Texas Education Records and Research Resources

This guide describes some of the most frequently requested historical education research resources at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), focusing on resources concerning public elementary and secondary education. Although this webpage is organized by subject, records of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and predecessor agencies cover multiple topics.

For a detailed description of the state education records held by TSLAC, an overview of Texas Education Records at the Texas State Archives, 1854-2013 is available to download.

An Overview of the History of Public Education in Texas can be found on the Texas Education Agency website.

Access Options

Most items described here are archival materials and publications available at TSLAC. Access options for these materials include:

• Original records in the Texas State Archives collections are available in the Archives Reading Room. More information is on our Before You Visit webpage. The online finding aids linked in this guide provide detailed descriptions and locations of the records.
• Publications in the TSLAC library collections are available in the Reference Reading Room. Some items may be available online or can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). You can search WorldCat , a catalog of library holdings worldwide, to find available print and digitized copies, or check with your local library about ILL services.

A note about terminology: Some TSLAC library and archival holdings may contain language, imagery, attitudes, and/or perspectives from the past that may be offensive today. TSLAC does not endorse the language, imagery, attitudes, and/or perspectives presented in the content but provides it as a historical document. Please see our Statement on Potentially Objectionable Content within our collections.

Texas Education Agency and State Board of Education records and publications include information about school administration functions, county superintendent reports, annual reports of school funds, historical school district actions, textbooks, and school curricula. The Education Overview noted in the Introduction section describes TSLAC holdings of these records.

School Funding

The Texas Education Agency annual reports of school funds contain financial reports from common and independent school districts, dating 1911 to 1957.

Texas School Land Board dockets, minutes, and exhibits and other state agency records, such as records of the General Land Office and Comptroller’s Office, may be of interest as Texas has a long history of funding education through the sale and leasing of public lands.

School finance litigation is documented in Texas Supreme Court and 3rd Courts of Appeals case files . 

The finding aids list most case files by the numbers assigned by the specific court, rather than by parties to a case, although there are some indexes. Use the Texas Judicial Branch’s Case Search feature or published case reporters to locate case numbers.

The University of Texas at Austin has digitized Texas Education Agency Bulletins , from 1937 through 1996, organized by year. These numbered bulletins include a variety of topics, such as statistics, reports, and policies. You may wish to consult the TEA Bulletin Index, 1910-1976 , a publication that can help navigate the Bulletins.

You can search the TSLAC library catalog or WorldCat , an online catalog of library holdings worldwide, for published TEA reports and bulletins. We suggest you begin with a series keyword search for the “Texas State Department of Education bulletin” to find bulletins from a period of interest. Use a keyword search for “Permanent School Fund” to find publications concerning the source of Texas public school funding.

School Districts

You can search the following finding aids describing these records by using CTRL+F on your keyboard to search for specific terms or by county and/or district name:

• Texas Education Agency Office of the Commissioner of Education records
• Texas Education Agency Office of the Commissioner of Education correspondence, subject files, and other materials
• Texas Education Agency legal counsel records
• Texas State Department of Education county superintendent records
• Texas State Board of Education minutes and agenda

The Texas State Board of Education school district records contain reports, financial statements, statistical reports, payroll records, district summaries, and correspondence and other documents submitted by local school districts and county education officials, dating 1879 to 1938.

The Texas Education Agency historical school district action files document the existence of and changes to common, independent, and rural high school districts as well as juvenile detention facilities. The files are mainly correspondence between the TEA and county and school district officials. Attached documents include copies of county election records, copies of scholastic census lists, and hand-drawn maps. The Texas Education Agency card file S-file index, district histories by county, and district histories by school district cards have been digitized and are part of the Texas Digital Archive .

While TSLAC does not have a collection of school district publications, you may wish to search the the TSLAC library catalog for relevant materials such as directories, reports and reviews, and archaeological surveys that explore the history of school districts. The following list may provide a good starting point for your research:

• Public school directory and Texas school directory (1950-2010)
• Texas high schools : directory of teachers (1919-1920, 1922, 1924-1926, 1928, 1930)
• Texas public schools : county and city superintendents (1924-1927, 1928-1929)

TSLAC also holds local school records including:

• Galveston County (Tex.) Office of Superintendent of Schools records
• Montgomery County county clerk and county school superintendent records, 1924-1967

See the Education Overview and Processed State and Local Records webpage for additional records.

The Legislative Archive System on the Texas Legislative Reference Library (LRL) website provides access to laws that created independent school districts after 1898 . LRL has an online Guide to Researching Legislative History and Intent which you may also find helpful. Contact LRL directly for help with legislative research resources.

School Demographics

Published TEA reports may include demographic data for a given year. Reports for select years from 1952-1972 and 1972-1976 are available online from HathiTrust.

TEA Bulletins may likewise include demographic data.

School district profiles from 1995-present are available on the TEA website.

Additional statistical data may be found on the local county level, either with the school districts or in the various county offices.

• School District office. Contact information for school districts in Texas can be found from the Texas Education Agency (TEA)’s AskTED page. Choose the Quick District Lookup from the banner on the page.
• County Clerk’s office. You can find county clerks on the County and District Clerks’ Association of Texas website.

You may also wish to consult with local libraries and the Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) for the county of interest.

TSLAC has a few historical textbooks in the library collections. You may find textbooks using the TSLAC library catalog advanced search feature. For example, search for Words or Phrase: “school$” or “textbook” and narrow the Pub Year: field to the time period of interest, for example, “1920-1940”. Although searching for the keyword “textbook” will retrieve results related to textbook regulations, you may still find the results of interest to your research.

