Fort Worth, Texas · ★ · Civic Education — Open to All, Meant for All
A Field Guide
Show Up in Fort Worth
Where the meetings are, how to speak, which government actually handles your problem, and how to make sure your vote counts. Everything on this page is free, public, and yours by right.
Every institution on this page belongs to you. You don't need an appointment, an invitation, or a reason — being a resident is the whole credential. Most of my students who attend their first public meeting say some version of the same thing afterward: "I had no idea I was allowed to just... walk in." You are. Here's exactly how, starting with a two-minute map of which government owns which problem.
The law is on your side. The Texas Open Meetings Act requires governmental bodies to meet in public, post their agendas at least 72 hours in advance, and let you watch every deliberation and vote. The Texas Public Information Act gives you the right to request government records. Showing up isn't a privilege they extend — it's an obligation they owe.
GOVT 2306 students: every Texas In Action field assignment has a home on this page. Look for the TIA Activity link at the bottom of each card. GOVT 2305 students: same deal, with CAP Activity links.
Addresses, meeting schedules, phone numbers, and deadlines on this page verified October 2026 against the official sources linked in each card. Spot something out of date? Email me and I'll fix it — consider it your first act of civic participation.
Who does what: a two-minute map
Start Here
If you learn one thing from this page, learn this: you don't live under one government. A Fort Worth address puts you inside at least seven of them at once, each with its own leaders, its own budget, its own taxes, and its own elections. The City of Fort Worth. Tarrant County. Your school district. The Tarrant County College district. A handful of special districts for water, transit, hospitals, and property appraisal. The State of Texas. The United States.
This layered setup is called federalism: the Constitution splits power between the national government and the states, and the states create every local government beneath them. It sounds like a trivia answer until you need something fixed, because each layer only controls its own lane. Call city hall about your driver's license and they'll politely send you to the state. Ask Washington about a pothole and you'll wait a very long time.
So before you show up anywhere, match your problem to its government. Each badge below jumps to the section that shows you how:
A pothole, a streetlight, your water bill, the police, a zoning fight, the parks, a traffic ticketCity
Registering to vote, jury duty, the county jail, deeds, car registration, small claims and evictionsCounty
What your house is officially worth, and whether you can fight that numberAppraisal District
Your kid's school, the curriculum, a campus closure, the superintendentSchool District
Classes, tuition, and campuses at Tarrant County CollegeCollege District
The bus, the TEXRail line, the water supply, a bill from JPS hospitalSpecial Districts
Your driver's license, state highways, university tuition, the criminal code, the power gridState
Social Security, Medicare, a stuck passport, immigration, the IRS, veterans' benefitsFederal
Pro tip: When the layers collide, that's not a glitch. That's federalism in action. The state's takeover of the Fort Worth ISD school board is the live local example: Austin used its power over a government it created. Watching that fight up close is a civics course all by itself.
This is where your property taxes, your streets, your water rates, your parks, and your police budget get decided. Council meets in the new City Hall — the converted Pier 1 tower by the Trinity River — in a chamber built with 250 seats specifically so the public can attend.
Where
Council Chamber, Fort Worth City Hall, 100 Fort Worth Trail, Fort Worth, TX 76102 (just right of the main entrance). Free public parking is on the south side of the building, off Forest Park Blvd.
When
Tuesdays, but the pattern changed in 2026, so check the posted calendar. Day meetings run once a month, usually the last Tuesday, with start times that shift between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. (remaining 2026 dates: Oct. 27 and Nov. 17, both 1 p.m.). Evening meetings, which include zoning hearings, start at 6 p.m. and usually fall on the second Tuesday (remaining 2026 dates: Nov. 10 and Dec. 8). Official lists: 2026 day meetings, 2026 evening meetings, and the council meetings hub for the 2027 calendar once it posts.
To speak
Fort Worth replaced its old speaker cards with an online registration system in June 2026. To get on the list:
Wait for the agenda to post (usually the Wednesday before the meeting).
Register on the city's speaker registration site, by phone at 817-392-6150, or in person at the City Secretary's Office on the 7th floor of City Hall.
Do it at least two hours before the meeting starts. That's the deadline for day and evening meetings alike.
Pick the agenda item you're addressing — or choose public comment for anything not on the agenda.
You get three minutes per item (three minutes total on the consent agenda, no matter how many items you registered for). A representative of an organized group of ten or more who all show up gets six. Every regular meeting now ends with a public comment period for non-agenda topics, which residents fought to win back in January 2026: three minutes, and the mayor can't cut you off without a majority vote. Full rules are on the city's appear before council page.
Can't make it?
Every meeting streams live and is archived on FWTV, the city's video archive, and its YouTube channel. Watching counts for CAP and TIA purposes if you take timestamped screenshots — but the room hits different.
Your district
Fort Worth has 10 council districts (numbered 2 through 11) plus a citywide mayor, Mattie Parker. Look up your district by address, then contact your council member. Each district office answers at 817-392-88 followed by the district number (District 9 is 817-392-8809, and so on).
