The State Board of Education (SBOE) is holding its first meeting of 2025 this week, kicking off Tuesday by swearing in members who were elected or reelected in the 2024 general election. 

The board welcomed new members Gustavo Reveles (D–El Paso), Brandon Hall (R–Aledo), and Tiffany Clark (D–DeSoto). The board elected returning members Pam Little (R–Fairview) as vice chair and Will Hickman (R–Houston) as secretary. 

Chairman Aaron Kinsey (R–Midland) announced the following committees for the new board:  

Committee on Instruction 

• Gustavo Reveles (D–El Paso) 
• Evelyn Brooks (R–Frisco) 
• Audrey Young (R–Apple Springs) 
• Pam Little (R–Fairview) 
• Rebecca Bell-Metereau (D–San Marcos) 

Committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund 

• Tom Maynard (R–Florence) 
• Aaron Kinsey (R–Midland) 
• Keven Ellis (R–Lufkin) 
• Marisa Perez-Diaz (D–San Antonio) 
• Will Hickman (R–Houston) 

Committee on School Initiatives 

• LJ Francis (R–Corpus Christi) 
• Tiffany Clark (D–DeSoto) 
• Brandon Hall (R–Aledo) 
• Julie Pickren (R–Pearland) 
• Staci Childs (D–Houston) 

TEA annual report and commissioner Q&A 

Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner Mike Morath addressed the board Wednesday and presented the agency’s 2024 annual report on public education.  

The report highlighted the agency’s goal that at least 60% of Texans will have a degree, certificate, or other postsecondary credential of value as part of the Building a Talent Strong Texas by 2030 initiative. 

The report lays out four strategic priorities: recruit, support, and retain teachers and principals; build a foundation for reading and math; connect high school to career and college; and improve low-performing schools. 

Morath presented a number of metrics to the board, including the most recent STAAR scores. According to the report, third grade math STAAR scores of “meets grade level” or above were down to 42% from 49% before the COVID-19 pandemic. The percentage meeting the same designation in eighth grade math was down to 42% from 62% pre-COVID. 

The percentage of students who qualify for the college, career, or military readiness accountability indicator is up to 76%. High school completion is holding steady at 90%. College enrollment has increased to 58% from 56%, and college completion has held steady at 36%. 

The commissioner highlighted a few key demographic figures. Roughly 62% of students in Texas are considered economically disadvantaged, and 24% are emergent bilingual or English learners. 

As part of a report, the commissioner presented a chart showing that state funding has decreased over the past 10 years while property taxes and recapture have grown. 

Morath also addressed the explosion of uncertified teachers in Texas. According to a TEA chart, 56% of educators hired in the 2023-24 school year were uncertified. The chart states that 64% of uncertified teachers leave the classroom after five years, compared with only 34% of certified teachers. 

Responding to a question from Perez-Diaz, Morath clarified there is no requirement that newly hired uncertified teachers ever get certified. Furthermore, those who choose to pursue certification would currently be expected to bear the full cost of the educator preparation program. 

According to the report, special education full and individual initial evaluations (FIIE) increased to 184,897 last year, up 130% since the 2012-13 school year. The State of Texas has previously triggered intervention from the U.S. Department of Education over its failure to identify students who require special education services.  

The commissioner concluded with a brief overview of the new National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores released Wednesday. Texas ranked 37th in fourth grade reading, down four places from the previous year, and 44th in eighth grade reading, down three places. Texas ranked eighth in fourth grade math, up six places from the previous year, and 34th  in eighth grade math, down nine places. 

Little pointed out that NAEP is not aligned to STAAR and does not test the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum standards. Morath acknowledged the point but suggested that students who do better on STAAR generally do better on NAEP. 

Newly elected member Hall asked the commissioner what affect illegal immigration has had on NAEP scores. The commissioner replied that TEA does not collect data on undocumented students but that it could be assumed most would be considered English learners. 

Morath fielded other questions from SBOE members, including questions related to the uptake of the controversial Bluebonnet instructional materials. The commissioner said the agency has received more requests for Bluebonnet materials than it was prepared to support, so it will be asking the Texas Legislature for an exception budget item to increase Bluebonnet support. 

The board will meet through Friday to consider TEKS curriculum standards related to career and technical education (CTE) courses and elect committee chairs.