Judge issues temporary injunction in lawsuit over TEA school performance ratings

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A judge has issued a temporary injunction Thursday night in the lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency’s proposed changes to the A-F school performance ratings.

The temporary injunction prevents the TEA from implementing the changes to the A-F performance ratings for the 2022-2023 school year until the court issues an order or a final judgement in the suit.

Temple ISD Superintendent Bobby Ott says the temporary injunction “is a great victory and one that is appropriate.”

The TEA was originally scheduled to release the A-F ratings on Sept. 28, but they delayed the release to “allow for a further re-examination of the baseline data used in the calculation of progress to ensure ratings reflect the most appropriate goals for students.”

Multiple school districts across the state have joined in the lawsuit, including Waco ISD, Temple ISD, Academy ISD, La Vega ISD, Rogers ISD and Belton ISD.

The lawsuit claims the TEA did not notify the school districts of the changes made to the A-F system prior to the start of the school year when the changes would take effect.

Ott explains how in Temple schools “19 out of 23 indicators we improved on. But the projected campus A through F ratings would suggest otherwise that we didn’t improve that much as a school district.”

Ott shares how the rating system “would be an inconsistent narrative to the public and that would not be fair or accurate.”

“The state has created a system using really complicated methodology to grade schools that doesn’t make sense. That system was changed on us without proper notification according to the Texas Education Code,” said Waco ISD Superintendent, Dr. Susan Kincannon, “Our scores have increased and yet our ratings are projected to decrease.”

Though the delay is a relief for school districts, Rogers ISD superintendent, Joe Craig, explains how this injunction should not affect school’s efficiency in education.

“We are focused on what’s ahead of us not what is behind us we can’t control that. We are moving forward with how do we get better as a district and each of our teachers are doing the same thing.”

While teachers in the district recognize that the accountability system is necessary for development, it needs to be reformed to be effective.

“The intent is to not get rid of accountability, we do embrace accountability we want accountability,” Ott explains, “but we want it to be transparent, we want to be timely, and we want it to be accurate.”

The date for the trial is set for Feb. 12, 2024.

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