Fort Worth ISD will have to make aggressive and immediate improvements after a district school repeatedly received failing scores in the state's accountability ratings, the Texas education commissioner warned district leaders this week. Why it matters: The school shut down in 2023, merging with a middle school, but Fort Worth ISD will have to successfully appeal the most recent rating to avoid being taken over by the Texas Education Agency. view article

Students who are behind in third grade rarely catch up. Texas lawmakers want to intervene earlier. Texas lawmakers want to help young learners who are lagging behind in math and reading, an early setback that threatens to derail their path to high school graduation.  More than half of third graders in the state are not at grade level in reading or math, meaning they lack the key foundational skills they need to thrive as learners. Students who are behind in third grade rarely catch up, which can lead to serious consequences later in life. Research shows students who struggle to read by third grade are more likely to drop out of high school. Math proficiency is tied to economic mobility as an adult.  The Texas House gave final approval Wednesday to House Bill 123, which aims to provide struggling students extra learning support as early as kindergarten, before learning gaps compound. view article

The Texas Education Agency is warning Fort Worth ISD that it is at risk of a potential state takeover. This comes after the 2023 school accountability ratings were released a few weeks ago. view article

Dallas Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde told a theater full of educators on Tuesday that Texas could be “standing on the precipice” of eliminating the STAAR test. During her annual State of the District address, Elizalde lauded a legislative proposal to scrap the state’s much-derided standardized test and replace it with a series of shorter exams that would be given to students throughout the year. view article

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath notified officials in the Fort Worth Independent School District that the district is at risk of a state takeover after a single campus received five consecutive failure ratings. view article

Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday accused Austin ISD of using materials to teach critical race theory. His office plans to depose the superintendent and school board as part of an investigation. The AG’s office alleges the district is using curricula related to the “The 1619 Project,” which recenters U.S. history around the impact of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans. It was created by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. view article

Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde used her state of the district Tuesday night to address the district’s recent accountability rating and point to accomplishments she said the grade can’t reflect. Speaking at the Winspear Opera House, Elizalde declared the district strong because of its employees. “I don’t believe it’s ever been stronger,” she said. view article

TX Education Agency warns FWISD of potential takeover view article

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter Monday to Fort Worth ISD warning it faces a possible state intervention amid concerns over the failure of one specific school. Morath said the possible intervention is required under the law, and not something over which he has flexibility. Leadership Academy at Forest Oak's sixth-grade campus has not had a passing performance rating for eight years. view article

The Texas Education Agency sent Fort Worth ISD a letter this week in response to one of its schools earning its fifth consecutive unacceptable rating, which could lead to the school's closure. The Leadership Academy at Forest Oak's 6th-grade campus earned an F rating for 2023, its fifth consecutive unacceptable rating since 2016. No schools received ratings in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, and no ratings in 2022 due to state legislation. view article

Similar to other Texas school districts, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD dropped a letter grade with this week's release of the 2023 Texas Education Agency’s accountability ratings, barely earning a B rating. With more than 90 campuses and nearly 119,000 students, Cy-Fair scored an 80, 10 points down from its 2022 rating. view article

This year’s theme for DeSoto ISD’s State of the District was “Constructing the Future.” Superintendent Usamah Rodgers, shared with community members and leaders the current status of the district and its goals for the future. This came after the Texas Education Agency released their 2023 ratings. TEA paused their grading after more than 100 districts filed a lawsuit over changes in standards. view article

Georgetown ISD received a C rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2023 after receiving a B rating in 2022. The state agency publicly released its A-F accountability ratings for Texas school districts April 24. The release of the scores was stalled for two years after more than 100 school districts sued the TEA over changes to the A-F rating system. On April 3, a state judge ruled that the TEA could release ratings for the 2022-23 school year. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has given Kingsville Independent School District an "F" rating for the 2023-2024 school year, prompting mixed reactions from parents. Kingsville ISD sued the TEA in 2023 for changing its accountability system. After 19 months, the report has been released, showing the district scored 59 out of 100. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has released its 2023 accountability ratings for schools across the state—the first full set of ratings since before the pandemic. In Austin ISD, the data reveals a sharp contrast in campus performance, largely split along Interstate 35 (I-35), Austin’s central highway and long-standing geographic divider. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) on Thursday morning released its long-awaited accountability ratings, assigning an "A-F" rating for all Texas public schools and districts. The ratings are from 2023 but they're just now being released after a 19-month court battle in which numerous school district filed a lawsuit against the TEA over changing its standards for the grades. view article

The Boerne Independent School District earned its fourth “A” consecutive rating from the Texas Education Agency, solidifying its reputation as one of the top-performing school districts in Texas. Earlier this month, the 15th Court of Appeals ruled the TEA can release its 2023 accountability ratings for Texas school districts. The court decision overturned a prior injunction from a lower court that had delayed the release of the ratings for nearly 20 months. view article