Pro tip: Read the agenda the day before and pick one item to follow. A two-hour meeting becomes a story when you're rooting for (or against) something specific. Bonus: the consent agenda — dozens of items passed in a single vote — is where most of the actual money moves. And watch the first items on recent agendas: council has been debating whether to shorten speaker time again.
This is the single fastest way to watch your government work for you. Fort Worth's street crews fix roughly a hundred potholes a day and aim to repair reported ones within about 48 hours. But here's the catch, straight from the crews themselves: if nobody reports it, they don't know it's there. The harder, more interesting problem is that the same road can change owners block by block.
City streets
The MyFW app (free on the App Store and Google Play). Snap a photo, drop a map pin, submit, and track the request to completion. No app? Call 817-392-1234, text 817311, or use the online service request portal. Also works for broken signals, missing signs, graffiti, high grass, illegal dumping, and code violations.
Streetlights
Usually Oncor's, not the city's — Oncor owns the wires and most of the poles. Report an outage at oncorstreetlight.com (you'll need the pole number or a map location). Power outages: 888-313-4747.
State highways
Interstates, U.S. and state highways, and their frontage roads (I-30, I-35W, Loop 820, US 287, Camp Bowie west of the loop) belong to TxDOT. Use the road needs repair form, or call the TxDOT Fort Worth District at 817-370-6500 (2501 SW Loop 820, Fort Worth 76133). Urgent road hazards: 800-558-9368.
County roads
Roads in unincorporated Tarrant County are maintained by the commissioner precinct office for that area. Find your precinct with the county's voter lookup, then call the commissioner's office.
Private streets
Gated communities and some apartment complexes own their own pavement. If the city's portal says "not a city street," that's a finding, not a dead end: the HOA or property manager is the government of that street.
Pro tip: Note the exact location and rough size when you report, and screenshot everything: your submission, the tracking number, and the status check before you submit your write-up. Being redirected twice is data, not failure. A before/after with the "completed" notification is a perfect artifact for a CAP or TIA write-up, and an oddly satisfying superpower in general.
Every pothole crew, police shift, and library branch on this page runs on one document: the annual city budget. Fort Worth's fiscal year starts October 1, and the months before that are when residents can actually move money. Show up then and you're not commenting on a decision. You're part of one.
This year
Council adopted the FY2027 budget on Sept. 15, 2026: about $4.35 billion in total, with a property tax rate of $0.705650 per $100 of value, up from $0.67 the year before. That rate vote was the contested one (it passed 7–4), which tells you where the real argument was.
How it works
The city releases a recommended budget in August, staff hold community meetings around the city (livestreamed, with Q&A) to explain it, and the council holds public hearings on the budget and the tax rate in September before the vote. Key dates, budget documents, and feedback forms live on the city's budget page.
Follow along
The city's engagement site, ConnectFW, breaks down where the money comes from and where it goes in plain language, and lets you submit questions before the meetings.
Pro tip: The property tax rate gets adopted alongside the budget every fall, and both votes happen whether or not anyone shows up. If you attend exactly one city meeting a year, make it the September budget hearing. It's the one where everything else on this page gets funded, or doesn't.
Watch a courtroom: municipal court and the JPs
City & County
Forget the TV version. The courts most Texans actually encounter are the municipal court (traffic tickets, parking, city ordinance violations, other Class C misdemeanors) and the justice of the peace courts (small claims up to $20,000, evictions, truancy, traffic outside city limits). Both are open to the public. You can walk in, sit in the gallery, and watch justice at the retail level. No photos or recording inside; take notes and shoot your proof-of-attendance photo outside.
Municipal Court
A.D. Marshall Municipal Court Building, 1000 Throckmorton St., Fort Worth, TX 76102 (downtown, a few blocks from the Tarrant County courthouse). 817-392-6700. In-person court runs Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Fridays are virtual-only as of October 2026. Walk-in dockets start at 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and the daily docket is posted online by courtroom and time, so you can pick a session before you go. Ten full-time judges, appointed by the City Council.
JP courts
Tarrant County has eight justice of the peace precincts, one elected judge each (all eight seats are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot). Find yours with the county lookup, then call ahead for docket times — eviction and small claims dockets are the ones worth watching. Full details on the JP courts page.
