Find School
Statewide Texas Educational Directory & TEA Accountability Engine

Texas Schools Directory, TEA Accountability Ratings & Academic Calendars Hub

TEA PEIMS & TEC §25.081 Reconciled • Oct 2026
Cmd+K

Phase 1 Directory Coverage: Currently profiling the 52 largest Texas public school systems (representing 3.2M+ enrolled students across DFW, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and the Rio Grande Valley). All 1,207 Texas ISDs are indexing across Phase 2.

Statewide Texas Educational System Featured Telemetry

School Districts ESC Region 10 • Dallas Co.
TEA ACCOUNTABILITY Grade B

Irving Independent School District

Feeder Pathways: MacArthur High, Nimitz High, Irving High feeder zones

STUDENT ENROLLMENT31,800Total Verified
STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO14.8 : 12,148 FTE Teachers
2026–2027 START DATEAugust 12, 2026DOI Calendar Approved
OPERATIONAL MINUTES76,125TEC §25.081 Compliant
Thanksgiving: Nov 23 – Nov 27, 2026
Winter Break: Dec 21, 2026 – Jan 5, 2027
Spring Break: March 15 – March 19, 2027
View Full District Directory Calculate Banked Minutes

What Are Texas Independent School Districts and How Does TEA Accountability Work?

Texas Schools is the definitive statewide directory and analytical engine for Texas public education, tracking 1,200+ Independent School Districts (ISDs), open-enrollment charter academies, and TEA A–F accountability ratings. Compare campus student-teacher ratios, statutory instructional minutes, and verified academic calendars.

In the State of Texas, public primary and secondary education is administered through decentralized, self-governing entities known as Independent School Districts. Unlike school systems in many other US states that operate as subordinate branches of county or municipal government, an Independent School District possesses independent corporate status, autonomous taxation authority, and a locally elected Board of Trustees. These trustees establish district policies, approve annual operating budgets, hire superintendents, and negotiate teacher compensation scales under the statutory framework of the Texas Education Code.

Statewide educational quality and compliance are overseen by the Texas Education Agency, headed by the Commissioner of Education. Under Chapter 39 of the Texas Education Code, the state agency administers the public school accountability rating system, evaluating both comprehensive school districts and individual campuses on an A–F letter grade scale across three primary domains:

  • Domain 1: Student Achievement: Quantifies academic performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), end-of-course assessments, College, Career, and Military Readiness indicators, and four-year federal graduation rates.
  • Domain 2: School Progress: Evaluates year-over-year academic growth trajectories and compares campus performance against demographically similar schools across Texas.
  • Domain 3: Closing the Gaps: Assesses whether specific student subpopulations, including economically disadvantaged students, English learners, and special education cohorts, are meeting state-mandated interim targets.

Navigating this extensive educational infrastructure requires granular data transparency. Parents and researchers can explore our specialized Texas Independent School Districts (ISD) directory and TEA accountability ratings to benchmark urban educational systems against regional service standards across all twenty administrative regions.

Major metropolitan systems like Houston ISD and Dallas ISD administer extensive career technical education pathways, early college high schools, and specialized dual-language tracks across hundreds of neighborhood campuses.

In suburban regions, systems such as Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Katy ISD serve rapidly expanding student populations, while Frisco ISD consistently demonstrates outstanding state assessment achievements and competitive graduation metrics.

Additionally, families considering non-zoned educational options can review our guide to Texas open-enrollment charter schools, CAN Academy, and lottery admission priorities to examine state-authorized public academies that operate without neighborhood attendance boundaries.

Interactive Statewide Texas School District & Campus Explorer

The benchmark matrix below provides deterministic telemetry across representative Texas educational institutions, detailing TEA accountability ratings, full-time equivalent certified teachers, student-teacher ratios, and 2026–2027 start dates.

Statewide Data Standards

Telemetry reconciled against the official PEIMS Data Standard across each regional Education Service Center, evaluating annual STAAR Assessment and Domain 1 Student Achievement metrics.

