What’s happening
Multiple school districts are suing the TEA to block the release of A-F accountability ratings. SISD trustees approved the decision to join the lawsuit in a unanimous vote Sept. 12.
“By unanimously choosing to join this lawsuit as an intervener, SISD’s school board has signaled its unwavering commitment to ensuring fairness, transparency and the upholding of state law,” SISD Superintendent Lupita Hinojosa said in a Sept. 25 statement. “Our goal, in solidarity with other Texas school districts, is to advocate for a system that reflects the genuine hard work, commitment and achievements of every district.”
Explained
The TEA began a refresh of its methodology for calculating accountability ratings in late 2021, sharing new benchmarks students must reach for schools to receive a certain letter grade. One of these adjustments raised the cutoff point for a district to receive an A rating based on the college, career and military readiness of students from 60% to 88%—a 28 percentage point increase.
District officials across the state have raised concerns about the impact of the changes to accountability ratings, as they are a metric used by school boards to address educational priorities year to year. It is also a performance measure used to gauge the quality of schools by their communities and prospective families.
Current situation
The legal petition Kingsville ISD, et. al., v. Morath, filed in August in the Travis County 419th District Court, alleges TEA Commissioner Mike Morath would effectively lower A-F performance ratings for the 2022-23 school year in an unlawful manner by changing the way they are calculated retroactively.
The TEA announced Sept. 12 it would delay the release of A-F accountability ratings for Texas school districts and campuses to review student data and re-evaluate the methodology used in calculating these ratings, a news release from the agency states.
Wesley Gardner and Brooke Sjoberg contributed to this report.