Pct. 1 — Judge Ralph Swearingin Jr. · 1895 Courthouse, 100 W. Weatherford St., Room 450, Fort Worth 76196 · 817-884-1395
Pct. 2 — Judge Mary Tom Curnutt · Southeast Subcourthouse, 700 E. Abram St., Suite 200, Arlington 76010 · 817-548-3925
Pct. 3 — Judge William "Bill" Brandt · Northeast Courthouse, 645 Grapevine Hwy., Suite 220, Hurst 76054 · 817-581-3625
Pct. 4 — Judge Christopher Gregory · Northwest Subcourthouse, 6713 Telephone Rd., Suite 201, Lake Worth 76135 · 817-238-4425
Pct. 5 — Judge Sergio L. De Leon · Criminal Justice Annex, 350 W. Belknap St., 1st floor, Fort Worth 76102 · 817-884-1438
Pct. 6 — Judge Jason Charbonnet · Southwest Subcourthouse, 6551 Granbury Rd., Fort Worth 76133 · 817-370-4525
Pct. 7 — Judge Kenneth Sanders · Mansfield Subcourthouse, 1100 E. Broad St., Suite 202, Mansfield 76063 · 817-473-5101
Pct. 8 — Judge Lisa R. Woodard · Poly Subcourthouse, 3500 Miller Ave., Fort Worth 76119 · 817-531-5625
Case lookup
County court records, including JP dockets, are searchable on the county's public access portal. Precinct 1 also runs e-court hearings; observers can call 817-884-1395 for remote access codes.
At the door
Dress respectfully, silence your phone, and if anyone asks your business: "I'm a TCC government student observing for a class assignment" is a perfectly good answer. It's usually a welcome one.
Pro tip: Count how many people appear without a lawyer. In JP and municipal court, it's almost everyone. That single observation — who shows up represented, who doesn't, and how the judge handles the difference — is the whole access-to-justice story, and you'll see it in your first hour.
Live in Arlington? Same rights, different building
City
A lot of TCC students live in Arlington, Tarrant County's second city. Everything on this page applies there; only the addresses change.
City Council
Arlington City Hall, 101 W. Abram St., Arlington, TX 76010. Council meets Tuesdays, usually every other week (remaining 2026: Oct. 27, Nov. 10, Dec. 8, Dec. 15). The afternoon work session (about 2:30 p.m., third floor) has no public comment; the evening meeting (about 6:30 p.m., first-floor Council Chamber) does. Schedule and posted agendas.
To speak
For agenda items, register outside the chamber 30 minutes before the meeting: three minutes. For anything else ("citizen participation"), pre-register by 5 p.m. the day of the meeting through the council meeting process page or by calling 817-459-6186: two minutes.
101 S. Mesquite St., Arlington, TX 76010. 817-459-6777. Doors open 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday.
Pro tip: Every other city in Tarrant County — Mansfield, Hurst, Keller, Haltom City, and the rest — follows the same Open Meetings Act script: posted agenda, public meeting, a way to sign up and speak. The city website's "agendas and minutes" page is always the place to start.
Part 2 · Your County
Attend Tarrant County Commissioners Court
County
The Commissioners Court — a county judge elected countywide plus four commissioners elected by precinct — runs the county: the jail, the hospital district's board, county roads, elections, and an $834 million budget. Despite the name, it's a governing body, not a courtroom. It's also, right now, the most watched local government in North Texas, for reasons that make an excellent TIA paper.
Where
Commissioners Courtroom, 5th floor (Suite 502A), Tarrant County Administration Building, 100 E. Weatherford St., Fort Worth, TX 76196 — downtown, about a mile from City Hall.
When
Once a month, 10 a.m., usually the second Tuesday. Remaining 2026 meetings: Nov. 17 and Dec. 8. In 2027: Jan. 12, Feb. 9, March 9, April 13, May 11, June 8, July 13, Aug. 3, Aug. 17, Sept. 8 (a Wednesday), and Sept. 21. The official calendar can be amended, so confirm before you go. Agendas post at least three business days ahead on the agendas & videos page.
The backstory
This court met every week until December 2023, then twice a month, then voted 3–2 in August 2025 to meet monthly starting October 2025. In July 2026 it kept the monthly calendar over residents' objections. Tarrant is now the only one of Texas's five largest counties whose commissioners meet once a month. Whether that's efficiency or a shrinking window for public oversight is a live argument. Have it.
To speak
Once the agenda posts, use the "Register to Speak" buttons in the online agenda, or register in person at the County Administrator's Office, Suite 404 of the Administration Building. Deadline: 5 p.m. the business day before the meeting. Since February 2026, you get three minutes total for the whole agenda, not three per item, and the judge can cut that to two minutes if 30 or more people sign up. You can also file a written comment on any item through the same agenda buttons. Read the rules of decorum first; they're enforced.
As of October 2026: County Judge Tim O'Hare; Precinct 1, Roderick Miles Jr.; Precinct 2, Alisa Simmons; Precinct 3, Matt Krause; Precinct 4, Manny Ramirez. Find your precinct through the county voter lookup. Three of these seats are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot: County Judge (O'Hare vs. Simmons, who gave up her Precinct 2 seat to run), the open Precinct 2 seat, and Precinct 4. The court's page will reflect any changes in January 2027.
Follow the money
The FY2027 adopted budget is about $834 million (general fund $751 million), adopted Sept. 15, 2026, with a county tax rate of $0.1860 per $100. Start with the budget summary, not the 400 pages behind it. The jail is the line item that surprises everyone.
Pro tip: County government is the layer almost nobody watches, which makes it the layer where one informed resident stands out the most. With only twelve regular meetings a year, each agenda is long and dense. Read it the night before, pick two or three items, and track them to the vote.