Statutory Operational Baselines

Districts operate under Texas Education Code §25.081, requiring 75,600 Instructional Minutes over 175 Student Contact Days, tracked via Student-Teacher Ratio and FTE Certified Teachers.

Campus Equity & Choice

Evaluates Free and Reduced Lunch percentages, Title I Campus Allocation tiers, UIL Classification brackets, Campus Feeder Pattern maps, and School Choice Transfer options.
Featured Independent Districts & Public Charters
Dallas ISD Houston ISD Katy ISD Frisco ISD Irving ISD Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Fort Worth ISD Austin ISD Conroe ISD IDEA Public Schools Harmony Public Schools KIPP Texas Uplift Education
COMPARATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY

Texas Public & Charter Benchmark Matrix

Side-by-side TEA ratings & operational parameters
Educational Entity Irving ISD School Districts Houston ISD School Districts Katy ISD School Districts Frisco ISD School Districts
TEA Accountability Rating Grade B Grade B Grade A Grade A
Domain 1 Student Achievement 83 / 100 84 / 100 93 / 100 94 / 100
STAAR Approaches / Meets / Masters 76% / 48% / 21% 78% / 52% / 24% 88% / 65% / 36% 91% / 71% / 42%
Student-Teacher Ratio 14.8 : 1 16.2 : 1 15.3 : 1 14.9 : 1
Total Student Enrollment 31,800 189,900 94,500 67,200
2026–2027 Start Date August 12, 2026 August 12, 2026 August 12, 2026 August 12, 2026
Annual Instructional Minutes 76,125 (≥ 75.6k min) 76,995 (≥ 75.6k min) 76,125 (≥ 75.6k min) 76,125 (≥ 75.6k min)
Spring Break Schedule March 15 – March 19, 2027 March 15 – March 19, 2027 March 8 – March 12, 2027 March 15 – March 19, 2027

Texas Education Code §25.081: Instructional Minutes & 175-Day School Calendar Rules

Historical school operations in Texas were structured around an arbitrary requirement of 180 or 175 operational days. In 2015, the 84th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 2610, amending Texas Education Code §25.081 to replace the traditional 175-day operational requirement with a modern, time-based standard: school districts must provide at least 75,600 instructional minutes each school year.

Under the statutory definition in TEC §25.081(a), instructional minutes include student instruction, intermissions, and recess periods. Crucially, the mathematical equivalence of 75,600 minutes divided by 175 traditional instructional days equals exactly 432 operational minutes per day (7 hours and 12 minutes). However, most Texas school systems schedule standard daily bell schedules between 435 and 450 minutes. This daily operational surplus generates banked bad weather minutes, protecting students and staff from having to surrender holidays or extend the academic year when extreme weather events cause campus shutdowns.

You can inspect district-specific start dates, Thanksgiving breaks, winter holidays, and spring schedules in our detailed analysis of ISD academic calendars, school start dates, and statutory instructional minutes, or configure your district's bell schedule using the interactive calculator below.

TEXAS EDUCATION CODE §25.081

Operational Minutes & Academic Days Statutory Solver

STATUTORY COMPLIANCE BENCHMARKS
360 min (6.0h) 435 min (Standard) 480 min (8.0h)
160 Days (Short) 175 Days (TEC Standard) 185 Days
TOTAL ANNUAL INSTRUCTIONAL MINUTES
76,125 Minutes
✓ COMPLIES WITH TEC §25.081 (≥ 75,600 MIN)
BANKED BAD WEATHER DAYS 1.2 Days +525 surplus minutes
OFFICIAL COUNTDOWN TO START -- Days Target: Aug 12, 2026
Empirical Calculation Proof: 435 min/day × 175 days = 76,125 min (≥ 75,600 min)
TEXAS STATUTORY FORMULA Texas Education Code §25.081 & TEA Student Attendance Accounting Handbook

Statutory Instructional Minutes & Banked Weather Reserve

M_annual = D_operational × M_daily ≥ 75,600 min
Notation: Annual Minutes = Operational Days * Daily Bell Schedule Minutes. Surplus = Annual Minutes - 75,600.

