After a recent court ruling, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is set to release delayed accountability ratings from 2023 for schools and districts later this month, according to a report from the Texas Tribune.

What You Need To Know

  • The TEA will release A-F school accountability ratings from 2023 later this month, a court ruled

  • Ratings for some schools have been delayed due to several lawsuits and the COVID-19 pandemic

  • The ruling from the 15th Court of Appeals comes after TEA Commissioner Mike Morath raised the grading standard, prompting a lawsuit from over 120 school districts

  • A low rating can affect schools’ funding since it’s tied to attendance, and parents will likely leave schools that get failing grades

The ratings, graded on a scale of A-F, are based on standardized test scores, graduation rates and whether students will start college, pursue a career or join the military after high school.

Schools didn’t receive ratings in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic, and lawmakers in 2022 allowed schools with low ratings to avoid releasing their scores in order to give them time to recover from COVID-19 learning disruptions from the previous two years.

A low rating can affect schools’ funding since it’s tied to attendance, and parents will likely leave schools that get failing grades.

The ruling from the 15th Court of Appeals comes after TEA Commissioner Mike Morath raised the grading standard, prompting a lawsuit from over 120 school districts.

Texas school districts have sued twice over the change. Once to stop the release of the 2023 ratings, claiming the TEA didn’t give enough notice before raising the metrics, and another time to question the validity of the STAAR test after it started being graded using an automated system.

The matter could soon influence state law. Senate Bill 1962 would make it more difficult for school districts to sue over accountability ratings. The bill would also give the TEA power to assign a conservator to districts that do decide to sue.