July 2015 Committee on School Initiatives Item 4
Long-Range Plan for Public Education
July 17, 2015
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the board with the ability, if needed, to update the process for developing the long-range plan for public education.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §7.102(c).
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The board in April 2015 approved a process for developing a new long-range plan for public education. That plan included approving a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), which seeks an outside facilitator to oversee the development process.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: A special committee of the board called the Ad Hoc Committee on the Long-Range Plan for Public Education estimated that $150,000 would be needed to do the necessary research and prepare a new long-range plan. To date, this funding has not been secured. It is the practice of the Texas Education Agency to issue RFQs only when sufficient funding is available to cover the requested work. Consequently, the RFQ has not been issued and the timeline within the RFQ is now out-of-date.
FISCAL IMPACT: The Ad Hoc Committee estimated this project will cost about $150,000, which would cover the cost of the facilitator, regional meetings, preparation and publication of a final report. There may be additional costs in staff time or meeting costs for TEA and other entities, such as the regional Educational Service Centers or school districts that host meetings.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The public and students would benefit from a long-term strategy designed to provide high quality education to Texas children.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: Unknown at this time.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: The board may wish to consider other funding options. The board may wish to explore whether to begin work on defining and articulating an internal vision as to its role in fulfilling the legislatively defined mission of Texas public education.
Staff Members Responsible:
Gene Acuna, Director
Division of Communications and SBOE Support
Debbie Ratcliffe, Director of Media Relations
Division of Communications and SBOE Support
Attachments:
I. RFQ 701-15-034 (PDF, 335KB)
II. Findings of the State Board of Education Ad Hoc Committee on the Long-Range Plan for Texas Public Education (PDF, 23KB)