| Notes |
In April 2016, the new Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath appointed Crabill as one of his Deputy Commissioners.[4] According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website, Crabill is in charge of the agency's efforts to improve schools and ensure accreditation as the Deputy Commissioner of Governance.[16] His full list of responsibilities originally included "school improvement, charters, governance, complaints management, system support & innovation, investigations, school discipline/safety, accreditation, waivers, and districts of innovation,"[17] but was curtailed later to include only "enforcement & support and governance & investigations."[18] According to Crabill, as he frequently states, his main focus is "improving student outcomes".[19][20]
In his role, Crabill developed and frequently facilitates leadership and governance training sessions to educate current and potential school administrators and board members on how to better execute the responsibilities of their positions.[21][22] At times, his workshops are obligatory as part of the conditions for approval of the improvement plans submitted by underperforming schools.[23] In November 2016, Crabill sent a letter to eleven school boards of under-performing districts requiring that they undergo training to adjust their plans to improve their respective districts. All of the school boards agreed to the training while several did so begrudgingly.[24] However, the workshops were well-received with board members in attendance expressing their hopeful outlook on the future of interactions with the TEA.[25]
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