Texas Character Education Curriculum for Grades 6–12
Last updated: March 2026
Texas has its own language, its own standards, and its own legislative framework for teaching students the personal skills they need to thrive. Finding a curriculum that aligns with state terminology — not national frameworks — is the first challenge for any Texas district evaluating its options.
Two statutes define the landscape: TEC §29.906 and §38.351. Together they shape how districts approach character education, emotional well-being instruction, and program alignment — and how Ori Learning’s Emotional Well-Being Curriculum fits within that framework for grades 6 through 12.
Why Texas Schools Need a State-Aligned Character Education Curriculum
Texas has deliberately charted its own course on student character development and emotional instruction. While many states adopt the language and frameworks of national organizations, Texas codified its own approach through legislation and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards that use terminology specific to the state’s educational priorities.
That gap complicates the evaluation process. Most commercially available curricula rely heavily on national terminology that does not align with the legislative language Texas educators, school boards, and communities expect to see. Administrators who adopt a curriculum using language that conflicts with state policy risk pushback from stakeholders and misalignment with compliance requirements.
What districts need is a curriculum built around the competencies Texas has identified — trustworthiness, responsibility, caring, citizenship, managing emotions, maintaining positive relationships, and responsible decision-making — without relying on terminology that does not reflect how Texas defines this work.
What Texas Calls Character Education and Personal Skills
Texas addresses student character development and emotional competencies through two distinct but complementary frameworks. Understanding both is critical for district planning and TEC §29.906 compliance.
Texas Positive Character Traits and Personal Skills (TEKS)
Under Texas Education Code §29.906, school districts are required to adopt a character education program that addresses positive character traits and personal skills. The specific standards are codified in 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 120 and organized around four strands:
- Trustworthiness: Honesty, integrity, reliability, and loyalty in personal and academic contexts
- Responsibility: Accountability, self-discipline, perseverance, and the ability to manage one’s own actions
- Caring: Kindness, empathy, compassion, and consideration for others’ well-being
- Good Citizenship: Respect for authority, cooperation, participation in community life, and respect for rules and laws
These standards must be addressed at least once per grade band: K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Districts often search for Texas positive character traits and personal skills resources that match TEKS language — and have flexibility in how they deliver this instruction, whether through a standalone course, integrated into existing subjects, or delivered through advisory periods. TEA’s Character Education program page outlines the district adoption requirements and Character Plus Schools designation process.
Texas Requirements for Managing Emotions, Positive Relationships, and Decision-Making
The second framework comes from Texas Education Code §38.351, which addresses mental health and emotional well-being in schools. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) maintains a list of best practices and approved programs for districts implementing instruction in three areas:
- Managing emotions
- Establishing and maintaining positive relationships
- Responsible decision-making
These three competency areas overlap with frameworks used nationally, but Texas frames them within its own mental health and school safety legislation rather than treating them as a standalone curricular mandate. The TEA’s Mental Health Best Practices list, maintained through schoolmentalhealthtx.org, provides districts with vetted programs that meet these criteria.
TEC §29.906 and TEC §38.351 together cover both character development and emotional competency instruction — which means a single curriculum can address competencies from both statutes.
Education Service Centers across Texas — the primary providers of MTSS professional development for districts — are increasingly framing personal and social competencies as a core component of multi-tiered support systems. That shift means the curriculum a district selects for character education often needs to serve double duty: satisfying TEC §29.906 while also fitting into the broader MTSS framework ESCs are helping districts build.
Texas Character Education Requirements and TEC 29.906 Compliance
Instruction Required Across Grade Bands
Character education is not optional in Texas. Under TEC §29.906, districts must provide instruction in positive character traits at each grade band. For secondary schools, that means dedicated instruction must occur at least once during grades 6–8 and again during grades 9–12. Because instruction is required in grades 6–8, districts need a Texas middle school character education solution with age-appropriate content and flexible implementation options. Many districts exceed this minimum by embedding character education across multiple grade levels or offering it as a recurring advisory component.
Delivery Can Be Standalone or Integrated
Texas does not prescribe a single delivery model. Districts may implement character education as:
- A standalone course or advisory period
- Integrated content within existing courses (English Language Arts, Health, or Career and Technical Education)
- A supplemental program delivered through counseling or student support services
That flexibility matters because schedule time is the scarcest resource in most Texas secondary schools. Between STAAR accountability, academic pacing, and CTE requirements, districts rarely have room to add a dedicated course. The curriculum has to work within time that already exists — advisory blocks, health classes, or counseling pullouts — not demand new schedule space.
