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Committee of Practitioners

The statutory purpose of the Title I Committee of Practitioners (COP) is to review any state rules, regulations and policies relating to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act, to ensure they conform to the purposes of Title I. The COP must review and approve each change to said rules, regulations and policies. When an emergency demands swift adoption of a rule or regulation to assist with the operation of a Title I program, the COP may not be able to review the proposed rule or regulation beforehand. In these cases, the TEA may issue a regulation without prior consultation and will immediately convene the COP to review the emergency regulation before finalizing it. The committee also conducts a peer review of Individual Programmatic Ed-Flex waiver applications and makes recommendations for approval to the Commissioner or his/her designee, thus functioning as the state’s Ed-Flex committee.

Meetings

The COP conducts regular meetings four to six times per calendar year. In addition, TEA may call special meetings of the committee as needed. COP members set the meeting schedule on an annual basis.  COP meetings will be held in a virtual setting and a link to access the meeting will be posted on this page unless otherwise noted.  In the event that a meeting is cancelled, it will be noted on this page.

The join meeting link for meetings conducted in a virtual setting can be found in the "Meeting Agenda" link that will be posted prior to each meeting.

Meetings will be held on the following dates:

2024-2025

2023-2024

2022-2023

2021-2022

2020-2021

2019-2020

Membership Rules

Statute requires committee membership include:

  •  As a majority of its members, representatives from local educational agencies;
  •  Administrators, including the administrators described in other parts of Title I;
  •  Teachers from traditional public schools, charter schools, and career and technical educators;
  •  Principals and other school leaders;
  •  Parents;
  •  Members of local school boards;
  •  Representatives of private school children;
  •  Specialized instructional support personnel and paraprofessionals;
  •  Representatives of authorized public chartering agencies; and
  •  Charter school leaders.

The Texas commissioner of education appoints COP representatives upon recommendation from the associate commissioner for the Department of Grant Compliance and Administration, and ensures representation among the ten membership categories.

The Texas Administrative Code limits advisory committees to state agencies to a maximum of 24 voting members. Therefore, the Association for Compensatory Educators of Texas (ACET) President and an Association of Migrant Educators of Texas (AMET) representative are non-voting members. These non-voting representatives may change each year with the officer cycle or as designated by the organizations.

In the event of a vacancy, the Agency will make recommendations to the Commissioner based on the following factors:  required membership category and geographic area.

Members

Each state educational agency that receives funds under ESEA, as amended by ESSA of 2015, Title I, Part F, Section 1603(b) is required to create a state COP to advise the state in carrying out its responsibilities under Title I. The COP membership represents all geographic regions of the state and provides for an equitable balance among representatives of parents, educators and education officials. 

Membership Roster for the Committee of Practitioners (Updated 3/2024)

  • Lisette Allen, Private School Representative, Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops Education Department (Statewide)
  • Maria E. Anzualda, School Board Member, Brooks County ISD (Region 1)
  • Laura Colangelo, TEPSAC - Private School Representative (Statewide)
  • Melody Collier, Parent, Hawley ISD (Region 14)
  • Merideth Dodd, Elementary School Principal, Tidehaven ISD (Region 3)
  • Pam Evans, Large Urban District, Houston ISD (Region 4)
  • Brenda Faz-Villarreal, Early Childhood Education Representative (Region 20)
  • Mia Hall, School Board Member, Crowley ISD (Region 11)
  • Marilyn Harris, Texas Juvenile Justice Department Representative (Statewide)
  • Lauren Hodge, ESC Coordinator (Region 6)
  • Dr. Stephanie Dominique, Windham Schools Representative (Statewide)
  • Carrie Matthews, Title I Teacher, Holliday ISD (Region 9)
  • Alexis Neumann, Charter School Administrator (Region 12)
  • Ellie Ross, AMET (non-voting member)
  • Sharon Sanchez, ACET (non-voting member)

Rules of Governance

Section 1603(b) of PL 114-95 defines the purpose and composition of the Title I COP. The COP chair is determined by the state director of Title I or his/her designee. The chair presides at meetings of the committee and performs other duties, as necessary, to assist the committee. Each voting member of the committee has one vote. Members who are absent may send a representative to participate in discussion, but the representative may only vote in the member’s place if the member gives a written signed proxy. Ex-officio members may participate in discussion; however, only active members may vote. Committee actions are approved/recommended by a majority vote of committee members present during a scheduled meeting.

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Related Content

Title I, Part A--Improving Basic Programs
Federal Program Compliance Division
Ed-Flex Waivers
ESSA Private School Equitable Services
Title I, Part A Distinguished Schools

Contact Information

For additional information, contact Jaime Huerta at ESSASupport@tea.texas.gov.