Judson Independent School District is set to implement a portion of the controversial Bluebonnet Learning curriculum this fall. The Judson ISD’s Board of Trustees approved to purchase the instructional materials for mathematics of Bluebonnet Learning on April 17. The curriculum was approved by the State Board of Education late last year. Districts across Texas are considering adopting the new materials to be implemented for the first time in the 2025-2026 school year. view article

Judson ISD approved new sets of instructional materials for district math classes April 17. At its meeting, the JISD board of trustees voted 5-2 to accept an adoption of mathematics materials selected by the Instructional Materials Committee for implementation in the 2025-26 school year. The dissenting votes were Laura Stanford and Monica Ryan, who had concerns on lack of buy-in from JISD teachers and neighboring school districts, respectively. view article

School districts across Texas are grappling with a literacy crisis, and Fort Worth Independent School District is taking a bold step to address it. The district announced it is restructuring its budget to invest in a new kind of educator—demonstration teachers—who will work directly with students and support fellow educators to boost reading outcomes. Inside one of Fort Worth ISD’s classrooms, coach Jacqui Hill is already doing the work. “We really do need to be focused on literacy,” Hill said. “I’m excited about the streamlining that’s going to happen across the district.” view article

Austin ISD was in the hot seat with quite a few issues at the forefront of Thursday night's board meeting. What we know: The future of Dobie Middle School is uncertain after it has not met state standards year after year. The school's performance must improve, or the TEA will take over. view article

The Spring ISD Board of Trustees declined to approve the Bluebonnet learning math curriculum at its board meeting on April 9. A motion was called more than three hours into the meeting to vote whether to approve the curriculum. The board voted 3-3, and since there was no majority, the motion failed. view article

A coalition of more than 70 Texas school districts has called on the Texas Education Agency to delay full implementation of a new data reporting system they say has led to thousands of unresolved errors that could pose grave consequences to their funding and accountability. view article

The Spring ISD Board of Trustees declined to approve Bible-infused math curriculum at its board meeting on April 9. A motion was called more than three hours into the meeting to vote whether to approve the curriculum from Bluebonnet Learning. The board voted 3-3, and since there was no majority, the motion failed. view article

Nearly 40 teachers will not return to the South San Independent School District in the fall of 2025. The instructors fall into two categories: 16 who were “underperforming,” according to superintendent Dr. Saul Hinojosa, and another 22 teachers who were not certified. KSAT spoke with Hinojosa on Wednesday afternoon. During the conversation, he said the 16 teachers were under contract but “weren’t performing well” or “meeting expectations.” view article

An appeals court ruling this week will now allow the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to release accountability scores that grade schools based on academic performance. Those scores may affect the future of one Austin ISD school with the possibility of permanently closing or evolve into a districtwide takeover by the TEA. view article

State standardized testing gets underway across public schools in early April. Families can take a look at the sample questions that their children will see on the Texas Education Agency website. Christina Pina, a teacher at Southwest Independent School District, said she is focused on reviewing the core skills her students have been learning all year. “The kids have already learned all the strategies that they need to, so a lot of times when it comes to STAAR prep, it’s more of now just really having fun with all the content they’ve learned all year,” Pina said. view article

It's been two years since Houston ISD staff and families were jolted by the news that the state was taking over Houston ISD, a span that has been filled with upheaval. A large employee exodus ensued and yearslong enrollment declines were exasperated. The state's largest school district also celebrated academic gains on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness and the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Here are some of the headlines since the March 15, 2023 takeover announcement: view article

Fort Bend ISD's Board of Trustees voted Monday night to approve a set of materials for the Bluebonnet Learning Curriculum to give staff the ability to review it and evaluate the potential impact on existing instructional resources. The curriculum of religious teachings in Texas elementary schools. According to Monday night's agenda this was recommended by the superintendent of schools. view article

It's that time again when the state's governing education agency gives its report card to local school districts. The Texas Education Agency publishes what is called the Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR), an extensive report that breaks down schools and their districts on student performance and district programs. view article

The Midland ISD board of trustees will consider turning over four more of its elementary schools to a charter school operator. view article

Hutto ISD will not make major changes to its curriculum for the 2025-26 school year, although the name of the mathematics curriculum used by the district has had its name changed.  view article

Texas parents are protesting a new school curriculum that includes Bible references. Why is it controversial, and what’s next for Fort Bend ISD? view article

The Austin school district has not met minimum state exam standards for students with disabilities in the past four years, according to an independent review of the district’s special education programs. Stetson and Associates, a consulting firm, conducted a review of the Austin school district’s services for students with disabilities starting during the 2019-20 academic year, although the evaluation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a change in leadership at the district. view article

A Valley school district is working to convince parents that it’s safe for their kids to be in school. Officials at the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District say they’re working hard to help families feel more comfortable about students being back in the classroom. view article