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SBOE History and Duties |
Establishing
policy and providing leadership for the Texas public school
system are the responsibilities of the State Board of Education.
By adopting policies and setting standards for educational
programs, the Board provides the direction necessary to enable
Texas public schools to prepare today’s schoolchildren for a
successful future.
Composed of 15 members elected
from roughly equally populous State Board of Education
districts, the Board adopts rules and establishes policies that
govern a wide range of educational programs and services
provided by Texas public schools. The commissioner of education
serves as chief executive officer of the Board and supervises
the administration of Board rules through the Texas Education
Agency. Together the Board, the commissioner, and the Agency
facilitate the operation of a vast public school system
consisting of 1,227 school districts and charter schools, more
than 7,900 campuses, more than 590,000 educators and other
employees, and more than 4.5 million schoolchildren. The Board
establishes goals for the public school system and adopts and
promotes four-year plans for meeting those goals.
As part of its efforts to provide
the best possible education to public school students, the Board
designates and mandates instruction in the knowledge and skills
that are essential to a well-balanced curriculum. The Board
approves and determines passing scores for the state-mandated
assessment program.
In its other activities, the
Board oversees the investment of the Permanent School Fund,
approves the creation of charter schools, and adopts regulations
and standards for the operation of adult education programs
provided by public school districts, junior colleges and
universities.
The Board is required to meet at
least quarterly. Meetings are usually held in the William B.
Travis State Office Building, which houses the Texas Education
Agency, at 1701 North Congress Avenue in Austin. On occasion,
the Board may choose to hold meetings in other Texas cities.
Each meeting, except for executive sessions restricted by law to
specific topics, is open to the public.
Although policy decisions must be
made by the full Board, much of the detailed preliminary work is
completed in committee sessions usually held on the Thursday
preceding each meeting. Here, members of three standing
committees — Instruction, School Finance/Permanent School Fund,
and School Initiatives (formerly Planning) — consider items
listed in the Board agenda for the scheduled business meeting
and review staff progress reports of work under way, proposals
for new programs, and suggestions for improving current efforts.
The Committee on Instruction has
primary responsibility for issues dealing with curriculum and
instruction, student testing, vocational and special education
programs, and alternatives to social promotion.
Primary responsibility for the preliminary work on issues
dealing with school finance, vocational and special education
programs, and the Permanent School Fund rests with the Committee
on School Finance/Permanent School Fund.
The Committee on School Initiatives deals with issues such
as charter schools, the long-range plan for public education and
rules proposed by the State Board of Educator Certification.
Approximately one week before each meeting, the agenda is posted
on the Texas Education Agency's home page on the World Wide Web
at
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/sboe. A copy of the agenda is
also made available to each of the 20 regional education service
centers located throughout the state. A meeting notice is
published on the "Current Meeting Notices" page on the Texas
Register website at
http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/pubomquery$.startup. The
agenda is also available to the public and news media at Board
meetings. Individuals wishing to testify before the Board should
contact the executive assistant to the State Board of Education
for information regarding registration procedures at (512)
463-9007 or fax at (512) 936-4319. Individuals may register
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on the Friday and Monday preceding the
Board meeting. |