Texas still does not have online voter registration for new voters — it's paper, with a hard deadline 30 days before any election. That rule trips up more of my students than any other on this page. For the November 3, 2026 general election, the registration deadline was October 5, so if you're not registered now, your next shot is the May 1, 2027 local elections. If you are registered, here's everything you need.
Check first
Confirm your status, see your sample ballot, and find out which precincts you live in through the county's voter lookup (name plus date of birth, or voter ID number). The statewide check is on VoteTexas.gov. Moved or changed your name? You can update an existing registration online through Texas.gov.
Early voting
Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. Hours: Oct. 19–23, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 24, 7 a.m.–7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Oct. 26–30, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Any of the county's 47 early voting sites works, and two of them are on TCC campuses: TCC Northwest in Fort Worth and TCC Southeast in Arlington. Downtown, the Tarrant County Plaza Building at 201 Burnett St. is the closest to Trinity River. Full list: early voting schedule and locations.
Election Day
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Tarrant County uses countywide vote centers, so you can vote at any center, not just your precinct. Check locations and live wait times before you go. Mail ballot applications (65 and over, disabled, or out of the county) must arrive at the Elections Center by Oct. 23.
What's on it
Governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, a U.S. Senate seat, your U.S. House and state legislative seats, County Judge, two commissioner precincts, all eight justices of the peace, the district attorney, three elected Tarrant Appraisal District board seats, and more. Pull your actual ballot at Find My Ballot; nonpartisan candidate guides are at Vote411.org.
To register
Pick up a postage-paid application at any library, post office, city hall, or subcourthouse — or print one from Tarrant County Elections — and mail it or drop it at the Elections Center, 2700 Premier St., Fort Worth, TX 76111. Questions: 817-831-8683, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. The deadline for the May 1, 2027 elections (city councils, school boards, TRWD) is April 1, 2027.
Work an election
Don't just vote at the polls. Run them. Tarrant County hires thousands of election workers for a general election, pays hourly for the work and the training (news reports put 2026 pay around $15 an hour for clerks and $18 for judges), and takes applications through its poll workers page or at 817-831-6497. High school students 16 and up can serve as student election clerks with an excused absence from school. It's a paid, front-row seat to how democracy actually operates.
Pro tip: The bottom half of the ballot is where the real arbitrage is. Appraisal district board, JP, constable, and in May the city council, school board, and water district races are decided by a tiny fraction of registered voters. Your vote is mathematically never worth more than in a race nobody researched.
Protest your property appraisal (or dissect your tax bill)
Appraisal District
Here's a fact that surprises almost everyone: no city council or school board decides what your house is worth. That job belongs to the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD), a separate government most people have never heard of, and you have a legal right to challenge its number every single year. It costs nothing, you don't need a lawyer, and protests regularly end in reductions. Then a completely different set of governments — city, county, school district, college district, hospital district — each vote on their own rate to apply to that value. Keeping those two jobs straight puts you ahead of most Texans.
Look it up
Search any address on TAD.org (2500 Handley-Ederville Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76118; 817-284-0024). Every record is public and shows the appraised value, exemptions, and the full list of taxing jurisdictions for that address. Renters: look up your apartment complex. It's your rent.
Every entity's rate
The county tax office posts a truth-in-taxation summary with the adopted rate for every city, school district, and special district in the county, split into maintenance (M&O) and debt (I&S). For your specific property, tarranttaxinfo.com shows each entity's proposed rate, no-new-revenue rate, hearing dates, and what each one would cost you. That's the site for watching rate-setting happen.
The deadline
May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice is mailed, whichever is later. Miss it and you wait a year. File through your Online Account on TAD.org using the PIN printed on your notice, or by mail with the Comptroller's Form 50-132. Most protests settle informally with an appraiser; if you don't agree, you get a hearing before the Appraisal Review Board, a panel of ordinary residents. Bring evidence: recent sales of similar homes nearby, photos of needed repairs, your own purchase documents.
Exemptions
If you own and live in your home, make sure your homestead exemption is on file with TAD. It's free, it lowers your taxable value automatically, and the school-district portion alone is now $140,000. Over 65 or disabled? Another $60,000 off the school value. Help line: 817-284-4063.
Paying it
TAD values; the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector bills and collects (100 E. Weatherford St., Fort Worth 76196; 817-884-1100). Same office handles your vehicle registration, which is why the "DMV" confusion is a Texas rite of passage.
Who runs TAD
A nine-member board: five appointed by the taxing units, three elected countywide since 2024, plus the tax assessor-collector. All three elected places are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. The board ordinarily meets the second Wednesday at 9 a.m. at TAD, with public comment first on the agenda. Board page and agendas.
TIA students, read this twice: the Appraisal Protest Exercise is an exercise. Fill out Form 50-132, build the evidence packet, and write "CLASS EXERCISE — NOT FILED" across the top. Filing a real protest is a legal act reserved for the property owner. The Property Tax Autopsy is different: that one wants you to decode a real statement line by line and document one entity's rate hearing, which tarranttaxinfo.com makes easy.