Variable Definition & Units

M_req
Statutory Required Minutes [min]

Baseline minimum annual instructional minutes required by TEC §25.081 (75,600 min)

D_std
Standard Operational Days [days]

Historical statutory instructional year baseline (175 days)

M_day
Daily Operational Minutes [min/day]

Daily bell schedule minutes from first morning bell to dismissal

M_banked
Banked Weather Minutes [min]

Surplus minutes accumulated beyond statutory 75,600 minimum to absorb weather closures

Calibrated Example:

Standard 175 Days * 435 Min/Day = 76,125 Annual Minutes. Banked Reserve = 76,125 - 75,600 = 525 Minutes (1.20 Bad Weather Days Banked without makeup requirement).

TEA Domain 1 STAAR Composite Rating & Student-Teacher Ratio Benchmarks

Domain 1 (Student Achievement) evaluates the percentage of students achieving Approaches Grade Level, Meets Grade Level, and Masters Grade Level standards on STAAR examinations. The three performance level percentages are summed and divided by 3 to establish the STAAR Component Raw Score. Evaluate any campus's performance below:

STATUTORY MATHEMATICAL BENCHMARK

TEA Domain 1 STAAR & Faculty Ratio Simulator

Computes TEA Domain 1 Student Achievement composite index and campus faculty staffing ratios under official PEIMS accounting rules.

TEA DOMAIN 1 COMPOSITE EVALUATION

STAAR Performance Components

TEA STATUTORY SCALED RATING
83 / 100 Grade B (Recognized / Commendable)

Raw STAAR Component: (82 + 58 + 26) ÷ 3 = 55 → TEA Ch. 5 Scaled = 83

CAMPUS FACULTY & STUDENT RATIO MODEL

Staffing & Enrollment Parameters

STUDENT-TO-TEACHER RATIO
16.0 : 1

Formula: 840 Students ÷ 52.5 FTE Teachers = 16.0

Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Public Schools & District Directories

01 What is an Independent School District (ISD) in Texas?

An Independent School District (ISD) is a legally separate political subdivision of the State of Texas, governed by an elected Board of Trustees with taxing authority independent of county and municipal governments. Over 1,200 ISDs operate across Texas under the regulatory oversight of the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

02 How does the TEA A–F accountability rating system evaluate campuses?

The Texas Education Agency evaluates public school districts and campuses across three core domains: Domain 1 (Student Achievement based on STAAR performance and College, Career, and Military Readiness), Domain 2 (School Progress measuring academic growth and relative performance), and Domain 3 (Closing the Gaps evaluating demographic subgroup targets). Campus scores are scaled to determine an overall letter grade from A to F.

03 What is the statutory school start date rule in Texas?

Under Texas Education Code §25.0811, school districts may not begin instruction for students earlier than the fourth Monday in August. However, districts designated as a District of Innovation (DOI) by their local Board of Trustees may exempt themselves from this statutory restriction, frequently starting classes in early to mid-August.

04 What is the difference between an ISD and an open-enrollment charter school?

Both ISDs and open-enrollment charter schools are tuition-free, state-funded public education institutions. However, ISDs are geographically zoned taxing entities governed by locally elected trustees, whereas open-enrollment charters operate under charters granted by the State Board of Education, do not levy local property taxes, and accept students statewide via lottery admission.

05 How are minimum instructional minutes calculated under TEC §25.081?

Texas Education Code §25.081 mandates that each school district operate for at least 75,600 instructional minutes each academic year, including intermissions and recess. Districts that schedule 435 or 440 daily instructional minutes accumulate banked minutes to cover unanticipated campus closures without extending the school calendar.