Texas SBOE Proposes Enhanced Training Standards For School Trustees

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9 hours ago

(Texas Scorecard) – State Board of Education members are considering new standards for local school district trustee training that emphasize elected officials' accountability to Texas families and taxpayers, representing a fundamental shift in public school governance.
The State Board of Education is the policy-making body of the Texas Education Agency, which coordinates all government K-12 educational activities.
State law requires the SBOE to provide trustee training and adopt a framework for continuing education that outlines critical governing performance areas for public school boards.
Five of the 15 elected SBOE members serve on the board's Committee on School Initiatives, which is responsible for developing the trustee training standards: LJ Francis, chair; Julie Pickren, vice chair; Staci Childs; Tiffany Clark; and Brandon Hall.
During a meeting on Thursday, the committee approved a revised Framework for School Board Development that emphasizes elected trustees' supervisory role over the superintendents they hire and prioritizes trustees' responsibility to students, families, and taxpayers.
'The board of trustees is the governing body for Texas public schools and holds the ultimate responsibility for the district's success in educating students. Above all else, trustees owe the highest duty to students and their parents, and the board represents taxpayers, attempting to maximize learning outcomes while minimizing resources required,' states the preamble to the proposed new framework.
The existing framework instructs trustees to govern in tandem with the superintendent as a 'Team of Eight,' and board members frequently state that their primary responsibility is to the district as a whole, rather than to individual constituents.
Francis, Hall, and Pickren voted in favor of the revised framework, which will be put to a vote of the full SBOE on Friday.
The rewritten framework focuses on five core areas: —Setting a clear vision and goals for students —Evaluating the likely success of the superintendent's strategic plan —Monitoring progress —Ensuring transparency —Maintaining accountable governance
The core areas emphasize trustees' roles and responsibilities in overseeing the superintendent as well as the board's accountability to families and taxpayers for achieving district goals related to students' success. The standards also put transparency in place of the current framework's 'advocacy and engagement.'
During Thursday's committee discussion of the revisions, Hall, who represents District 11 in North Texas, cited the arrest of a local superintendent for failing to report teachers accused of abusing students as an example of why trustees need better training.
'As I dug into the issue and communicated with the board, it just became really clear to me that they did not understand their proper role of oversight and accountability,' said Hall.
'I think another thing that's tackled here is the importance of focusing on student outcomes, because the ambiguity of the original framework that we had in front of us from 2020 pretty much allows almost anything as continuing education credits,' he added. 'And so I think narrowing the focus to student outcomes and also emphasizing the role and responsibility of the trustees as elected officials accountable to the taxpayers is really important.'
Pickren, who represents District 7 east of Houston, noted the need for improved training on school electioneering, which has been a significant issue in recent election cycles that has sparked several lawsuits.
'One of the largest school boards in Texas… our superintendent of that board was actually under attorney general investigation for electioneering,' said Pickren.
'The members of the school board, they are very well-meaning people. They come from both sides of the aisle. They just want to serve children,' she said. 'So I appreciate this clarification on behalf of my trustees.'
She added that the new training framework 'sticks very closely with the letter of the law, and I think that is the safest place that we can put all of our trustees in.'
Clark, who represents District 13 in the Dallas area, voted against the new standards, asserting that the committee had not considered sufficient public input.
'I've heard from my colleagues, and they are not in favor of this proposed framework, because it does leave out advocacy and engagement, which are vital components of school board trustees and the work they do,' added Clark.
The original Framework for School Board Development was adopted in 1996. It was amended in 2012 and again in 2020.
The latest revision was first presented during the committee's meeting in April, but Chairman Francis postponed a vote until the June meeting.
The full State Board of Education will vote on the proposed new framework during its meeting on Friday, June 27.