Texas Education Agency


The Texas Education Agency is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States. The agency is headquartered in the William B. Travis State Office Building in downtown Austin. Mike Morath, formerly a member of the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees, was appointed commissioner of education by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Dec. 14, 2015, and began serving on Jan. 4, 2016.

History

Prior to the late 1940s, many school districts in Texas did not operate schools, but spent money to send children to schools operated by other districts. In the late 1940s, state lawmakers passed a bill abolishing those districts, prompting a wave of mass school district consolidation.

Duties

TEA is responsible for the oversight of public primary and secondary education in the state of Texas, involving over 1,000 individual school districts in the state and charter schools. It is also responsible for the safety of students. However, it does not have any jurisdiction over private or parochial schools nor over home schools.
Although school districts are independent governmental entities, TEA has the authority to oversee a district's operations if serious issues arise. This can be in the form of requiring the district to submit corrective action plans and regular status reports, assigning monitors to oversee operations, and in extreme cases closure of a school campus or even the entire school district.
The University Interscholastic League, which oversees academic and athletic interscholastic competition in Texas public schools, is a separate entity not under TEA oversight.
In addition to primary and secondary education, TEA has oversight duties with respect to driver's education courses and defensive driving courses.

Curriculum controversies

On November 7, 2007, Christine Comer resigned as the director of the science curriculum after more than nine years. Comer said that her resignation was a result of pressure from officials who claimed that she had given the appearance of criticizing the teaching of intelligent design.
In 2009, the board received criticism from more than 50 scientific organizations over an attempt to weaken science standards on evolution.
In 2010, a group of historians, including Jean A. Stuntz of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, signed a petition to oppose the revisions in the social studies curricula approved by the state board, changes which require the inclusion of conservative topics in public school instruction. For instance, Jefferson's name must be restored to a list of Enlightenment thinkers. There must be emphasis on the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in regard to property rights. Students must be taught that new documents, the Venona project, and verify U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy's suspicions of communist infiltration of the U.S. government during the post-World War II era. Stuntz told the Amarillo Globe-News that the SBOE is "micromanaging. They don't know what they're doing."
In October 2012, The Revisionaries, a documentary film about the re-election of the chairman of the Texas Board of Education Don McLeroy and the curriculum controversy, was released. In late January 2013, PBS's Independent Lens aired an abridged version the film.
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, Texas said that the government should "take a look" at the structure of the board and consider a nonpartisan or appointed board if the elected members are "not getting their job done and they're not pleasing the Legislature or the citizens, then we ought to take) a thorough look at what they are doing." In 2010, it was said to be "drafting its own version of American history", including altering school textbooks to remove what it said was a "left-leaning bias" and making changes that are said to have "religious and racial overtones".
For example, the proposed curriculum would downplay Thomas Jefferson's emphasis on the separation of church and state, and would include a greater emphasis on the importance of religion to the founding fathers. Other changes include downplaying Abraham Lincoln's role in the civil war and putting more emphasis on the Confederate leader Jefferson Davis, questioning the Civil Rights Movement in addition to downplaying Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, removing such instances and points of history such as downplaying slavery, putting more emphasis on the states rights cause during the Civil War. Critics of the proposed changes believe that such a focus on the religious elements of the founding period could cause teachers to omit lessons on history more pertinent to national standards.

Commissioner of education

The current commissioner of education is Mike Morath. A former member of the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees, he was appointed commissioner of education by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Dec. 14, 2015.
The commissioner's role is to lead and manage the Texas Education Agency. The commissioner also co-ordinates efforts between state and federal agencies.

State Board of Education

TEA is overseen by a 15-member State Board of Education, elected from single-member districts for four years.
The board devises policies and sets academic standards for Texas public schools, and oversees the state Permanent School Fund and selects textbooks to be used in Texas schools.
Since 2011, the board can still recommend textbooks, but public school districts can order their own books and materials even if their selections are not on the state-approved list. So far, most districts have continued to follow the state-endorsed textbooks, but that trend is expected to change in the next two years as the districts become more cognizant of their available options. Thomas Ratliff, a moderate Republican and the son of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff of Mount Pleasant, in 2010 unseated the Bryan dentist Don McLeroy, a former education board chairman who was the leader of the conservative bloc. Ratliff said in 2013 that the board is "far different" in political complexion that it was in 2010. Though the Republicans hold 10 of the 15 seats, social conservatives are no longer in the majority.
DistrictNamePartyFirst electedSeat up
1Georgina C. PérezDem20162020
2Ruben Cortez, Jr., SecretaryDem20122022
3Marisa B. PerezDem20122022
4Lawrence A. Allen, Jr.Dem20042022
5Ken MercerRep20062020
6Donna BahorichRep20122020
7Matt RobinsonRep20182022
8Barbara CargillRep20042020
9Keven Ellis Rep20162020
10Tom MaynardRep20122020
11Patricia HardyRep20022022
12Pam LittleRep20182022
13Aicha DavisDem20182022
14Sue Melton-MaloneRep20122020
15Marty Rowley ''Rep20122020

Regions

To serve the large number of individual school districts and charter schools in Texas, TEA is divided into 20 regions, each containing an educational service center.

School and district accountability

Education performance rating

TEA rates schools and districts using the same four criteria. According to the TEA, the number of state schools and districts receiving the top ratings of "exemplary" and "recognized" increased from 2,213 in 2005 to 3,380 in 2006.

Gold Performance acknowledgements

In addition to the state ranking, districts and schools can be awarded additional commendations for other noteworthy accomplishments not included in the ranking system.

Budget and enrollment

The Texas Education Agency is funded by the people of the State of Texas, at the direction of their elected legislature and with the consent of the Governor of Texas. The agency's budget must be approved on the legislature's biannual schedule. Revenues for the agency come from the state general fund, the federal government, the Permanent School Fund, and other sources.
YearBudget, for fiscal year % Budget change over prior yearEnrollment Enrollment % change over prior yearState funding per pupil
2020$33,338,021,662*18%--
2019$28,161,490,4442%--
2018$27,698,128,0886%5,399,6820.8$5,129.59
2017$26,186,545,591-4%5,359,1271.1$4,886.35
2016$27,381,560,4745%5,299,7281.3$5,166.60
2015$26,112,248,9884%5,232,0651.6$4,990.81
2014$25,136,102,615-5,151,9251.5$4,878.97
2013--5,075,8401.5-
2012--4,998,5791.3-
2011--4,933,6171.8-
2010--4,847,8442.1-
2009--4,749,5711.7-
2008--4,671,4931.7-
2007--4,594,9421.6-
2006--4,521,0432.7-
2005--4,400,6441.7-
2004--4,328,0281.7-
2003--4,255,8212.3-
2002--4,160,9682.2-
2001--4,071,4331.7-
2000--4,002,2271.2-
1999--3,954,4341.4-
1998--3,900,4881.7-
1997--3,837,0961.0-
1996--3,799,0321.8-
1995--3,730,5441.6-
1994--3,672,1983.7-
1993--3,541,7712.4-
1992--3,460,3782.4-
1991--3,378,3181.9-
1990--3,316,7851.4-
1989--3,271,5091.4-
1988--3,224,916--