TASB Takes Legal Action to Protect Policy Service Copyrights, Intellectual Property

Austin— The Texas Association of School Boards, Inc. (TASB) took formal legal action this week to defend its intellectual property against what it believes to be copyright infringement by Texans for Excellence in Education (TEE).

This action is being taken to protect the integrity of TASB Policy Service, a resource for school boards across Texas since 1975. It is also being done to defend a valuable service for more than 1,000 TASB Policy Service subscribers who both pay for and rely on this essential service to develop local policies that meet their community’s needs.   

In early August, TASB issued a letter to TEE, providing specific examples of their copyright infringement and with a request that moving forward TEE respect TASB’s copyrights and not pass off TASB’s work as its own. Unfortunately, TEE’s infringements have continued, leaving TASB with no recourse but this legal action.  

“TASB welcomes fair competition and respects the right of school boards to choose the services that best meet their local needs,” said Dan Troxell, TASB’s executive director. “But when that competition crosses the line into unlawful use of TASB’s copyrighted work, we have both a legal and ethical responsibility to act for our subscribing members and the decades of investment we have made in our service offering.”

Specifically, TASB asserts that TEE’s policy materials often directly copy TASB’s copyrighted policy resources, including TASB’s proprietary coding structure and compilations of legal authorities.

“We support local governance and member choice,” Troxell said. “However, we cannot continue to stand by and let someone plagiarize our materials and market them as their own.”

The Association’s policy materials represent significant time, expertise, and financial investment. For example, the latest policy update for subscribing member districts — created in response to sweeping legislative changes from the 2025 session — required more than 1,500 hours of combined legal and policy staff time, at an estimated value exceeding $600,000. This update, the largest in TASB’s long history, reflects an ongoing commitment to providing legally sound, up-to-date guidance for school boards navigating increasingly complex education laws.

“Violations of TASB’s intellectual property rights harm not just TASB,” Troxell said. “They undermine the trusted service our 1,000-plus subscribing member districts rely on and jeopardize the sustainability of the tools we’ve built to help school boards govern effectively.”

TASB’s lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.