District Adoption and Stakeholder Review
Texas law gives local school boards authority over curriculum adoption for character education. Districts that pursue a Character Plus School designation (discussed below) must demonstrate stakeholder involvement in program selection and implementation. This typically includes input from teachers, parents, and community members — making it important to choose a program with transparent content that stands up to review. District leaders should verify whether any proposed curriculum simplifies TEC 29.906 compliance during board review and implementation.
Texas Legislation Shaping Student Support
Three pieces of legislation are particularly relevant for districts planning character education and emotional well-being instruction.
SB 11 and the Safe and Supportive Schools Framework
Senate Bill 11, passed in 2019 following the Santa Fe High School tragedy, established the Safe and Supportive Schools framework. The law strengthened requirements for threat assessment teams, mental health training for educators, and evidence-based programs that support student emotional well-being. SB 11 significantly expanded TEA’s role in maintaining lists of vetted programs and best practices for student mental health, creating the foundation for the resources now available at schoolmentalhealthtx.org.
The Texas School Safety Allotment
Initially established under HB 3 (2019) and significantly expanded by HB 2 (89th Legislature), the Texas School Safety Allotment provides dedicated funding for school safety and student support programs. As of the 2025–2026 school year, the allotment provides:
- $21.10 per student in average daily attendance (ADA)
- $33,540 per campus
The per-ADA amount reflects a base of $20 plus an additional $1 per ADA for every $50 a district’s maximum Basic Allotment exceeds $6,160, as enacted by HB 2 of the 89th Legislature. These funds can be used for mental health programs, character education initiatives, threat assessment team operations, and other allowable expenses under the Safe and Supportive Schools framework. For districts evaluating curriculum purchases, the Texas School Safety Allotment represents a dedicated funding stream that can offset or fully cover the cost of an evidence-based character education and emotional well-being program.
Character Plus School Designation
Texas offers a Character Plus School designation through TEA, recognizing campuses that demonstrate exemplary character education programming. To earn this designation, schools must show evidence of a comprehensive character education program that involves stakeholders, integrates across campus culture, and produces measurable outcomes. Eligible campuses must document structured instruction, parent and community involvement, and measurable impact on student behavior and school climate. Earning this designation starts with documented, assessment-based character education programming.
Funding a Texas Character Education Curriculum
Districts have multiple pathways to fund character education and emotional well-being curriculum implementation:
- Texas School Safety Allotment: The primary dedicated funding source. At $21.10 per ADA plus $33,540 per campus (as of 2025-26), a mid-sized Texas high school of 1,500 students receives approximately $65,190 annually through this allotment alone.
- Title IV-A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment): Federal funds that can be used for programs supporting safe and healthy students, including character education and emotional well-being instruction.
- Local mental health budgets: Districts with dedicated mental health or student support budgets can allocate funds toward curriculum that addresses TEC §38.351 competencies.
- TEA competitive grants: Periodically available grants for mental health and school safety initiatives may cover curriculum costs, particularly for districts implementing programs from TEA’s approved lists.
When presenting a curriculum purchase to the school board, linking the investment directly to the Texas School Safety Allotment and demonstrating alignment with TEC §29.906 and §38.351 strengthens the case significantly.
Aligning Curriculum to TEC §29.906 and TEC §38.351
Ori Learning’s Emotional Well-Being Curriculum addresses the competency areas defined by both TEC §29.906 and TEC §38.351 — positive character traits, managing emotions, maintaining positive relationships, and responsible decision-making — within a single digital platform for grades 6 through 12. The curriculum uses competency-based language that aligns with Texas policy, so districts can adopt it without introducing terminology that conflicts with state expectations or triggers stakeholder concern.
Alignment to Texas Character and Mental Health Priorities
The curriculum’s five units map directly to both Texas frameworks. District coordinators evaluating programs for TEC §29.906 compliance can use this crosswalk to verify coverage without building one from scratch:
| Ori Learning Unit | TEC §29.906 Strand | TEC §38.351 Competency |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Awareness — identity, emotional recognition, strengths identification | Caring, Responsibility | — |
| Self-Management — managing emotions, stress, impulse control, goal setting | Responsibility | Managing emotions |
| Social Awareness — empathy, perspective-taking, appreciation of diversity | Caring, Good Citizenship | — |
| Relationship Skills — communication, cooperation, conflict resolution | Good Citizenship | Positive relationships |
| Responsible Decision-Making — ethical reasoning, evaluating consequences, problem solving | Trustworthiness | Responsible decision-making |
For districts seeking a managing emotions curriculum in Texas that also addresses relationships and responsible decision-making, Ori Learning covers all three TEC §38.351 competencies within a single platform.
In a third-party study following ESSA Level III standards, 1,829 high school students using the curriculum during the 2023–24 school year showed statistically significant gains: students who completed all 25 lessons scored 11% higher on emotional well-being measures than those completing only five (Hunt & Styers, 2025). That dose-response data supports Character Plus School documentation and School Safety Allotment program reporting.
