At the Oct. 28 board meeting, KISD trustees unanimously approved a list of legislative priorities, which includes increasing the state’s basic allotment for public education, improving teacher retention and recruitment, and altering the state’s standardized testing and rating system.
The big picture
The priorities were developed through a community survey and listening circles held from August through early October, KISD Chief Communications Officer Andrea Grooms said during the Oct. 21 work study meeting.
“We have a key opportunity to ask our community what they want out of their public schools and to utilize this information to influence legislation that exists as well as policymaking that will be proposed during this legislative session,” she said.
Grooms said KISD gathered feedback from:
- 3,898 participants in a survey
- 225 individuals in six listening circles, which included four community meetings, one for teachers and another for student leadership
One question KISD asked survey and listening circle participants was how can the state help public schools. Grooms said feedback from the different groups was consistent, showing they believed the state should help with:
- Core subject areas, such as reading, writing and math
- School safety
- Teacher recruitment and retention
- Teacher compensation
- School finance
From this, district staff formed the priorities and ways to address these areas. Grooms said priorities include:
- Increasing the basic allotment, which is the amount of money schools receive per student, to account for inflation
- Improving teacher recruitment and retention by raising salaries, addressing rising health care costs and student behavior in the classroom
- Reforming the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness and the Texas Education Agency’s A-F Accountability ratings system by limiting STAAR tests to the federally mandated requirement, and providing alternative tests for younger students and students utilizing special education services
Also advocating for disciplinary changes for the next legislative session is the Student Behavior Management Coalition, a group of more than 35 Texas school districts including KISD. Director of Student Affairs Sherri Ashorn said the coalition aims to encourage lawmakers to amend Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code, which governs discipline.
She said priorities of the coalition include:
- Allowing local control regarding student discipline, including local management of disciplinary actions for vaping
- Increasing discipline flexibility to allow districts to remove disruptive students from a classroom into a virtual setting and allow expulsion for serious offenses
- Creating safe classrooms by expanding behaviors defined for suspension and increasing mental health services
House Bill 114, passed in the 2023 legislative session, increases penalties for vaping. It requires students to be sent to their district's disciplinary alternative education program, or DAEP, for possessing or giving other students electronic cigarettes, marijuana or THC on campus, near school property or at school events, Community Impact reported.
This law has made it so DAEP seats are limited for students disrupting classes or showing violent behaviors, Ashorn said.
“This has become a seat issue for many school districts, including our own,” she said.
What’s next
Moving forward, the legislative priorities will be used to guide policy amendments, make testimonies to lawmakers, meet with elected officials and have conversations around policymaking, Grooms said.
