Charter School Governance

The governing board of an open-enrollment charter school is a corporate body that has the primary responsibility for implementing the public school program authorized by the open-enrollment charter and ensuring the performance of the students enrolled in its charter schools is in accordance with the Texas Education Code (TEC). 

All powers and duties not specifically delegated by state law to the commissioner of education, or the Texas Education Agency (TEA) are reserved for the governing board of the charter school. 

Texas Education Code, Chapter 12, Subchapter D defines the contractual elements that must be included in all charters granted by the state, including the requirement of the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to accept and not delegate ultimate responsibility for the school, including the school's academic performance and financial and operational viability. 

Title 19 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §100.1033 (b)(14)(C) defines the non-delegable duties of the governing board of the charter school, which include: 

• final authority to hear or decide employee grievances, citizen complaints, or parental concerns; 
• final authority to adopt or amend the budget of the charter holder or the charter school, or to authorize the expenditure or obligation of state funds or the use of public property; 
• final authority to direct the disposition or safekeeping of public records, except that the governing body may delegate this function to any person, subject to the governing body's superior right of immediate access to, control over, and possession of such records; 
• final authority to adopt policies governing charter school operations; 
• final authority to approve audit reports under TEC, §44.008(d); and 
• the initial or final authority to select, employ, direct, evaluate, renew, non-renew, terminate, or set compensation for the superintendent or, as applicable, the administrator serving as the educational leader and chief executive officer. 

Charter Board and Officer Training Requirements

Continuing education requirements for members of charter governing boards and charter officers including chief executive officers/superintendents, central administrative officers, campus administrative officers including principals and assistant principals, and business managers are established by the commissioner of education in 19 TAC §§100.1102-1105.

Governance board members and charter officials must complete all initial training requirements with one-year of their first day of service or employment, and 50% of the training requirements should be completed within the first six months of service. A total of 25% of hours earned in excess of the first-year requirement may be carried over to the subsequent year.

Governing Board Member

*(TOMA and PIA minutes must be completed within the first 90 days of service)

Superintendent/Chief Executive Officer and Central Administrative Officers

Campus Administrative Officers

Business Officials

Governance Training Optimization (GTO)

GTO equips charter board members and school officers with high-quality materials that are directly aligned with board and officer training requirements found in 19 TAC §100.1102-1105.  GTO covers a broad range of topics including: 

• Why charter boards make a difference 
• Board governance expectations and bylaws 
• Implementing the goals of the charter contract 
• Effective and efficient board meetings 
• Evaluating academic performance 
• Financial oversight and risk management 
• Ensuring services to special populations 
• School safety 
• Ensuring high-quality distance learning; and 
• Tips for effective governance and continuous improvement

GTO trainers are current registered, authorized, or Lone Star Governance training providers who have participated in TEA-provided charter governance training and are certified to train governance boards and charter officers.  Charter boards that participate in GTO training will meet the 12-hour training requirement outlined in 19 TAC §100.1102. 

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Governance Reporting

Charter schools submit information about governing board members and charter officers through the Governance Reporting Form.  The window for governance submission opens October 1, 2023 in TEAL and closes December 1, 2023.

• 2023 Governance Reporting Form PDF (for reference only – all submissions must be made through TEAL)
• 2023 Governance Reporting Form Instructions
• 2023 Governance Reporting Form Training Deck