Texas was set to release its A-F accountability ratings for the 2023-24 school year today, but a Travis County judge blocked this from happening after a lawsuit was filed on Monday by five public school districts: Pecos-Barstow-Toyah, Crandall, Forney, Fort Stockton and Kingsville.
“We believe that our arguments are valid,” attorney Nick Maddox said. “They obviously made sense to the judge and our sense of urgency because once you let the cat out of the bag and release those scores, it’s too late.”
Among the factors that compose a school’s rating are STAAR exams. However the five districts that filed the suit claim the new automated computer system to grade the STAAR is “not valid and reliable.”
“The negative impact of AI grading appears to disproportionately impact Texas’ highest-needs students,” the lawsuit reads. “[The changes] threaten to unfairly—and unlawfully—lower the A-F ratings of many school districts and campuses.”
A full hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26 with the TEA saying it was reviewing the filing to figure out how to proceed.
“The Legislature adopted a strong A-F framework to help improve the quality of student learning across the state, give parents a clear understanding of how well their schools are performing and establish clear expectations for school leaders so they can better serve students,” a TEA spokesperson said in a statement. “It is disappointing that a small group of school boards and superintendents opposed to fair accountability and transparency have once again filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing A-F ratings from being issued and keeping families in the dark about how their schools are doing.”
