Rule Review of 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts

April 7, 2022

COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION

SUMMARY: Texas Government Code (TGC), §2001.039, establishes a four-year rule review cycle for all state agency rules, including State Board of Education (SBOE) rules. This item presents the proposed review of 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts. The rules being reviewed relate to continuing education for school board members, nomination of trustees for military reservation school districts and Boys Ranch Independent School District, applicability of state law for special-purpose school districts, and applicability of state law to Boys Ranch Independent School District.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the rule review is the Texas Government Code (TGC), §2001.039. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 61, Subchapter A, is the Texas Education Code (TEC), §11.159, as amended by House Bill (HB) 690, 87th Texas Legislature, 2021, and TEC, §§11.185, 11.186, and 11.352; and for Subchapter B, is TEC, §11.351 and §11.352.

TGC, §2001.039, requires all state agencies to review their rules at least once every four years.

TEC, §11.159, as amended by HB 690, 87th Texas Legislature, 2021, requires the SBOE to provide a training course for independent school district trustees.

TEC, §11.185 and §11.186, require each district board of trustees to adopt proficiency plans and annual goals for early childhood literacy, mathematics proficiency, and college, career, and military readiness.

TEC, §11.351, authorizes the SBOE to establish special-purpose school districts for the education of students in special situations whose educational needs are not adequately met by regular school districts.

TEC, §11.352, authorizes the SBOE to adopt rules for the governance of special-purpose school districts, including the appointment of school board trustees. Absent a rule adopted under §11.352, the laws applicable to independent school districts apply to special-purpose districts

The full text of statutory citations can be found in the statutory authority section of this agenda.

FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The review of 19 TAC Chapter 61, Subchapters A and B, is scheduled to be presented to the SBOE for adoption at the June 17, 2022 meeting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: The SBOE rules in 19 TAC Chapter 61 are organized as follows: Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts. Following is a summary of each subchapter.

Subchapter A. Board of Trustees Relationship

The rule in §61.1 describes the continuing education requirements for school district boards of trustees.

The rule in §61.2 describes the requirements for nominations to the boards of trustees of special-purpose districts.

Subchapter B. Special Purpose School Districts

The rule in §61.101 establishes the applicability of state laws to the special-purpose school districts operated by the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University.

The rule in §61.111 establishes the applicability of state laws to Boys Ranch Independent School District.

ANTICIPATED REVISIONS TO RULES: No changes to rules in 19 TAC Chapter 61, Subchapters A and B, are anticipated at this time.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: TEA will file the notice of proposed review of 19 TAC Chapter 61, Subchapters A and B, with the Texas Register following the April 2022 SBOE meeting. TEA will accept comments as to whether reasons for adopting 19 TAC Chapter 61, Subchapters A and B continue to exist. The public comment period on the proposed rule review begins May 6, 2022, and ends at 5:00 p.m. on June 10, 2022. The SBOE will take registered oral and written comments on this item at the appropriate committee meeting in June 2022 in accordance with the SBOE operating policies and procedures.

The filing of the notice of proposed review soliciting comments as to whether the reason for adoption continues to exist would not preclude any amendments that may be proposed at the same time or at different dates through a separate rulemaking process.

Staff Members Responsible:
Jeffrey Cottrill, Deputy Commissioner, Governance and Accountability
Christopher Lucas, Director, Policy, Planning, and Operations, Governance and Accountability

Attachment:
Text of 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts