Texas Education Agency

In 1854, the first state school census showed an enrollment of 65,463 students. However, the educational landscape in Texas looked quite different in the following decades. Prior to the late 1940s, many school districts in Texas did not operate schools, but instead spent money to send children to schools operated by other districts. In the late 1940s, state lawmakers passed a bill abolishing those districts, prompting a wave of mass school district consolidation. 4,500 school districts were consolidated in 2,900 almost immediately after the statute was put in place. The 1949 legislature abolished the previous State Board of Education and the Gilmer-Aikin Laws established the Texas Education Agency. The Gilmer-Aikin Laws refer to when the Fifteenth Legislature, in 1947, created a committee to study education reform in the State of Texas due to legislative deadlock over teacher salary; they presented a final report and recommendations to the House on January 26, 1949. The committee was named after Representative Claud Gilmer and Senator A.M. Aikin, Jr.

On October 23, 2025, Mike Morath, The Texas Agency Commissioner, declared that the TEA would be taking over Fort Worth ISD, including replacing the elected board of trustees with managers of the TEA's choosing. This decision was made because one campus received consecutive ratings that were deemed "inappropriate" under the TEA. This recent headline in that area prompted a meeting where the community and teachers voiced their concerns. The TEA had their Deputy Commission of Governance there to provide charts and data on why their agency believed this intervention was appropriate. On their page, TEA has a rating system where they address the process of appeals and a summary of reports for that following year.

Curriculum controversies

On November 7, 2007, Christine Comer resigned as the director of the science curriculum after more than nine years. Comer said that her resignation was a result of pressure from officials who claimed that she had given the appearance of criticizing the teaching of intelligent design.

In 2009, the board received criticism from more than 50 scientific organizations over an attempt to weaken science standards on evolution.

In October 2012, The Revisionaries, a documentary film about the re-election of the chairman of the Texas Board of Education Don McLeroy and the curriculum controversy, was released. In late January 2013, PBS's Independent Lens aired an abridged version the film.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, Texas said that the government should "take a look" at the structure of the board and consider a nonpartisan or appointed board if the elected members are "not getting their job done and they're not pleasing the Legislature or the citizens, then we ought to take) a thorough look at what they are doing." In 2010, Al Jezeera stated that it was "drafting its own version of American history", including altering school textbooks to remove what it said was a "left-leaning bias" and making changes that are said to have "religious and racial overtones".

In June 2024, Republican Lawmakers and others propose the idea of all elementary schools to adopt a curriculum of extensive biblical references in their classes. And there would be an additional $60 per student in additional funding. Then, in November 2024, the Texas Education Board voted and passed to allow new curriculum of Christian Values and add many biblical references and insert moral values into everyday teaching. Although it is not specifically required for school districts to implement teaching, they will gain additional funding from both federal and state level.

Special education controversies

A series of reports in 2016 by the Houston Chronicle found that since at least 2004, TEA denied special education services to thousands of students, prompting a federal investigation. State education officials set an arbitrary limit of 8.5% for the number of students who could receive special education services. By strictly enforcing district compliance with the benchmark, the rate of students receiving special education in Texas fell to 8.5% in 2015, far below the national average of 13%. School districts implemented a wide range of practices to reduce the number of students, including cutting services for certain children with autism and dyslexia, refusing to conduct eligibility evaluations in other languages, and refusing to accept medical records from other countries. Students who are English Language Learners (ELL) also faced a disproportionate impact resulting in a 20% difference in the rate of ELL students getting special education services compared to native speakers. In Houston ISD, the state's largest school district, after the 8.5% goal was met the standard was lowered to 8%. As a result, the district cut hundreds of special education positions, postponed diagnostic evaluations to second grade, and created a list of disqualifying factors that keep students from getting services.