The gist
The district’s board of trustees approved the list of priorities during a Nov. 18 board meeting. This list will guide the district’s Government Affairs department and other staff during the upcoming legislative session, according to the meeting agenda.
District staff presented the priorities to the board before approval Oct. 15.
The breakdown
The priorities touch on three topics— school finance, assessment and accountability, and student experience. The list of priorities is available online here.
- School finance
- Increase the basic allotment and provide an ongoing inflationary adjustment in the school funding formula.
- Adjust program allotments to reflect the actual cost of services provided and expand allowable costs for program spending.
- Assessment and accountability
- Maintain local control in the development of curricular resources and selection of instructional materials to meet the diverse needs of students.
- Provide a comprehensive view of the strengths and needs of schools by broadening the state accountability system to include meaningful, diversified data points and locally developed accountability measures.
- Student experience
- Create a school safety advisory committee to study and make recommendations for all hazard emergency management programs, and consider providing funding for school districts or education service centers who implement those programs.
- Create an advisory committee to study and make recommendations regarding the effectiveness of current state-level supports for student mental health and the implementation of comprehensive school counseling programs.
Stay tuned
The Texas Legislature is set to convene Jan. 14. The FISD Legislative Leadership Committee is currently planning some trips to Austin to advocate in-person.
