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The governing board of an open-enrollment charter school is a corporate body that has the primary responsibility for implementing the public school program authorized by the open-enrollment charter and ensuring the performance of the students enrolled in its charter schools is in accordance with the Texas Education Code (TEC). 

All powers and duties not specifically delegated by state law to the commissioner of education, or the É«ºÐÖ±²¥ are reserved for the governing board of the charter school. 

Texas Education Code, Chapter 12, Subchapter D defines the contractual elements that must be included in all charters granted by the state, including the requirement of the governing body of an open-enrollment charter school to accept and not delegate ultimate responsibility for the school, including the school's academic performance and financial and operational viability. 

Title 19 of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §100.1113 (a)(1) defines the non-delegable duties of the governing board of the charter school, which include: 

• final authority to hear or decide employee grievances, citizen complaints, or parental concerns;
• final authority to adopt or amend the budget of the charter holder or the charter school, or to authorize the expenditure or obligation of state funds or the use of public property;
• final authority to direct the disposition or safekeeping of public records, except that the governing body may delegate this function to any person, subject to the governing body's superior right of immediate access to, control over, and possession of such records;
• final authority to adopt policies governing charter school operations;
• final authority to approve audit reports under TEC, §44.008(d); and
• the initial or final authority to select, employ, direct, evaluate, renew, non-renew, terminate, or set compensation for the superintendent or, as applicable, the administrator serving as the educational leader and chief executive officer. 

Charter Board and Officer Training Requirements

Governing board members and charter officials must complete all initial training requirements within one calendar year of their first day of service or employment, and 50% of the training requirements should be completed within the first six months of service. A total of 25% of hours earned in excess of the first-year requirement may be carried over to the subsequent year.

Continuing education requirements for members of charter governing boards and charter officers including chief executive officers/superintendents, central administrative officers, campus administrative officers including principals and assistant principals, and business managers are established by the commissioner of education in 19 TAC §§100.1115-1121. Continuing education requirements must be completed annually, on the anniversary of the first day of service or employment.

Governance Reporting

Charter schools submit information about governing board members and charter officers through the Governance Reporting Form.  The window for governance submission opens October 6, 2025 in TEAL and closes December 8, 2025.

• 2025 Governance Reporting Form PDF (for reference only - all submissions must be made through TEAL)
• 2025 Governance Reporting Form Guidelines and Instructions