Regardless of political leanings, there’s a renewed and essential focus on local governing by school boards, commissioners courts and city councils. To understand the responsibilities, and the urgent need for the preparation of locally elected representatives, as well as the professional administrators and lawyers who work for them, and the public, it is important to know the duties and requirements of their positions.
At the state level, there has been a lack of understanding of what the Texas Education Agency is supposed to do, and be prepared to do, under law in serving, not dictating to school districts. At the local level, there’s a lack of understanding of what elected school boards are responsible to do under their district’s own policies for planning and action to serve the needs of all schoolchildren, for the children’s sake.
Steve Swanson is a retired business executive and education researcher. He has volunteered in education for thirty years, including Austin, at the state, and in school districts throughout Texas.
Steve's experience with, and research on, Johnston/Eastside Memorial HS revealed that students, teachers, and schools are not THE problem. This experience and research revealed the critical and urgent opportunity for improvement exists above the schools, at the district and state levels. Opportunities in the promises made in ISD policies and Texas laws for local governing of community planning and action serving the needs of all students, for the students’ sake.
Steve and Lynn Davenport met at a hearing in Austin at the Texas Education Agency in 2016. We don’t need to reinvent or recreate new policies when we already have the tools we need to serve the needs of kids, we don’t read the instructions! The important “instructional manuals” that exist in Texas with the Texas Education Code, the Texas Lawyer’s Creed, and the Educator’s Code of Ethics are in place for just these reasons.
For example, Richardson ISD created a redundant Equity Policy which was already in existence under BQ Local to be applied to all students. That policy has been ignored for decades. Much like the TEA and the legislators, our school boards are not prepared in, and don’t follow, existing policies, yet they continue to create new ones.
Swanson would like to inform and help empower parents, students, teachers, business leaders, voters, as well as boards and superintendents through a learning process to read and understand Texas’ governance responsibilities for serving the needs of ALL students, for the students’ sake, including special needs and suicide prevention.
Read the entire write up at OffBeatBusiness.com.
Steve Swanson can be reached at swanson@austin.rr.com
Website: improvetexasschools.org