FAQ: Announcing Board's Continuing Education Credit

Are we required to report to the public the continuing education board members receive each year?

Yes.  A State Board of Education (SBOE) rule requires that the president of the board publically announce which board members have met, exceeded, or are deficient in meeting the continuing education requirements.  The information must be reported in the minutes of the meeting and made available to the press. The announcement must be made at the last regular meeting of the board during the calendar year.  For most boards, this will be the December meeting. The complete statement in the rule is the following:

Annually, at the last regular meeting of the board of trustees held during a calendar year, the current president of each local board of trustees shall announce the name of each board member who has completed the required continuing education, who has exceeded the required hours of continuing education, and who is deficient in the required continuing education as of the date of the meeting. The president shall cause the minutes of the local board to reflect the information and shall make this information available to the local media. (19TAC §61.1(j).

Please note that prior to December 2010, there were two reporting requirements: one in the Texas Education Code that required a December announcement and one in the SBOE rule that required an announcement at the time that the board issued its call for elections.  In December 2010, the SBOE amended its rule to be consistent with the statute.  The December announcement is now the only announcement required.

If some of our members have not completed their required continuing education yet, can we postpone the announcement until later?

No. The announcement must be made during the last regular meeting in the calendar year.  If a member has not completed the required training by the date of the announcement but is scheduled to attend or participate in one or more training events within the next few weeks to complete the requirements, the president could state that in the announcement.

We have new members who were elected in May or November.  They have only had a few months (May) or almost no time at all (November) to complete the required continuing education before the December announcement.  Are they considered “deficient” in receiving the required continuing education?

Yes.  Technically, they are deficient.  In the case of board members who just joined the board after a November election, they may be attending their first meeting.  Obviously, they could not have completed the requirement. The board president should certainly note that in the announcement and indicate the new member’s intent to meet the first-year continuing education requirement in the next 12 months.

In the case of a board member who was elected in May and joined the board shortly after, the member is expected to complete the first-year requirements by December.  Since most major state-wide and regional training events occur between May and December, the member should not have difficulty completing the tier one and tier three requirements.  Completion of the tier two requirement, however, depends on when the board-superintendent team as a whole conducts its annual teambuilding session.  Many boards hold that session between December and May.  In that case, the board president should note that the new member has not completed the tier two requirement because the board has not conducted a teambuilding session since the member’s election. The board member will be technically deficient for the first year, but the board member’s good faith effort to comply with the requirements will be clear in the announcement.

What if our members who haven't completed their required continuing education can't attend a TASB training event before the announcement? 

TASB and other providers make courses that count for credit available online.  Each year, board members may count up to five hours of credit earned online toward the completion of their annual continuing education requirement. TASB’s extensive online course selection is available in the TASB Online Learning Center. Board members can go to www.onlinelearning.tasb.org to view the list of courses and enroll. There is a small fee for most courses. In addition, TASB's Leadership Team Services can provide training in local districts on a variety of topics. The staff provides services in district to roughly 150-200 districts per year. Training opportunities may also be available regionally through the Education Service Centers and other providers. The district also may conduct a portion of the required board training locally.

How much detail is the president required to announce?

The board president’s announcement must indicate whether each member met, exceeded, or was deficient in meeting the appropriate requirement.  (Note: requirements for first-year board members are different from those for experienced board members.) To inform the public whether board members have completed all the required training, a three-prong announcement might be useful, following the three “tiers” of continuing education described in the State Board rule.

Tier One (Orientations)
First, the president can announce names of the board members completing the required Education Code orientation or update, and, for first-year board members, the required orientation to the local district.

Tier Two (Teamwork)
Second, the president will need to announce whether the board and superintendent team have completed the required team-building session and assessment of their continuing education needs. This might be done by announcing the date and type of session the team completed. If the team has not yet completed this session, the president might announce the date the session is scheduled. If the board held the team building session but one or more team members did not attend, the president should announce the names of those who attended and those who did not. If a board member did not attend a team-building session because of an emergency, such as an illness, the president may also wish to note that in the announcement and indicate what the board did to inform the absent member of the substance of the session.

Tier Three (Discretionary Continuing Education)
The third component of the announcement would be to state the name of each board member and whether they have completed the required additional hours of continuing education, whether they have exceeded that requirement, or whether they are deficient.

How can we keep track of all the continuing education our board members receive so we'll be prepared to make these reports to the public?

TASB maintains a database of continuing education credit awarded to board members who attend TASB training events. The Continuing Education Credit Reporting Service (CECRS) is accessible to all board members, superintendents, and superintendent's administrative assistants through MyTASB, a password protected section of TASB's Web site. A school district can also enter information about continuing education its board members receive from other providers into this database. Reports can then be printed from this database for each board member.

Who should I contact if I have other questions?

• Questions about how to announce continuing education credit should be directed to Leadership Team Services at 512-467-0222, extension 6161.
• Questions about entering data or accessing CECRS reports should be directed to Marla Gilliland at 512-467-0222, extension 6142.