School boards decide budgets, school closures, curriculum policy, and superintendent hires — and right now Fort Worth ISD is the most consequential civics case study in Texas. On March 24, 2026, the Texas Education Agency suspended the elected Board of Trustees' authority, appointed a nine-member Board of Managers (president: former congressman Pete Geren), and named a new superintendent, Dr. Peter Licata, with state conservator Christopher Ruszkowski still in place. The trigger was a single campus with five straight years of failing ratings. The elected trustees still exist and still get elected; they just can't vote on anything until the state hands the district back. State power versus local control isn't a textbook hypothetical here. It's Tuesday night.
Where
FWISD District Service Center, 7060 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76116
When
Regular meetings are usually Tuesdays at 5 or 5:30 p.m.; workshops land on other weeknights. The next scheduled regular meeting is Nov. 10, 2026, when the Board of Managers plans to finalize its goals for the superintendent. Check the board meetings page and board calendar for posted dates and agendas. (The district's site labels the body "Board of Education (TEA-Appointed)" — same people.)
To speak
Call 817-814-1920 by 4 p.m. the day of the meeting, or sign up in person at the meeting until 20 minutes after the start time. You'll be asked which agenda item you're addressing. Handheld signs are allowed (11×17 inches max, no poles). Need a sign-language interpreter? Email boardmeetings-publiccomment@fwisd.org by noon the business day before.
FWISD's 2026 tax rate is $1.029099 per $100 ($0.7869 for operations, $0.242199 for debt), the district is a recapture ("Robin Hood") payer, and its 2026–27 general fund budget runs about $900 million with a planned deficit near $50 million. Its most recent bond election was Nov. 2, 2021: a $1.2 billion Proposition A passed by 57 votes after the canvass, while three companion propositions failed. Budget documents live on the district budget page; statewide comparisons on TEA's financial reports.
Other districts
Live outside FWISD? Same Open Meetings Act, same rights. Board meeting pages: Arlington ISD (690 E. Lamar Blvd., Arlington; usually 1st and 3rd Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.), Keller ISD (350 Keller Pkwy., Keller; monthly, Thursdays, 5 p.m.), Crowley ISD (1900 Crowley Pride Dr., Fort Worth; Thursdays, 6 p.m.), Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD (1600 Mustang Rock Rd., Fort Worth; public comment at 5 p.m., regular meeting 7 p.m.), Birdville ISD (8555 Airport Fwy., North Richland Hills; Thursdays, 7 p.m.), HEB ISD (1849 Central Dr., Bedford; mostly Mondays, 6 p.m.), Northwest ISD (2001 Texan Dr., Justin; 2nd and 4th Mondays, 6:30 p.m.), and Mansfield ISD (605 E. Broad St., Mansfield; 4th Tuesday, 6 p.m.).
Pro tip: The state's 2025 school finance law (HB 2) raised the basic allotment by exactly $55, to $6,215 per student — the first increase since 2019. Every district budget on this list was built around that number. If you want to understand why a district is closing schools or running a deficit, start there.
Tarrant County College is its own government: the Tarrant County College District, with a seven-member elected board of trustees, its own property tax, and public meetings under the same Open Meetings Act as everyone else on this page. If you're reading this for a TCC class, this board set your tuition. It also meets a short walk from most of my classrooms.
Where
Boardroom, TCC Trinity River Campus, 300 Trinity Campus Circle, Fort Worth, TX 76102 (occasionally another campus — the agenda will say).
When
Regular board meetings are Thursdays at 6 p.m.: Oct. 15, Nov. 19, and Dec. 10, 2026; then Jan. 21, Feb. 25, March 25, April 22, May 20, June 17, and Aug. 19, 2027. A work session usually runs the Thursday before each one. Full schedule; agendas post at least 72 hours ahead on the agenda portal.
To speak
Sign up in person before the meeting starts and state your topic. Speakers are heard in the order they signed up, three minutes each.
On Sept. 10, 2026 the board adopted a tax rate of 12.0 cents per $100 (10.55 cents operations, 1.45 cents debt), up from 11.228 cents. Board president: Jeannie Deakyne, District 3. Trustees serve six-year terms by single-member district, elected in May of odd years, in races that routinely draw a few thousand votes. Board of Trustees.
Full disclosure: I teach at TCC, so I'm biased. I'd still put this board on the page. Community college districts tax, spend, and educate at a scale most residents never notice. And for a TIA meeting assignment, it's the one you can attend between classes.
Part 4 · Your State
Find your state representatives and track a law
State
Austin decides more about your daily life than Washington does — your tuition, your driver's license, your criminal code, your property tax system, your power grid. You have one state representative and one state senator, and their offices answer constituent mail because constituents are the whole job.
Who are they?
Enter your address at Who Represents Me? — the official Texas Capitol lookup. It returns your state rep, state senator, U.S. representative, and State Board of Education member, with contact links. Screenshot it; TIA's roster assignment asks for exactly that.
