TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Independent School District Board of Trustees has approved a resolution to join other school districts from across the state intervening in a lawsuit concerning the Texas accountability system.
According to the resolution, the purpose of an accountability system is to accurately inform the public. However, TEA has provided inadequate time and implementation of new standards which is a stark contrast to what has been done in the past and it is a violation of state law. The proposed changes are unprecedented in four ways: the volume of assessment and accountability changes, the lack of transparency afforded to educators and the public, the retroactive application of cut scores, and the removal of a transition year for the implementation of new standards.
“The A-F ratings applied to these new standards will confuse the public, for example, Temple ISD improved in 19 of 23 indicators across the district and Temple High School improved in all seven out of seven measures, but the district and campus stand to drop a letter grade in ratings,” said Dr. Bobby Ott, superintendent of Temple schools. “These ratings will lead to at least seven out of every ten campuses dropping numerically across the state and will have the most drastic correlation between poverty and low ratings Texas has ever seen.”
The resolution also states that in violation of state law (Tex. Educ. Code § 39.0542), the TEA did not provide the District information regarding the changes to the A-F Accountability System prior to the start of the 2022-2023 school year and still has not provided a full explanation of the rules and methodologies that are being used retroactively to determine district and campus ratings. The District has been harmed by the lack of advance notice of the criteria and methods the TEA is applying as part of the A-F Accountability System for the 2022-2023 school year, because the District does not know the expectations set by the State of Texas for school districts and has been unable to adjust to the TEA’s new accountability measures and allocate District resources in a manner required to meet state standards
“Entering into this lawsuit takes a position to recognize the success of our students and families, as well as the hard work of our staff and teachers when you see the gains we had across TISD,” Ott added. “It cuts through the political games and simply sends the message that it is time to do what’s right by children, public education and communities – whether funding education, or telling the truth about performance. Less than a month ago, Governor Abbott thanked public school teachers for gains on the STAAR tests – in which he was correct in his assessment. The release of these ratings would collapse his statement and once again prove to confuse communities. Temple ISD is taking this position to do what’s right by our families, children and staff.”
Thompson & Horton LLP are representing the Intervenors in this lawsuit.