Features Texas Districts Prioritize
Texas districts evaluating character education programs consistently raise four practical requirements:
- Assessment and compliance documentation: Every lesson includes pre-assessments and post-assessments, generating measurable data districts need for program evaluation, stakeholder reporting, and documenting student growth in the competencies Texas has identified. This documentation supports Character Plus School applications and annual School Safety Allotment reporting to TEA.
- Flexible delivery for advisory periods: Three instructional modes — front-of-class presentation, live student participation, and self-paced independent work — allow districts to deploy the curriculum in a dedicated advisory block, integrated health class, counselor-led group, or individual assignment without purchasing separate products for each context.
- Multilingual access for diverse Texas populations: Full lesson content is available in 130+ languages on demand, with built-in text-to-speech and speech-to-text. For districts across Texas serving large English learner populations, this removes a barrier that most character education programs do not address.
- District dashboards and campus-level reporting: Administrators managing implementation across multiple campuses get district-level dashboards with usage tracking, progress monitoring, and exportable reports — supporting the data documentation that Texas accountability systems and MTSS frameworks require. Rostering integrations with Google SSO, Microsoft SSO, Clever, and ClassLink are compatible with the systems Texas districts already use.
See how the curriculum supports Texas districts.
How to Choose a Texas Character Education Curriculum
The first filter is terminology. If a program uses generic national branding without mapping to the language in TEC §29.906 and TEKS Chapter 120, districts may face questions at the board level and in parent communication. Texas districts need materials that use the state’s own vocabulary — positive character traits, personal skills, managing emotions — from the outset.
Coverage across both statutes is worth checking carefully. TEC §29.906 addresses character traits; TEC §38.351 addresses emotional competencies. Many programs satisfy one framework but not both. Districts that want to avoid purchasing two separate programs should ask vendors for a crosswalk showing alignment to both statutes, not just a general “character education” claim.
Secondary content is a persistent gap. Texas requires character education instruction at the 6–8 and 9–12 grade bands, but most programs on the market were built for elementary. Check whether the vendor has dedicated content for each secondary grade level, or whether they are repackaging K–5 material with minor adjustments. Related: the program should work within advisory, health, standalone, or counseling delivery models — Texas secondary schedules rarely have room for a dedicated new course.
Finally, assessment and documentation capability separates programs that help with compliance from ones that create more work. Built-in pre- and post-assessments that generate exportable data simplify stakeholder reporting, Character Plus School applications, and School Safety Allotment documentation. If the program requires teachers to manually track completion, that is a burden most campuses will not sustain. Learn more about how districts approach implementation of student well-being programs across diverse school settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What terminology does Texas use for character and personal skills education?
Texas uses two primary terms: “positive character traits and personal skills” under TEC §29.906 and the TEKS in 19 TAC Chapter 120, and “managing emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and responsible decision-making” under the mental health framework in TEC §38.351. Many districts also use the term “character education” as a general descriptor for this instruction.
Is character education required in Texas?
Yes. Under TEC §29.906, school districts must adopt a character education program. The TEKS require instruction at each grade band (K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12), meaning districts must provide this instruction at least once during middle school and once during high school. Because districts must adopt a program, many leaders search for a Texas character education curriculum that aligns with TEC §29.906.
What are the Texas positive character traits and personal skills TEKS?
The standards are codified in 19 TAC Chapter 120 and organized around four strands: Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Caring, and Good Citizenship. Each strand includes specific student expectations for each grade band, addressing topics from personal integrity and self-discipline to community participation and respect for others.
Can districts integrate character education into existing courses?
Yes. Texas allows districts to deliver character education as a standalone course, integrated within existing subjects such as English Language Arts or Health, or through advisory periods and counseling programs. The flexibility means districts can choose the model that fits their schedule and staffing.
Can the Texas School Safety Allotment fund character education?
Yes. The Texas School Safety Allotment provides $21.10 per ADA and $33,540 per campus (as of 2025-26), and these funds can be used for character education and mental health programs. Districts can also use Title IV-A federal funds, local mental health budgets, and periodic TEA competitive grants.
What is the Character Plus School designation?
The Character Plus School designation is a TEA recognition for campuses that demonstrate comprehensive, stakeholder-involved character education programming with measurable outcomes. Schools earning this designation have implemented a structured character education program, involved parents and community members, and produced evidence of positive impact on school culture and student behavior.
To explore how Ori Learning supports districts seeking a Texas character education curriculum that meets both character education and mental health requirements, request a demo or visit the curriculum overview page. You can also see how Florida structures character education under its own state framework.