Track a bill
Texas Legislature Online lets you search any bill, read its plain-English analysis, follow every committee and floor action, and watch archived committee testimony. Create a free MyTLO account and it emails you whenever a bill you're following moves.
The calendar
The Legislature meets in regular session for 140 days in odd-numbered years. The 90th Legislature convenes Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2027; bill prefiling opens Nov. 9, 2026, so you can watch next session's fights get filed this fall. Between sessions, interim committee hearings happen year-round and take public testimony.
Laws to follow
Two from the 2025 session land squarely on this page: SB 6 gave ERCOT and the PUC new authority over "large loads" of 75 megawatts or more (read: data centers), including interconnection rules and a remote-disconnect requirement; HB 2 rewrote school finance. From 2023, HB 2127 (the "Death Star" preemption law) is still being fought over in court.
Make contact
A short, specific, polite email or call to the district office about one bill or one issue gets logged and tallied. Form letters get counted; personal stories get remembered.
Pro tip: Want to testify in Austin someday? Watch a committee hearing on Texas Legislature Online first — public testimony is usually two to three minutes, and you'll see that ordinary Texans do it every single day the Legislature is in session.
Most of your contact with the State of Texas isn't a legislator. It's a counter, a website, or a phone line. These are the ones Fort Worth residents use most, each one its own agency with its own rules.
Driver license
Texas DPS, not the county and not a "DMV." Fort Worth offices: the Mega Center at 8301 Brentwood Stair Rd.; 6413 Woodway Dr.; and 3500 Miller Ave. (Lake Worth: 5816 Azle Ave.) Book an appointment first; walk-ins wait.
Car registration
County, not state: the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector (100 E. Weatherford St.; 817-884-1100, eight branch offices) handles registration renewals and titles. Renew online at the tax office site.
Unemployment
Texas Workforce Commission: apply online or call 800-939-6631.
Dial 2-1-1 (or 877-541-7905), the state's free line that connects people to food, housing, utility, and health assistance.
Mental health crisis
MHMR of Tarrant County (My Health My Resources) runs the local mental health authority: 24-hour ICARE crisis line at 800-866-2465, call or text. 988 works too.
Highways
TxDOT Fort Worth District, 2501 SW Loop 820, Fort Worth, TX 76133; 817-370-6500.
Pro tip: Building the TIA services directory? Every entry above is a verified starting point, but the assignment wants you to confirm each one yourself: what to bring, what it costs, and whether the link still works. Call. Directories die when their info is wrong.
Washington feels far away until your passport is stuck, your Social Security payment is wrong, or a VA claim has been "processing" for a year. Then it turns out you have two U.S. senators and a U.S. representative whose offices employ people, called caseworkers, whose entire job is to lean on federal agencies for constituents. This is the most underused free service in American government.
Who they are
After the 2025 redistricting, Tarrant County is split among five congressional districts: the 6th, 12th, 24th, 25th, and 30th. Check yours with the House's official Find Your Representative lookup or the state's Who Represents Me? tool. Your two senators represent the whole state; contact info is at senate.gov.
Get casework help
Stuck with a federal agency over a passport, Social Security, Medicare, the IRS, immigration, or veterans' benefits? Call your U.S. representative's district office and ask for casework help. You'll sign a privacy release, and a staffer will make inquiries you can't make yourself. It's free, it's routine, and it's a core part of the job.
Track and comment
Congress.gov tracks every federal bill and lets you read exactly what your representative voted for. And when federal agencies write new rules, they're required to take public comments first at Regulations.gov. Anyone can file one, and agencies are required to consider them.
See it in person
Federal courts are open to the public. Fort Worth's Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse (501 W. 10th St., Fort Worth, TX 76102) hosts trials and appeals and, best of all, naturalization ceremonies, where a federal judge swears in new American citizens. Check the Northern District of Texas schedule before you go; as of fall 2026 the Fort Worth ceremonies are being held by video, so look for an in-person date. Go once. Everyone cries.
Pro tip: A caseworker can't change the rules, but they can make the system respond. Call early, come organized (names, dates, case and confirmation numbers), and be kind to the staffer. They didn't lose your passport. They're the one getting it back.
Part 6 · Every Level
Name every official you have
Any Level
Most of my students can name the president and the governor and then run out. A Fort Worth address actually comes with a roster of twenty-plus people who answer to you, from constable to U.S. senator. Four lookups cover the whole list.
Who Represents Me? gives you your state representative, state senator, State Board of Education member, and U.S. House member. Governor and lieutenant governor are statewide; both seats are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot.
City
Fort Worth's district lookup for your council member; the mayor is citywide. Council and mayor serve two-year terms, next elected May 1, 2027.
Schools
Your ISD's website lists trustees and whether they're elected at-large or by single-member district. In Fort Worth ISD, remember the twist: the elected trustees are currently sidelined by the state-appointed Board of Managers (see above). TCC trustees are on the college's board page.
