Texas Education Policy Fellowship Program

TX-EPFP is a 10-month intensive professional development program for emerging and mid-level leaders in education and education related fields, to provide rich and robust experiences to both educate and empower them in their work for sound education policy and practice in the state of Texas. The TX-EPFP Fellows participate in a variety of unique activities to discover the multifaceted aspects of education policy with experts across the state, develop their leadership skills through practice, expand their professional networks, and explore avenues for fostering positive impact for stakeholders and communities within Texas education. TX-EPFP is affiliated with the Center for Research in Leadership and Education at Texas Tech University.

Due to a large volume of applications, we are currently still reviewing applications. We plan to send out all acceptance emails before 12:00 noon CST on Friday, June 9th.

epfp cohort and faculty

Meeting with Commissioner Keller at the Texas State Capitol, 2019

Fellows 22-23

2022-2023 Fellows at the U.S. Capitol Building During WPS

Zoom meeting with Dr. Harrison Keller, Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Texas

Zoom meeting with Dr. Harrison Keller, Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Texas, 2021

Texas residents who can apply for fellowship

K-12 Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents
Graduate Students in fields related to Education
Community College and Higher Education Faculty and Administrators
Legislators and Other Elected Officials
Grassroots Community Leaders and Community Organizers
Education or Education Adjacent State and Local Government Employees
Educational Non-Profit and Think-Tank Advocates and Researchers

The Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP) was established by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) in 1964 to broaden the conversation on education policy in the states. Currently, there are 17 active states (sites) around the country with over 300 fellows completing the program each year. The College of Education at Texas Tech University has reestablished the Texas EPFP site and is welcoming new groups of fellows as of Fall 2019.

The members of the 2019-2020 EPFP have each completed Policy Projects as part of their fellowship. View the Policy Projects on the Alumni page.

The three pillars of EPFP are Policy, Leadership, and Networking

Purpose and Focus of the Texas (TX) EPFP

The purpose of the Texas EPFP is to engage and develop a network of community, civic, and educational leaders focused on the creation and implementation of informed and inclusive education policy in the state of Texas. To that end, the Texas EPFP will recruit cohorts of emergent and middle level leaders annually with the intent of further developing their leadership capacity, networks, as well as their knowledge of Texas-specific policy issues and the processes of educational policy development. We hope that over time, a critical mass of Fellows throughout the state will share a common vocabulary, body of experiences, interpretive framework, and relationships, so they are able to apply enhanced levels of knowledge, communications, trust, and focused energy to the challenges of state education policymaking and reform. In addition, the program serves as a forum for identifying and raising public and professional awareness on and attention to issues of education issues in Texas.

Specific outcomes of the TX EPFP program include:

Identification of complex issues that impact P-20 Texas education
Deeper understanding of policy issues, particularly those which are both emerging and dominant in Texas, including the varied (extant & potential) policy arenas
Developing an understanding of the policy process and its diverse players, with attention to influence and power as these relate to policy decisions
Applying organizational, societal, and political leadership in education policy.
Enhancing capability of networking across sectors of Texas education

Each cohort of the TX-EPFP will meet, in-person, for an overnight, in state Fall Leadership Forum in September followed by monthly synchronous meetings online for dialogue with experts, fellows discussion, small group interactions, and more. In Spring, fellows attend the four-day Washington Policy Seminar hosted by the Institute for Educational Leadership, held in our nation's capitol in April. Last, fellows, advisory members, and sponsors are invited to the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock to share their EPFP experiences and policy projects at the annual graduation event.

TX-EPFP Alumni

TX-EPFP Directors

TX-EPFP Advisory Board/Council/Coalition