Charter Schools - Governance

This page contains information about the Annual Governance Reporting Form as well as training for board member and officer.

Board Member and Officer Training

Texas Education Code (TEC) §12.123 and Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §§ 100.1102 through 100.1105 set the training requirements.

Who Must be Trained

Commissioner Rules require that the following officials complete a training course (unless exemptions apply):

members of the governing body of the charter holder
members of the governing body of the charter school
chief executive officers
central administrative officers
campus administrative officers
business managers

When Must Training Occur

Officials at new charters must complete the required training within one calendar year. The signing of the charter contract marks the beginning date for that year. New officials at existing charters must also complete the required training within one calendar year of taking office.

After the initial training has been completed, continuing training is required annually thereafter, with the deadline being the anniversary date of the officials' start dates.

Course Requirements

The course content and amount of training required differ for different types of officials. View a table (PDF, 117 KB) that outlines the required course content modules as well as the hours required for initial and continued training for each type of charter school officer. More information about training requirements is available in subsection (d) of 19 TAC §§ 100.1102 through 100.1105.

The curriculum outline (PDF, 32 KB) for the current training courses is available online.

Access a list of registered course providers. Sort the list by the “type” column to view those providers who have been approved to deliver training for charter schools because they have demonstrated their understanding of laws and rules related to charter schools.

The course provider sets the fee for a course or module of training. The provider may or may not provide some type of proof of completion to course participants. However, charter holders must document their compliance with TAC §§ 100.1102-100.1105 annually when governance reporting forms are submitted. These forms must list any officials who have not completed their training requirements.

Individuals or organizations that are interested in applying to be course providers can find more information on the TEA School Governance website.

Governance Training Optimization (GTO)

GTO equips charter board members and school officers with high-quality materials developed by TEA in conjunction with the National Charter School Institute 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. A list of providers is available (PDF, 225 KB).

GTO materials provided to training participants include:

Annual Governance Reporting Form

As required by Texas Education Code (TEC), §12.119(b), TEA collects information about charter school board members and school officers each year.

Annual governance reporting forms are usually made available in September. All open-enrollment charter holders must submit governance reporting forms by December 1 of each year.
Governance reporting forms are submitted electronically through the Charter School Tracking System (CSTS) in TEAL.
One form must be completed for each board member and charter school officer.
The charter school superintendent must approve all forms in order to complete the submission process.
For detailed instructions about completing the Annual Governance Reporting Form, refer to the guidelines and instructions (PDF, 254 KB).

If you have any questions about the information on this page, contact the Charter School Authorizing and Administration Division at (512) 463-9575.

Print