Rural Schools Task Force

Created by Commissioner Mike Morath in 2016, the Texas Rural Schools Task Force is charged with identifying current challenges and best practices for rural school districts statewide. 

Rural school districts across Texas face many educational challenges unique to their size and region. The Rural Schools Task Force conducted regional forums that provided opportunities for task force members and area superintendents to share insights for innovation in the areas of teacher recruitment, teacher retention, resource allocation, use of technology, as well as parent and community engagement.

The Texas Rural Schools Task Force met four times in Austin in 2016 with additional meetings in 2017. Final recommendations were presented to Commissioner Morath and are available in the report below. The Rural Schools Spotlight Report was initiated to support the Task Force in gathering information related to best practices for rural schools and districts.

Members of the Rural Schools Task Force were selected to participate based on outstanding student achievement and a willingness to innovate. The updated list of superintendents and school districts on the task force will soon be listed here.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, Texas has more than 2,000 campuses classified as being in rural areas. Nationally, Texas has more schools in rural areas than any other state with more than 20 percent of campuses located in rural areas.