HOUSTON – Alief ISD has voted to join a lawsuit brought against the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in regards to the agency’s accountability rating system.
The lawsuit was originally filed by Kingsville ISD, which is located near Corpus Christi. Since then, more than 50 school districts across the state have joined in the lawsuit, including another Houston-area district, Spring Branch ISD.
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According to a release from the district, the lawsuit requests TEA halt the publication of this year’s accountability ratings to allow the school district to adapt to the revised sliding scale. This request would also coincide with the introduction of a revamped STAAR Test.
“Students and staff are expected to follow a defined set of rules and responsibilities,” the Alief ISD Board of Trustees said. “The same should be said for TEA. No one is above the law.”
The board made the vote to join the lawsuit during the district’s Sept. 19 board meeting.
“We continue to be committed to meeting the needs of our students, faculty, and staff here in Alief,” Alief ISD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Anthony Mays said. “We recognize TEA’s current practice of changing the game’s rules during the middle of the game could adversely impact our schools and community. In a time when public educators desperately need support, this action continues to make already challenging work more difficult by not acknowledging and respecting the hard work of our teachers and administrators.”