The Republican Party of Texas is condemning the Texas Association of School Boards and the Texas Association of School Administrators, accusing both groups of “interference, intimidation, and monopolistic practices” and urging lawmakers to bar the use of taxpayer funds for their services.
In a resolution unanimously adopted during its meeting this weekend, the State Republican Executive Committee declared that “no elected school board member should ever be intimidated, excluded, or denied information by unelected associations sustained with compulsory public-school funds.”
The resolution states that TASB and TASA have advanced “systematic intimidation, coercion, and attempts to force trustee recusal from legitimate governance and oversight duties,” often using legal counsel and risk-management providers tied to the associations.
The party says that trustees have been pressured to comply with directives “funded through the TASB Legal Assistance Fund and related programs,” alleging that conservative school board members have been “subjected to coercive tactics” and isolated when challenging policy positions or training mandates.
The resolution specifically criticizes TASB’s role in the statewide insurance and risk-management marketplace, saying the association functions as a “virtual monopoly controlling a majority of the property, casualty, liability, workers’ compensation, and other insurance markets for Texas public school districts.”
According to the SREC, the monopoly allows TASB to “frequently enforce adoption of leftist model policies on gender identity, equity, diversity, and inclusion,” while compelling districts to pay ever-increasing premiums. The resolution states that these services are “frequently more costly and less responsive than competitive private-sector alternatives would be.”
The party also accuses TASB-retained attorneys of withholding district information “unless trustees first agree to recuse themselves,” describing the practice as an unlawful barrier to elected oversight and a violation of open meetings requirements. This, the resolution argues, constitutes “an egregious abuse of power and a direct assault on local control.”
The SREC is calling on the Legislature to prohibit “the expenditure of any public funds for membership dues, fees, or payments of any kind to TASB or TASA,” to authorize districts to terminate existing contracts without penalty, and to “break the TASB monopoly by deregulating the public-school insurance and risk-management marketplace.”
It further encourages local school boards to “review existing relationships with TASB and TASA for consistency with principles of fiscal responsibility, transparency, and local control.”
For years, the Republican Party of Texas has championed a prohibition on taxpayer-funded lobbying as a legislative priority. Legislation to ban the practice passed the Senate multiple times this past session, but was killed in the House when State Rep. Ken King refused to give it a hearing in the State Affairs Committee.
In a statement to Texas Scorecard, a TASB spokesperson said the organization already operates under the principles the GOP cites. They argued that TASB provides “high-value, high-quality services” that help districts steward taxpayer resources and rejected the resolution’s characterizations as “inflammatory” and inaccurate.
TASB also contends that its insurance and risk-management programs exist because private providers have not reliably served districts, particularly small and rural ones. The spokesperson said the association only fills gaps “where the private sector has left a vacuum.”
The organization further denied accusations of ideological enforcement or partisan influence, saying its governance is nonpartisan and in compliance with state law, including DEI-related statutes.
TASA did not respond to a request for comment on the resolution.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
