specific programs.
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The Curriculum Support Guide
Instruction Partners' Curriculum Support Guide offers a straightforward example of what systems can do to improve instruction and achievement by selecting, launching, and supporting high-quality curriculum, detailing what it means and what it takes to successfully implement exceptional materials. This workbook is designed to help a school or system leadership team work through the implementation process together.
- Oregon School Library Information System (OSLIS)
An information literacy website that provides resources to learn research skills, includes an APA and MLA citation generator, and connects Oregon users to a suite of periodicals databases. After clicking on your role (Elementary Student, Elementary Educator, Secondary Student, or Secondary Educator), students and staff in Oregon public and private schools can click on Find Information to access thousands of nonfiction articles, most of which have Lexile levels. To receive your district or private school’s database login or for questions, contact
Jennifer Maurer, the School Library Consultant at the Oregon State Library. The website and database subscriptions are supported through a Library Services and Technology Act grant.
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Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA)
Has a mission to protect, promote and inform software companies and the digital content industry.
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The Association of American Publishers (AAP)
Represents publishers of all sizes and types located throughout the country and is the principal trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry.
- Northwest Educational Resource Association (NWERA)
A professional organization that supports partnership between educational resource providers and the school districts they serve.
For questions regarding the ODE Instructional Materials, email ODE.InstructionalMaterials@ode.oregon.gov.