DSISD joins statewide lawsuit against TEA

As of Monday, Dripping Springs ISD is joining over 60 school districts across the state in a lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency.

The DSISD Board of Trustees voted in favor of the move at a meeting on Monday, Sept. 25. They will now join fellow Hays County school district, Hays CISD, in the suit, which alleges that the new rules for how the state grades schools and districts were not provided before the relevant school year. If found to be true, this oversight would be a violation of state law.

Each year, the TEA gives a district a letter grade ranging from an A to an E Those ratings consider standardized test results, annual academic growth, graduation rates and college, career and military readiness. However, when the TEA made changes to the grading system for the 2022—2023 school year, school districts did not seem to find many of those changes — as well as how they were enacted — very fair.

According to the allegations in the districts’ lawsuit, the new methods 'were not provided to districts in the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year as required by state statute.'

Additionally, they argue that the new method, 'will lower performance ratings for many school districts and campuses even though their performance improved.”

TEA initially planned to release the 2023 A-F accountability ratings on Wednesday, Sept. 27. On Sept. 12, the agency said it would delay the release by one month.

Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story. Updates will be provided as they are made available.