<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is a branch of the state government of Texas in the United States responsible for public education . The agency is headquartered in the William B. Travis State Office Building in Downtown Austin . Mike Morath, a member of the Dallas Independent School District's board of trustees, was appointed commissioner of education by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Dec. 14, 2015 . </P> <P> Prior to the late 1940s, Many school districts in Texas did not operate schools but 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 . </P>

What is the role of the texas education agency