Term lengths
For the "next election year" part of the roster: county judge, commissioners, JPs, and constables serve four years; Fort Worth council and mayor, two; FWISD trustees, four; TCC trustees, six; state representatives, two; state senators, four; U.S. House, two; U.S. Senate, six.
Pro tip: Once you have the list, email one of them. Not the senator — the JP, the constable, the school trustee. Those are the ones who write back, and a reply from an official you didn't know existed last week is worth more than any lecture on representation.
When a tornado, flood, ice storm, or grid emergency hits, a specific machinery activates — city and county emergency management, outdoor sirens, alert systems, shelters, and the state's Division of Emergency Management behind all of it. Most residents discover that machinery mid-crisis. Ten minutes now puts you ahead of it, and every piece of this is a different government.
City alerts
Fort Worth's system is ReadyFW, launched in March 2026 after the old CodeRED service was shut down by its vendor. Register through Smart911 for text, call, and email alerts; details on the ReadyFW page. Fort Worth Office of Emergency Management: 817-392-6170.
County alerts
Tarrant County's system is Tarrant Ready. Sign up here. Tarrant County Office of Emergency Management: 100 E. Weatherford St.; 817-884-1804. Register for both; they cover different things.
The sirens
Fort Worth sounds its outdoor warning sirens for a National Weather Service tornado warning, a spotter-confirmed tornado, winds of 70 mph or more, hail 1.5 inches or larger, or another immediate catastrophic threat. They're designed for people outdoors; indoors, you may not hear them, which is why the alerts above matter. Audible test: the first Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. for 90 seconds, skipped if storms are possible. Siren policy and map.
The hazards
The county's official risk list is the 2025 Hazard Mitigation Action Plan: tornadoes, flash flooding, winter storms, and extreme heat lead it. That's the source TIA wants you to cite.
Your plan
The state's framework comes from the Texas Division of Emergency Management: start at TDEM's preparedness page, which links to the make a plan, build a kit, and stay informed guides on TexasReady.gov. Note the address — it's texasready.gov, not ready.texas.gov.
Who answers the call
Inside Fort Worth city limits, fire and EMS are both the Fort Worth Fire Department; the city absorbed MedStar's ambulance service on July 1, 2025. In unincorporated areas and some small towns, it's an Emergency Services District, a special district with its own tax line. Check the taxing entities on your TAD record to find out which one you're paying for.
Pro tip: Screenshot your registration confirmation the day you sign up. Both TIA emergency assignments require proof of registration from this semester, and the screenshot takes four seconds now and twenty minutes of searching later.
Two things come into your home that nobody votes on directly and everybody pays for. Texas runs its own power grid specifically to stay out of federal regulation, and it manages water through a planning system most residents have never heard of. Both are governed in public.
Your electricity
Four layers. ERCOT operates the grid (watch it live on the real-time dashboards). Oncor owns the wires and poles in Fort Worth and delivers the power; its charges are the "delivery" lines on your bill. A retail electric provider you chose (or your landlord did) sells you the energy; compare plans on the PUC's Power to Choose. The Public Utility Commission regulates all of it and takes consumer complaints once you've tried your provider first. The Legislature oversees the PUC, which is how SB 6 (2025) and its 75-megawatt "large load" rules for data centers came to be.
Your tap water
Fort Worth Water treats and delivers it; the raw water comes from the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD), which owns Lakes Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain, Cedar Creek, and Richland-Chambers. Year-round rules: no sprinklers 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and no more than twice a week on your assigned days. Water customer service: 817-392-4477.
TRWD's board
Five elected directors, chosen in May of odd-numbered years in some of the lowest-turnout elections in the county (next: May 1, 2027). The board typically meets the third Tuesday at 9 a.m. at TRWD headquarters, 800 E. Northside Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76102; agendas and a livestream are posted.
Groundwater
Surface water belongs to the state; groundwater follows the "rule of capture," moderated by local conservation districts. Tarrant County's is the Northern Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (1100 Circle Dr., Suite 300, Fort Worth 76119; 817-249-2062), with directors appointed by the Commissioners Court. Fort Worth itself drinks surface water, which is why most residents have never heard of it.
The plan
DFW is Region C in the state's water planning system. The Region C plan projects the region's population roughly doubling over 50 years and a dry-year shortfall above a million acre-feet by 2080 without new supply. It feeds the 2027 State Water Plan, adopted in July 2026.
Pro tip: Pull one real electric bill and one real water bill and label every line with the government or company responsible for it. That single page is the clearest map of Texas infrastructure governance you will ever make, and it's most of two TIA assignments.
Texas runs on special districts: more than 3,000 single-purpose governments with real taxing or borrowing power and almost no audience. Several shape daily life in Fort Worth, every one of them holds public meetings, and you can map the ones covering your own address in about twenty minutes.
Map yours
Step one: look up your address on TAD.org and read the list of taxing jurisdictions. Step two: look up each one that isn't the city, county, or school district in the Comptroller's Special Purpose District Public Information Database, which lists board members, tax rates, and outstanding debt that every district must self-report under state law. Background reading is on the Comptroller's special purpose districts page.
