Discussion of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, §61.1, Continuing Education for School Board Members

November 9, 2017

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

SUMMARY: This item provides an opportunity for the Committee on School Initiatives to discuss a proposed amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, §61.1, Continuing Education for School Board Members. The proposed amendment would reflect changes made by Senate Bill (SB) 1566, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, 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, as amended by SB 1566, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017.

TEC, §11.159, as amended by SB 1566, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, requires the SBOE to provide a training course for school board trustees, including three hours of training every two years on evaluating student academic performance.

BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted 19 TAC §61.1 effective March 1, 1996. Section 61.1 was last amended effective December 20, 2010. The SBOE adopted the Framework for School Board Development in January 1996 and revised the framework in July 2012.

FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: The proposed amendment to 19 TAC §61.1 will be presented for first reading and filing authorization at the January/February 2018 SBOE meeting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The TEC, §11.159, Member Training and Orientation, requires the SBOE to provide a training course for school board trustees. Section 61.1 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, and specified hours of continuing education based on identified needs.

SB 1566, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, amended the TEC, §11.159, to specify that the SBOE shall require board members to complete at least three hours of training every two years on evaluating student academic performance. The bill also outlines when a board member must complete this training.

The proposed amendment to §61.1 would implement SB 1566 as follows.

New paragraph (b)(4) would be added to require the entire board to receive continuing education on evaluating student academic performance. The purpose of the proposed training would be to provide research-based information to board members designed to support the oversight role of the board of trustees outlined in the TEC, §11.1515. The proposed new paragraph would specify when board members must take the training, who may provide the training, and the required length of the training.

Subsection (j) would be amended to require the school board president to announce board member continuing education training outcomes at either the last regular meeting of the board of trustees before an election of trustees or, for years in which an election will not be held, at the regular meeting preceding the uniform election date at which board members are regularly elected for the school district. If the minutes from that meeting reflect that a trustee is deficient in training, the minutes would be required to be posted on the district's Internet website within 10 business days of the meeting and remain on the website until any trustee training deficits have been corrected.

In addition, the following changes would be made.

Subsection (b)(1)(A) would be amended to allow a new board member to participate in a local district orientation session within one year before the board member's election or appointment.

Subsection (d) would be amended to specify that a district is not responsible for any costs to train an individual who is not a current board member.

Subsection (f)(3) would be amended to prohibit a school district from providing for its own board members the training on evaluating student academic performance.

New subsection (l) would be added to provide for an annual commendation for local board-superintendent teams that earn a Lone Star Governance certificate.

FISCAL IMPACT: Fiscal implications will be assessed prior to first reading and filing authorization.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: The current rule requires continuing education activities for school board trustees based on local needs and establish clear expectations for collaboration and communication among local board members and between local boards of trustees and other educational entities and policymakers.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: The proposed amendment would have no impact on current procedural and reporting requirements. Board training updates must continue to be disseminated, noted in the minutes, and announced at a regular meeting of the board of trustees.

LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: The proposed amendment would impact locally maintained paperwork requirements. In accordance with current §61.1, verification of completion of board member continuing education must be maintained by the participant and participant's school district. Minutes of the board meeting in which continuing education hours obtained by each board member are announced must also be maintained locally. Previously, statute required this meeting to take place at the last board meeting held during a calendar year. SB 1566, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, updated this requirement such that this board meeting is to take place before the election of trustees. In addition, SB 1566 also requires the minutes of this board meeting to be posted to the district website if those minutes reflect that a trustee is deficient in any SBOE-required continuing education.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: The official public comment period will begin when the proposal, approved for first reading and filing authorization by the SBOE, is published in the Texas Register.

ALTERNATIVES: None.

OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.

Staff Members Responsible:
A.J. Crabill, Deputy Commissioner
Governance

Ronald Rowell, Director
School Governance

Attachments:
I. Statutory Citation (PDF, 18KB)
II. Text of Proposed Amendment to 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, §61.1, Continuing Education for School Board Members (PDF, 35KB)