What the heck is an ISD? A Texas transplant's guide to how schools in Texas are run
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's back-to-school season, and if you're a Texas transplant, you may have some questions about it.
Like, "Why is traffic so much worse now?" or, "What the heck is an ISD/CISD?" or, "What's the difference between a public school and a public charter school?"
The former may never be known, especially in the ever-changing and growing Austin. But we can help with the others.
Texas operates on a unique school district system in which public schools are run independently of local and state government, hence the term "Independent School District," or ISD.
There's also the "Consolidated Independent School District," or CISD. These are created when two or more smaller school districts merge into one larger district, according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
There are a few other types of schools that don't fall under the rule of ISDs/CISDs, too.
How Texas' ISDs/CISDs operate
According to TEA, independent school districts were formed in Texas in the late 1800s through a series of laws that "gradually granted cities and towns more freedom in the development and administration of their schools, resulting in the formation of independent school districts."
Today, there are more than 1,200 public school districts in Texas, per the Comptroller of Texas' Office.
Texapedia, an independently operated website with information about different aspects of Texas and its history, government, and civics, as well as TEA's website, get into the nuts and bolts of how Texas' school districts are run and funded.
Texapedia refers to independent school districts as a type of local government within the state of Texas, which a TEA spokesperson said was an accurate description.
An ISD is governed by its own board of trustees, which is elected by voters within the district. Boards of trustees create budgets, set policies, appoint superintendents for their districts, and impose property taxes to fund their schools.
What state requirements are independent school districts subject to?
It's easier to understand how ISDs operate if you think of them as state governments operating within the federal government, if the federal government were the state of Texas. Each ISD, or "state," sets its own tax rates and rules, but they must also follow the laws set by Texas, or the "federal government," in this example.
All ISDs must comply with state laws and curriculum requirements set by the State Board of Education -- the Texas Education Code (TEC) and the Texas Administrative Code (TAC). Districts are also required to file academic and financial accountability reports to TEA and do annual standardized testing.
TEA maintains the Texas Academic Performance Report, which "grades" school districts annually. Grades are largely based on the annual State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test. If a school is underperforming, it can eventually be closed or taken over by a management team other than the school's district leaders.
School districts can be exempt from certain sections of the TEC if they are designated as Districts of Innovation. Districts must meet certain requirements and follow certain procedures to get that designation. The District of Innovation designation allows districts to be "exempt from certain sections of the TEC that inhibit the goals of the district as outlined in the locally adopted Innovation Plan," according to TEA.
There are other types of schools in Texas that don't fall under the rule of school districts, too. Those are home schools, private schools, and public charter schools.
What types of schools operate outside of the ISD/CISD system?
According to Texapedia, about 80% of school-age children in Texas attend an ISD school, 8% attend public charter schools, 6% attend private schools and about 6% are homeschooled.
The state of Texas has certain laws and regulations for private schools, but it has no laws or regulations related to homeschooling. The state does not award a diploma to students who are homeschooled, but it "considers the successful completion of a homeschool education to be equivalent to graduation from a public or private high school," according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Charter schools
The Texas Legislature authorized the establishment of charter schools in 1995.
According to TEA, a charter school is a type of public school that is operated either by a non-profit corporation, a higher education institution or a governmental entity.
The primary source of state funding for Texas open-enrollment charter schools is the Foundation School Program (FSP). Generally, attendance and student program participation determine the FSP funding the charter school receives.
Unlike the ISD boards, charter school boards are appointed, not elected, per TEA.
You can find details about the different types of schools and school districts on TEA's website, along with other information about Texas' education system.