With the exception of the Stafford Municipal School District, all 1,000+ school districts in Texas are "independent" school districts. State law requires seven trustees, which can be elected either at-large or from single-member districts. Ballots are non-partisan. Although Texas law allows for home rule school districts, no district has applied to become such. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has state authority to order closure and consolidation of school districts, generally for repeated failing performance; the former Wilmer-Hutchins Independent School District was an example of a failing district closed by TEA.