November 2021 Committee on School Initiatives Item 4
Discussion of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship
November 18, 2021
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides an opportunity for the committee to discuss a proposed amendment to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship. The proposed amendment would reflect changes made by House Bill (HB) 690, 87th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, to the State Board of Education's (SBOE's) duty to provide training courses for independent school district trustees.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §11.159(b-1), as added by HB 690, 87th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2021.
TEC, §11.159(b-1), as added by HB 690, 87th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, obligates the SBOE to require trustees to complete training on school safety. The SBOE, in coordination with the Texas School Safety Center, must develop the curriculum and materials for the training by January 1, 2022.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The proposed amendment to Chapter 61, Subchapter A, will be presented for first reading and filing authorization at the January 2022 SBOE meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: TEC, §11.159, Member Training and Orientation, requires the SBOE to provide a training course for school board trustees. Chapter 61, Subchapter A, addresses this statutory requirement. School board trustee training under current SBOE rule includes a local school district orientation session, a basic orientation to the TEC, an annual team-building session with the local school board and the superintendent, specified hours of continuing education based on identified needs, training on evaluating student academic performance, and training on identifying and reporting potential victims of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other maltreatment of children.
HB 690, 87th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, added new TEC, §11.159(b-1), which obligates the SBOE to require trustees to complete training on school safety. The proposed amendment to Chapter 61, Subchapter A, would codify the school safety training requirement in rule.
New TEC, §11.159(b-1), also requires that the SBOE, in coordination with the Texas School Safety Center, develop the curriculum and materials for the training by January 1, 2022. At the September 2021 SBOE meeting, the board discussed an outline of the school safety training curriculum proposed by the Texas School Safety Center and provided feedback on the outline. In order to meet the January 1, 2022 statutory deadline, the training curriculum and materials will be submitted to the SBOE for review and final approval at its November 2021 meeting.
Staff Members Responsible:
Jeff Cottrill, Deputy Commissioner, Governance and Accountability
Christopher Lucas, Director, Policy, Planning, and Operations, Governance and Accountability