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Background on the Texas State Board of Education and Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) oversees pre-kindergarten through high school education in the state. The agency administers and monitors compliance of all Texas education programs that are required by federal and state law. TEA is headed by the Texas Commissioner of Education.
TEA's Commissioner of Education serves as executive secretary to the State Board of Education (SBOE), a 15-member elected body that works with the commissioner to oversee the public education system of Texas in accordance with the Texas Education Code.
The Texas Commissioner of Education is appointed by the governor. The commissioner's duties involve establishing educational and agency policies and rules; recommending changes in state education legislation to the governor and Texas Legislature; implementing changes in education law; adopting various plans and budgets; appointing advisory committees; and general educational leadership and direction.
The rules adopted by the SBOE and the commissioner are part of a larger body of state agency rules that are collected and published by the Office of the Secretary of State as the Texas Administrative Code (TAC). The TAC is divided by subject into numbered titles, each of which may be further divided into numbered parts. SBOE and commissioner's rules are codified under Title 19, Part II, of the TAC. Title 19 is Education, and Part II is the Texas Education Agency.
