School Boards

Texas school districts and charters are overseen by school boards. The boards of independent school districts are elected by the citizens of their communities, while the boards of charter schools are appointed.

In each instance, the school board oversees the management of the district or charter school and ensures that the superintendent implements and monitors district operations.  The board and the superintendent work together as a team to bring about the best education possible for the boys and girls they serve.

To make sure they carry their job out appropriately, school trustees are required to receive training in the laws and rules of the state education system.

Should the management of a district or charter fail to carry out its duty, the commissioner of education has the authority to impose a sanction by installing a monitor, conservator or board of managers. At any given time, only about a dozen of the more than 1,200 school districts and charters receive this type of school governance intervention.

Posting Requirements Related to School Board Members

House Bill 963, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature (2019), requires the name, email address, and term of office for each member of the district’s board of trustees be made publicly available on a district’s website. If a school district does not maintain a website, the district is required to submit the information to the Texas Education Agency for posting. Board of trustee information from districts which do not maintain a public website is listed below:

• Divide ISD

Lone Star Governance - Continuous Improvement For Governing Teams 

The intention of Lone Star Governance is to provide a continuous improvement model for governing teams (Boards in collaboration with their Superintendents) that choose to intensively focus on one primary objective: improving student outcomes. Lone Star Governance accomplishes this intense focus through tailored execution of the five points of the Texas Framework For School Board Development: Vision, Accountability, Structure, Unity, and Advocacy. 

Taking place as a 2-day workshop, the purpose of the training is to create a supportive space in which governing teams can learn about and prepare for the intense focus on improving student outcomes as described by the Lone Star Governance implementation fidelity instrument. Included in the training is a participant manual with more information on the continuous improvement model.