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# Systems Failure in Education Policy: Examining Organizational Capacity Constraints in Texas HB 4545 Implementation

## Details

**Authors** Null, B. S.

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University–Texarkana

**Kind of work** thesis

**Discipline** Education

**Secondary disciplines** Public Policy

**Kind of engagement** applications

[Read it](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Systems%20Failure%20in%20Education%20Policy%3A%20Examining%20Organizational%20Capacity%20Constraints%20in%20Texas%20HB%204545%20Implementation)

## In authors' words

### Abstract

History is riddled with educational policy containing unfunded mandates and complicated interventions. The lack of involvement from educators in creating these policies is welldocumented. When outcomes do not yield intended results, school districts are often held accountable for explaining their deficiencies. Rather than revisiting the "why" of failure, more policy follows. Why is there so much research that proves failure and so little research that proves success? Ultimately, there is failure within the systems. Policy systems fail because they appear ineffective. Educational systems fail because student achievement is minimal. Understanding how organizational capacity impacts implementation is critical in solving this policy-to-practice gap. This exploratory intrinsic comparative case study explored how organizational capacity and overlapping policy demands impacted the implementation of Texas House Bill 4545’s accelerated instruction mandates at two contrasting districts during 2021-2023. One sample district was large and affluent with an abundance of resources, and the other sample district was small with limited resources. This study used Cabrera and Cabrera’s (2022) DSRP model of systems thinking to explore how differences in organizational capacity determined school districts’ abilities to implement HB 4545’s required mandates. Semi-structured interviews with district-level, campus-level, and classroom-level participants along with document analyses provided the basis of data collection. Hybrid coding followed by within-case analysis and cross-case analysis were used during data analysis.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

This comparative case study examined how differences in organizational capacity affected two Texas school districts’ ability to implement the accelerated-instruction requirements of House Bill 4545. Using the DSRP model of systems thinking, the study compared a large, affluent district with a smaller, resource-limited district and explored how overlapping policy demands shaped the gap between policy and classroom practice.

### What they found (results)

The study identified three central themes: “Capacity as a Multidimensional System,” “Compliance-Implementation Gap,” and “Silenced Voices in Policy Implementation.” The cross-case analysis also distinguished between universal patterns and capacity-driven patterns, showing that policy implementation depended not on a single resource or requirement, but on interacting organizational conditions and the perspectives included—or excluded—from the process.

## Commentary

### In short

An external doctoral dissertation using Cabrera & Cabrera's DSRP model as its theoretical framework to diagnose how organizational-capacity differences shaped two Texas districts' implementation of a state education mandate (HB 4545) — an independent, empirical application of DSRP.

**Patterns it shows** D, S, R, P

Shows it makes a difference

## Questions it bears on

- Q10. [What is an adaptive organization?](https://dsrpevidence.org/question/adaptive-organization)

**How to cite this** Null, B. S. (2026). Systems Failure in Education Policy: Examining Organizational Capacity Constraints in Texas HB 4545 Implementation. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University–Texarkana.