June 2026 Committee on School Initiatives Item 10
Adoption of Review of 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts
June 26, 2026
COMMITTEE ON SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ACTION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: CONSENT
SUMMARY: Texas Government Code, §2001.039, establishes a four-year rule review cycle for all state agency rules, including State Board of Education (SBOE) rules. This item presents the adoption of the review of 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts. The rules being reviewed relate to continuing education for school board members, nomination of trustees for military reservation school districts and Boys Ranch Independent School District, school safety training for school board members, applicability of state law for special purpose school districts, and applicability of state law to Boys Ranch Independent School District.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: The statutory authority for the rule review is Texas Government Code, §2001.039. The statutory authority for 19 TAC Chapter 61, Subchapter A, is Texas Education Code (TEC), §11.159 and §11.352; for Subchapter B is TEC, §11.351 and §11.352.
Texas Government Code, §2001.039, requires all state agencies to review their rules at least once every four years.
TEC, §11.159, requires the SBOE to provide a training course for independent school district trustees.
TEC, §11.351, authorizes the SBOE to establish special-purpose school districts for the education of students in special situations whose educational needs are not adequately met by regular school districts.
TEC, §11.352, authorizes the SBOE to adopt rules for the governance of special-purpose school districts, including the appointment of school board trustees. Absent a rule adopted under §11.352, the laws applicable to independent school districts apply to special-purpose districts.
The full text of statutory citations can be found in the links above.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The review of Chapter 61 was presented to the Committee on School Initiatives for discussion at the April 2026 meeting.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION: The SBOE rules in Chapter 61 are organized as follows: Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts. Following is a summary of each subchapter.
Subchapter A. Board of Trustees Relationship
Section 61.1 describes the continuing education requirements for school district boards of trustees.
Section 61.2 describes the requirements for nominations to the boards of trustees of special-purpose districts.
Section 61.3 describes the continuing education requirements for school district boards of trustees regarding school safety training.
Subchapter B. Special Purpose School Districts
Section 61.101 establishes the applicability of state laws to the special-purpose school districts operated by the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University.
Section 61.111 establishes the applicability of state laws to Boys Ranch Independent School District.
This item presents the rule review of Chapter 61, which is designed to ensure that the SBOE continues to have statutory authority for these rules and that the reason for adopting these rules continues to exist. The text of Chapter 61 is not included as an attachment to this item; however, the rules are viewable on the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website at https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/texas-administrative-code/19-tac-chapter-61.
If authorized by the SBOE, TEA will file the adopted review with the Texas Register stating that the SBOE finds the reasons for adopting Chapter 61, Subchapters A and B, continue to exist. The filing of the adopted review stating that the reasons for adoption continue to exist would not preclude any amendments that may be proposed at different dates through a separate rulemaking process.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: TEA filed the proposed review of Chapter 61, Subchapters A and B, with the Texas Register following the April 2026 SBOE meeting. The public comment period on the proposed review began May 15, 2026, and ended at 5:00 p.m. on June 15, 2026. At the time this item was prepared, no comments had been received regarding this review. A summary of any public comments received will be provided to the SBOE prior to and during the June 2026 meeting. The SBOE will take registered oral and written comments on the proposed review at the appropriate committee meeting in June 2026 in accordance with SBOE operating policies and procedures.
MOTION TO BE CONSIDERED: The State Board of Education:
Adopt the review of 19 TAC Chapter 61, School Districts, Subchapter A, Board of Trustees Relationship, and Subchapter B, Special Purpose School Districts.
Staff Members Responsible:
Steve Lecholop, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Governance
Christopher Lucas, Director, Research and Policy, Office of Governance