Health care
The JPS Health Network is the Tarrant County Hospital District: a government that taxes county property to fund the public hospital system. Its Board of Managers, appointed by the Commissioners Court, meets monthly on a Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Outpatient Center auditorium, 3rd floor, 1500 S. Main St., Fort Worth, TX 76104 (remaining 2026: Nov. 12 and Dec. 10). To speak, request by 4 p.m. the day before at 817-702-9924. Board meetings.
Transit
Trinity Metro runs the buses and the TEXRail line to DFW Airport. Its appointed board typically meets the third Monday at 3 p.m. at 801 Grove St., Fort Worth, TX 76102, with a citizen comment item near the top of every agenda (arrive early and ask staff how to sign up; 817-215-8600). Meetings stream live.
Water
The Tarrant Regional Water District manages the region's water supply, the Trinity River levees, and the Panther Island project. Details, board meetings, and elections are in the power and water section above.
Appraisal
The Tarrant Appraisal District values every property in the county. It's the special district you're most likely to tangle with, so it gets its own section above.
Emergency services
Outside city limits, fire and ambulance service often comes from an Emergency Services District with its own tax line. If "ESD" appears on your TAD jurisdictions list, that's a hidden government you can attend.
Pro tip: Special district decisions rarely make the news, which is exactly why one prepared resident at a meeting matters more here than anywhere else in local government. When my students want to find a story nobody else is covering, I send them here first.
Under the Texas Public Information Act, you can request records from any Texas governmental body — emails, contracts, budgets, reports — and they generally must respond promptly, with most responses due within 10 business days. One of my students used this to investigate the billion-dollar Panther Island project. His first request. It worked.
City records
File through Fort Worth's Open Records Center, by email to publicinfo@fortworthtexas.gov, or in person at City Hall, 5th floor, Window 25. Paper copies cost ten cents a page. Details on the public records page.
County records
File through Tarrant County's public information portal or by email to openrecords@tarrantcountytx.gov. Requests are handled by the District Attorney's civil division. The county's Public Information Act page explains the process.
How to ask
Be specific and narrow: a date range, a department, a document type. "All emails about X between January and March" beats "everything about X." You don't have to explain why you want it — the law doesn't require a reason.
Pro tip: Before filing a request, check whether it's already public — council agendas, budgets, check registers, and crime data are often posted online. The best records request is the one you didn't have to file.
Four portals cover most of the governments on this page: Fort Worth City Council (agendas and speaker registration), Tarrant County Commissioners Court (AgendaLink), Fort Worth ISD (board meetings), and TCC (CivicClerk). Pick an upcoming meeting, find three items, and translate them. That's the whole Agenda Decoder assignment.
Serve on a board
Fort Worth has dozens of resident boards and commissions — zoning, parks, libraries, community development — and they regularly need volunteers. Browse current vacancies and apply through the city's boards and commissions page. Yes, regular people get appointed. That's the point.
Answer jury duty
It's the one form of civic participation that comes with a summons, and the only time most citizens directly exercise judicial power. Tarrant County's Central Jury Room is in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, 401 W. Belknap St.; it pays $20 the first day and $58 a day after that. Jury services. Don't dodge it; bring a book and pay attention.
Get a library card
The Fort Worth Public Library is free, and it's quietly one of the city's best civic institutions: meeting rooms, research databases, tax help, voter registration forms, and librarians who can find anything.
Join your neighborhood
Neighborhood associations are where city hall actually meets your street. Find yours through the city's Neighborhood Services department (817-392-7540) — and if your neighborhood doesn't have one, starting one is itself a civic act.
Follow local news
You can't show up to what you don't know about. The Fort Worth Report (nonprofit, free), KERA News, and the Texas Tribune cover city hall, the county, the school district, and Austin week in, week out. All three are fair game for the TIA news journals.
Know the numbers
Three numbers cover most of life: 911 for emergencies, 817-392-1234 (or the MyFW app) for city services, and 2-1-1 for the state's free helpline. Handing the right number to a neighbor counts as civic participation too.
Read the agenda the night before. They're posted at least 72 hours out, by law. Pick one item to follow.
Arrive 15 minutes early. Public buildings have security lines, and seats up front go first.
You don't have to speak. Sitting and watching is fully showing up. Nobody will call on you.
There's no dress code. Come from work, come from class, come as you are.
Take notes. Who voted how, what surprised you, what you'd ask. (My students: this is your CAP or TIA write-up.)
Get your proof. A photo of you in the room, or three timestamped screenshots if you're streaming. Rubrics ask for it; future you will thank present you.
Introduce yourself to one person. A council member, a staffer, a fellow resident. Civic life runs on hello.
Meeting times, locations, and sign-up rules change — sometimes mid-year, as Fort Worth's 2026 speaker rules and the county's monthly calendar both proved. Every entry above links to the official source; always check the posted agenda before you go. Last verified October 2026.