November 2023 Committee on School Initiatives Item 4
Discussion of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, §61.2 Nomination of Trustees for Military Reservation School Districts and Boys Ranch Independent School District
November 16, 2023
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, §61.2 Nomination of Trustees for Military Reservation School Districts and Boys Ranch Independent School District. The proposed amendment would reflect changes made by House Bill (HB) 4210, 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, to the State Board of Education's (SBOE's) process for appointing trustees for military reservation districts.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §11.352, as amended by HB 4210, 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2023.
TEC, §11.352, as amended by HB 4210, 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, requires the SBOE to appoint a board of three or five trustees for each military reservation district.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.
FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The proposed amendment to §61.2 will be presented for first reading and filing authorization at a future SBOE meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: TEC, §11.352, requires the SBOE to appoint a board of three or five trustees for each military reservation district established under TEC, §11.351. Enlisted personnel and officers may be appointed to the school board, but a majority of the trustees must be civilians. To be eligible to serve, one must either live or be employed on the military reservation. The trustees are selected from a list of people provided by the commanding officer of the military reservation.
HB 4210, 88th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, amended TEC, §11.352(b) and (c), to establish that a person who retires from active duty or civilian service while serving as a member of the board of trustees of a military reservation district may continue to serve for the remainder of his or her term. The bill also changed the SBOE's responsibility to adopt rules for the governance of special-purpose districts from permissive to required.
Section 61.2 was originally adopted effective September 1, 1996. It was amended effective December 20, 2010, and amended again effective March 7, 2012. It was amended most recently effective March 24, 2020.
Staff Members Responsible:
Steve Lecholop, Deputy Commissioner, Governance
Christopher Lucas, Director, Policy, Planning, and Operations, Governance
Attachment:
Text of 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, §61.2, Nomination of Trustees for Military Reservation School Districts and Boys Ranch Independent School District