If successful, a plan by Dallas public schools to rewrite its student discipline and suspension policies could be among the most progressive pushes for addressing racial disparities in schools. The plan would eliminate suspensions for “low-level infractions” and would see students paired with in-person and...
Adding to the ongoing conversations around the use of assessments in the upcoming school year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed that the state’s standardized assessment, the STARR exam, will be administered. However, results from the tests will not be used to make decisions about a...
Eanes Independent School District in the greater Austin area has received the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation for the sixth year in a row. “The recognition is awarded to districts demonstrating outstanding achievement in efforts to...
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) received federal approval last week “to waive statewide assessment and accountability requirements” under the Every Student Succeeds Act for the 2019-2020 school year. In light of the mandatory school closures due to COVID-19, “all districts and campuses will receive a...
As Beth Hawkins reports, one elementary school in Fort Worth, Texas, has gone from being “one of five schools that struggled with years of rock-bottom performance” to one that has attracted national attention for a number of closely watched school improvement initiatives that are credited...
According to Houston Public Media, some experts say portions of Texas’ ESSA accountability plan—which was recently approved by the U.S. Department of Education—are “promising,” but there are also concerns. Anne Hyslop notes that Texas “is one of only a few states using a competition to...
Alyson Klein reports that Secretary DeVos has given “a stamp of approval” to Texas’ ESSA plan. Klein also writes that an “independent review of ESSA plans by Bellwether Education Partners and the Collaborative for Student Success noted that Texas’ long-term goals expected graduation rates for white...
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) submitted its final ESSA plan to the U.S. Department of Education on March 6. The initial draft was submitted in September of 2017 and, since that time, “TEA and Department of Education staff have been in ongoing conversations to answer questions on...
In a blog post, Texas Aspires’ Molly Weiner argues that, “We must make bold, ambitious choices in the coming years to rapidly improve public education in Texas,” and policymakers must be “thoughtful and meticulous about how we measure performance, regardless of the discomfort we might...
Approved State Plans Alabama: Final Plan Approved (5/7/18) Alaska: Final Plan Approved (5/16/18) Arizona: Final Plan Approved (9/6/17) Arkansas: Final Plan Approved (1/16/18) Colorado: Final Plan Approved (5/7/18) Connecticut: Final Plan Approved (8/15/17) Delaware: Final Plan Approved (8/2/17) District of Columbia: Final Plan Approved (8/28/17) Georgia:...
