Ector CISD trustees review TASB policy updates and state law changes on library materials, attendance and student devices

The Ector County Independent School District Board of Trustees on Aug. 12 reviewed TASB (Texas Association of School Boards) Board Policy Update 125 and discussed several time‑sensitive policy revisions required by recent state laws.

District staff walked trustees through six housekeeping revisions in BDAA, BDD/BDF and related local policies that mainly seek to clarify governance versus administrative responsibilities, committee formation and dissolution, how course partial credit is handled, and attendance/credit committee procedures. Staff described these as maintenance updates rather than changes prompted by the most recent legislative session.

Trustees asked specific questions about several provisions. On student transfers under FDE(Local) and unsafe school choice: staff said bullying has been added as an offense that triggers the unsafe school choice transfer option and clarified that the policy provides that the victim may be eligible for a transfer; trustees discussed concerns about moving victims rather than alleged perpetrators and staff confirmed that the policy provides pathways to address bullying and that principals and administrators are trained and monitored on reporting and investigations.

On time‑sensitive legislative changes, staff briefed trustees on three items: - Senate Bill 13: districts must adopt a formal policy for acquisition of library materials by Sept. 1 and the board will now have a defined role in final appeals and in approving additions to the district's approved library list after a required public posting period. District staff said an advisory committee and a public posting process already exist and staff plan to post candidate materials on the parents/students tab of the district website for 30 days before board consideration. - House Bill 1481: staff said the district will prohibit student use of personal telecommunications devices during the school day and update the code of conduct to reflect consequences; the administration indicated the restriction aligns with the district’s one‑to‑one device program and that they have sufficient district devices to support instruction. - FD(Local) for admissions/extracurriculars: staff noted districts that choose to prohibit homeschooled students from district extracurricular activities must adopt a policy by Sept. 1; proposed text clarifies private‑school/home‑school students shall not be eligible for concurrent enrollment or participation in curricular/extracurricular activities, including UIL, except as required by law.

Trustees also discussed attendance policy revisions (FEC local). Staff said the draft clarifies that administrative regulations will govern petitions for credit, authorizes administration rather than the board to establish attendance committees, and allows committees discretion to require makeup work that is not strictly hour‑for‑hour. Trustees asked whether the 10%/10‑day threshold remains the reference point; staff said the change provides committee flexibility and that make‑up need not be hour‑for‑hour.

No formal board votes to adopt the draft local policy language were recorded in the workshop for the policy updates; staff indicated more legislative‑related updates will follow in October for other changes from the recent session.