State Board of Education Chair Keven Ellis opened the first of two SBOE September meetings by thanking the members for scheduling time for this first September meeting, and noting the SBOE will meet again on September 8-11 in person. This two meeting schedule is due to an unusually heavy agenda. As four veteran members, including the current vice chair Marty Rowley, two former chairs Donna Bahorich and Barbara Cargill, and longtime Bexar County member Ken Mercer, are retiring after the November meeting, the SBOE has several major items that require public hearings on its agendas this month.
At the September 2nd general meeting, the SBOE approved the Proclamation 2022 Questions and Answers and acted favorably on Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 74, Curriculum Requirements, Subchapter A, Required Curriculum, §74.1, Essential Knowledge and Skills, and §74.3, Description of a Required Secondary Curriculum; and New 19 TAC Chapter 120, Other Essential Knowledge and Skills, Subchapter A, Character Traits in accordance with the provisions of HB 1026 which was passed during the 86th Session. Based on SBOE action, the approved character traits may be integrated into any course.
While not an action item on this agenda, the SBOE discussed the Ad Hoc Committee Recommendations Related to Trustee Team Building Training. The ad hoc committee was appointed to review the SBOE’s framework for School Board Development, the current requirements for team building training for local boards of trustees, and the prescribed qualifications for trainers that provide this team building training. The members of the ad hoc committee are Barbara Cargill, chair; Donna Bahorich, Ruben Cortez, Jr., Marisa B. Perez-Diaz, and Matt Robinson. The ad hoc committee and the Committee on School Initiatives recommended leaving language regarding registered training providers as it currently is written in 19 TAC §61.1. TEA staff explained that the SBOE can add 19 TAC §61.1 to its agenda at any time the members wish to reconsider it. The Committee of the Full Board then considered additional revisions to the framework before postponing action on the proposed rule changes until November 2020 to allow stakeholders appropriate time to review proposed changes.
The links to the September 1-2 virtual meeting and the September 8-11 live meeting may be reviewed at https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/leadership/state-board-of-education.