Textbook Policy

The Education Overview describes Textbook Committee records in our holdings.

Digitized copies of Texas House of Representatives Textbook Investigating Committee recordings are on the Texas Digital Archive. The committee was created in response to a controversy over the content of public school textbooks and assigned student reading in Texas in the 1950s and 1960s.

Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Texas Commissioner of Education records may include information about textbooks and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). For information regarding TEKS standards from the early 2000s to the present, we recommend you contact TEA directly .

Records of Texas governors include materials related to educational initiatives, policy changes, and legislative proposals. Listings of finding aids to governors’ records, and records of other state agencies that may document education policy in Texas, can be found on the Processed State and Local Records webpage.

TSLAC has a large collection of newspapers with articles about public school curriculum, textbooks, school funding, and more. Visit our website for information about newspaper resources, including how to access online newspaper databases.

State-adopted Textbook Lists

Texas Adopted Textbook Lists from 1919 to 2019 are available online from the University of Texas at Austin. These textbooks lists adopted by the State of Texas for use in K-12 public schools may also include additional information regarding the State Textbook Committee, textbook law, and adoption of textbooks.

The University of Texas at Austin also maintains many textbooks adopted by the state. Visit the UT Libraries online guide to K-12 Textbooks for more information.

The Gutman Library at Harvard University maintains a collection of nearly 45,000 historical elementary and secondary textbooks , including some from Texas. Visit the Gutman Library website for information about the collection and a listing of other special collections of historical textbooks.

For a historic perspective on textbook adoption in Texas, Sebron Graham Sneed’s A Discussion of the Questions of State Uniformity and State Adoption of Text-books may be helpful to your research.

Syllabi

If syllabi (course guides laying out topics, assignments, and required materials) still exist, they may be found on the local county level, either with the school districts or in the various county offices.

• School District office. Contact information for school districts in Texas can be found from the Texas Education Agency (TEA)’s AskTED page. Choose the Quick District Lookup from the banner on the page.
• County Clerk’s office. You can search for county clerks on the County and District Clerks’ Association of Texas website.

You may also wish to consult with local libraries and the Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) for the county of interest.

TSLAC maintains archival material relating to the history of state disability education in Texas.

Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired records and meeting files . The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) was established by the 6th Texas Legislature as the Asylum for the Blind in 1856. Records document the history of educating the blind and visually impaired, the operation of TSBVI and its predecessors (Texas State Asylum for the Blind, Texas Institution for the Blind, and Texas School for the Blind), the construction and remodeling of buildings, and the courses and instruction methods taught.

Texas School for the Deaf minutes and agenda . The Governing Board for the Texas School for the Deaf oversees the provision of all Texas School for the Deaf services, and as an Independent School District (ISD), it has specific responsibilities related to budget preparation, policy adoption, and appointment of the superintendent. These records document those activities, and consist of copies of minutes, agenda, and some supporting documentation, dating 1982-1998.

Texas State Board of Control records . The Board of Control was the agency with oversight over the state schools and hospitals, and schools for the deaf and blind from 1920-1949.

Texas Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools records , 1950-1965.

Austin State School records, 1917-1919 (correspondence of J.W. Bradfield, superintendent of the school). Contact us at ref@tsl.texas.gov for more information about this collection.

Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation records:

• Lelsz litigation files , about 1974-1995
• Community Services Division executive director memos , 1995-1978
• Minutes and agenda , 1965-1984, 1986-1987, 1989-2004
• Records , 1967-1983 (meeting materials and outreach programs)

Typically, the best source for student records is at the local level. Every county varies in how older records were managed. Prior to the 1950s, school records may have been filed with the county superintendent. Those records may be available through the county clerk’s office. Search for contact information on the County and District Clerks’ Association of Texas website .

For public schools, contact the school district office. Search for Texas school district contact information using the Texas Education Agency (TEA)’s AskTED page . Click “Quick District Lookup” from the banner.

TSLAC does not hold records of private or parochial schools. You may wish to contact associations for private schools for this type of information:

• Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools
• Texas Private School Accreditation Commission

We can also suggest you check with local libraries and the Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) for the county of interest about any student records in their holdings.

Scholastic Census Records

TSLAC does have scholastic census records for some counties and time periods. Scholastic census records document the counting of school-age children by counties and districts so the state could apportion funds for their education. These records include the name and number of the school district, name of parent or guardian, and the name, address, birth date, age, sex, and any physical handicaps for each child. The presence of a name on the scholastic census does not mean the child attended the school.

For more information, please e-mail us at ref@tsl.texas.gov. Be sure to include the county name(s) and year(s) so we can determine if we have student records for that location and time period. Records less than 75 years old are restricted from general public access. See our Policy for Public Access to Scholastic Census Records for more information.

Some scholastic census records may be available online or on microfilm. Visit the County Records on Microfilm webpage for county listings and access options.

Yearbooks

TSLAC does not maintain a collection of school yearbooks. Search the TSLAC library catalog to find the scattered volumes in our collections.

Ancestry.com has a collection titled “U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016”. Ancestry is a paid subscription. If you or your local library has access to Ancestry, you may be interested in searching this collection. Once you access the database, you can search by name, or browse digitized yearbooks by state, city, school name, and years available in the collection.

Public libraries in the school’s area may have local history resources that include yearbooks. You can find libraries in the area using our Find a Library tool.

Records from Closed Schools

If the school was a business or trade school, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) TWC Career Schools & Colleges Program may be able to help you contact the business owning the school about any student records that may have been maintained.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board website has information about private postsecondary school closures and records .