School Districts May be Required to Make Election Changes Before the End of 2007

Monday, November 12, 2007
Contributed by: Andrea L. Slater Gulley

As many districts know from first-hand experience, Texas Education Code section 11.0581 requires districts to conduct joint elections with either a county (during general elections) or municipalities (during the election for the members of its governing body). The typical result of this law is that schools can choose between May elections with municipalities or November elections with counties. Frequently, cities will only have elections every other year. Last spring, the Attorney General released an opinion and interpreted section 11.0581 to mandate joint elections for each and every regular school trustee election, not just every other year. To accommodate this decision, the legislature adopted Senate Bill 670 (Texas Education Code section 11.059) this last session, which provides that a school district may alter school board trustee terms from 3 to 4 years or from 4 to 3 year terms by December 31, 2007. This new law confirms that districts can change terms to comply with the joint election requirement.

The following is a brief summary of the practical effects of these changes (this list may not be exhaustive):

  • If the district and municipality both conduct annual elections, the district should not have to develop a transition plan or change trustee terms.
  • If the district and municipality both conduct elections every other year (on the same cycle), the district should not have to develop a transition plan or change trustee terms.
  • If the district conducts elections in November and has elections only in even-numbered years, the district should not have to develop a transition plan or change trustee terms.
  • If the district conducts annual elections and the municipality conducts elections only every other year, the district will need to develop a transition plan and change trustee terms.
  • If the district conducts annual elections in November, the district will need to develop a transition plan and change trustee terms.
  • If a district does not have a municipality in its boundaries and currently conducts May elections, the district will need to develop a transition plan and change trustee terms.

It is imperative that the district confirm whether or not it is under a court order before taking action. Often times, a district's court-ordered election plan has been adopted in BBB(LOCAL). Please note that if the district is under a court order, they should consult counsel before taking any action.

The above-described changes must be submitted for pre-clearance by the Department of Justice. The Department recently informed the Secretary of State that, in addition to the usual information submitted in a pre-clearance request to the Department, schools must include seven additional pieces of information.

Memorandums on election changes and the new Department of Justice requirements are available on the Secretary of State's website, at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/index.shtml (index of memorandums) and http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/doj.shtml (memorandum on new Department submission requirements).

If you would like assistance in developing an appropriate transition plan for your district, please contact any of Underwood's Public Education Law Section attorneys.

This column is published for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to create an attorney client relationship. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's law firm or its individual partners.