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Elgin’s Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to join dozens of other Texas school districts in a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency over its 2023 A-F Accountability Ratings, during a Sept. 18 school board meeting.
The TEA has previously announced that it expects to complete a refresh of its grading metrics by fall, measuring the performance of public school systems and individual campuses.
Districts and campuses receive an annual rating from the TEA, traditionally grading schools based off of student test results and graduation rates, as well as academic growth and future preparedness.
Parents can see these letter grades and districts are worried that even though students may be doing better, their ratings will drop, as they have not had adequate time to prepare for the new system.
The district believe this has repercussions on the city as a whole, affecting where families may choose to live, and impacting property values, enrollment numbers and incoming money for school districts.
The lawsuit Elgin will now be a part of largely focuses on the criteria and procedures used in creating the new accountability system.
TEA’s failure to provide the district advance notice of the performance measures, methods and procedures being applied has harmed Elgin ISD, board members noted in a resolution to join the litigation.
The agency still has not provided a full explanation of the rules and methodologies being applied this academic year, the resolution states.
On Sept. 12, TEA released a statement about a delay in the issuance of the accountability ratings, and now anticipates the ratings to be released in late October.
The Elgin ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to join in the pressing lawsuit.
