State Board adopts four-year review of 19 TAC Chapter 109 on school accounting and audits

At a State Board of Education committee meeting, members voted to adopt the standard four-year rule review of 19 TAC Chapter 109, the Texas Administrative Code chapter that governs budgeting, accounting, financial reporting and auditing for school districts and the agency's audit functions.

The rule review covers subchapter A (budgeting, accounting, financial reporting and auditing for school districts), subchapter B (Texas Education Agency audit functions), subchapter C (adoption by reference of the accounting guide) and subchapter D (uniform bank bid/request for proposal and depository contracts). Chair Maynard said the board had to complete this periodic review to determine whether the rules remain necessary.

The review found the rule text remains needed. Mr. Marks, a staff member who presented the item, told the board he had received no public comments on the review and said staff will bring a separate change at a later meeting to reflect a statutory change: school districts will no longer be required to send their depository contract to the agency, so the rule text will be updated to mirror that change in state law.

Board members asked no substantive questions before a motion to adopt the review was made and seconded. The board adopted the review by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

Why it matters: 19 TAC Chapter 109 sets core financial-accounting and audit procedures used by school districts and by TEA's audit operations. The planned update on depository contracts will align agency rules with a recent change in state law and alter a filing obligation districts previously had.

The board did not receive public comment on the review during this meeting, and staff said the depository-contract amendment will return to the board at a later meeting for formal rule text changes and adoption.