Tag Archives: Texas Education Agency

La Marque ISD to fight closure

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. The La Marque school board Monday voted to wage a legal battle to keep the state from dissolving the school district, the Texas Education Agency said. La Marque officials could not be reached for comment, but a spokeswoman … Continue reading →

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State to close La Marque ISD

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t know what they’re going to do with it, and that’s a problem. Galveston County’s La Marque ISD will officially be no more as of July 1, 2016, state education officials confirmed. On Thursday, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams … Continue reading →

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One more chance for LaMarque ISD

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I hope they can take advantage of it. Headed into the new school year with La Marque Independent School District still facing an uncertain future, Superintendent Terri Watkins pledged to continue upward momentum in student achievement, keep a handle on … Continue reading →

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La Marque ISD gets a stay

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not so fast. Galveston County’s La Marque ISD received a lifeline Wednesday when state Education Commissioner Michael Williams agreed to put the district’s closure on hold. Williams said he would not shut down the district in July, as he had … Continue reading →

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HISD postpones redrawing school boundaries

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This stuff is hard, y’all. The school board [had planned] to vote Thursday on the district’s biggest rezoning plan in recent years, involving more than two dozen campuses. The proposal mostly would redraw attendance boundaries to shift homes from more … Continue reading →

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State moves to close La Marque ISD

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I hadn’t realized this was in the works. Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams has ordered the closure of Galveston County’s La Marque ISD in July unless the school district successfully appeals. Williams notified leaders of the 2,500-student district this week … Continue reading →

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HISD considers a different kind of redistricting

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It would likely be just as contentious as the usual kind. Houston school officials may rezone students from roughly two dozen elementary schools over the next few years in an effort to meet the state’s class size limits. District officials … Continue reading →

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SBOE adopts history textbook changes it hasn’t read

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome. After adopting hundreds of pages in last minute updates and corrections, the Texas State Board of Education approved new social studies textbooks Friday. All but the five Democrats on the 15-member board voted to accept products from all publishers … Continue reading →

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Texas asks for federal funding for pre-k vouchers

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure how I feel about this. Teacher groups are up in arms as Texas seeks millions from the federal government to fund a new pre-K voucher program that would begin next fall. Last month, the Texas Education Agency applied … Continue reading →

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HISD should not be on the hook for North Forest’s liabilities

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Come on! Fourteen months after the Texas Education Agency ordered Houston ISD to take over the long-troubled North Forest school district, some unexpected disputes over funding have surfaced. The Houston school board has authorized its attorneys to challenge a Texas … Continue reading →

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Meet T-TESS

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Texas has a new teacher evaluation system on the way. It won’t come without a fight. Texas’ more than 380,000 public school teachers are girding for a tumultuous few years as a new method of grading their performance is expected … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s education plan

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some actual policy from Greg Abbott. In the 27-page, footnoted report that accompanied the press conference, he proposed to “create a swift, automatic process under which the very worst schools would be removed from the control of their local school … Continue reading →

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The new North Forest High School

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m really rooting for them to succeed. It’s not going to be easy. While most schools measure progress by test scores and scholarship dollars, North Forest High School students point to the lack of bathroom fires as a sign that … Continue reading →

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Calculator apps

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This seems reasonable to me. Despite concerns about test security, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams announced Thursday that he would allow some students to use calculator “apps” on state exams next school year. Under current rules students may use only … Continue reading →

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New accountability standards, more schools on the failing list

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not a good headline. The number of officially faltering public schools in Texas almost doubled last year, in part because of higher accountability standards imposed by state education policy. The Texas Education Agency released Thursday a list of 892 schools … Continue reading →

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No testing waiver

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, kids. The federal government has denied the state’s request to waive No Child Left Behind testing requirements for students in elementary and middle school, the Texas Education Agency announced Monday. If the waiver had been granted, students who excel … Continue reading →

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Just so we’re clear, cities don’t run the schools

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg does some fact checking. Houston Mayoral Candidate Ben Hall seems to have done his homework before he began claiming that, if elected, he’d have statutory authority over local schools. But he apparently didn’t check his interpretation of the … Continue reading →

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The new accountability standards

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the TEA press release about the school accountability ratings for 2013, which came out on Thursday. The Texas Education Agency today released the 2013 state accountability system ratings for more than 1,200 school districts and charters, and more than … Continue reading →

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Don’t count on that federal testing waiver

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen, but don’t expect your high-scoring kid to spend less time taking tests going forward. A plan to reduce testing for higher-performing elementary and middle school students was one of the feel-good bills of the 2013 legislative session. … Continue reading →

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Testing waiver sought

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a follow up for a bill passed during the regular legislative session. In a letter sent [last] week to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Education Commissioner Michael Williams is seeking clarification on whether the federal agency has the authority to … Continue reading →

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Clock strikes midnight for North Forest

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This was a tough blow for NFISD. North Forest school officials lost one of their final court battles Wednesday, making the district’s state-ordered merger into HISD five days from now increasingly likely. U.S. District Judge David Hittner rejected the last-ditch … Continue reading →

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HISD moving forward with North Forest annexation

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Despite some legal uncertainty, they pretty much have to keep moving forward. The Houston Independent School District moved forward Wednesday with its takeover of the beleaguered North Forest school system even as state education officials prepare for a Thursday hearing … Continue reading →

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Perry signs HB5, adds transportation to the special session

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There had been some buzz about a possible veto, but in the end this was to be expected. When Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 5 on Monday, he ended weeks of speculation that he might veto the high-profile education … Continue reading →

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TEA insists North Forest closure moving ahead

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

TEA Commissioner Michael Williams says don’t listen to the noise, North Forest ISD will be assimilated into HISD as planned on July 1. Williams said the Texas Education Agency, which he oversees, has followed state law and has the necessary … Continue reading →

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Justice Department engaged in North Forest closure

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A possible ray of hope for supporters of North Forest ISD, which is still hoping to survive past July 1 when the TEA’s order for it to be subsumed into HISD takes effect. The chief of the Justice Department’s voting … Continue reading →

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Testing and charter bills pass

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of stuff gets done at the last possible minute in the Legislature. The two big education bills were examples of this. The session’s two biggest school reform bills, one from each chamber, have danced the House and Senate … Continue reading →

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North Forest still fighting as the deadlines approach

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Never give up, never surrender. North Forest ISD has spent more than $595,000 appealing the state’s order to shut down, newly obtained records show, and the school district is continuing the court fight as its July closure date nears. Despite … Continue reading →

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School stuff

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just a basic roundup of education-related stories, since there’s so much going on. From the Trib, action in the House on testing in grade school. Elementary and middle school students currently take a total of 17 state exams before high … Continue reading →

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TEA drops the hammer on North Forest again

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty much as expected. North Forest ISD announced Monday that the Texas Education Agency had upheld the decision to close the school district and annex it to Houston ISD this summer. The ruling, however, does not end the school district’s … Continue reading →

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House passes major changes to testing and graduation requirements

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big deal. Texas public high school students would face far fewer high-stakes exams and gain more freedom in choosing courses under a major education bill approved by the state House on Tuesday. Hours of debate among lawmakers … Continue reading →

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HISD and KIPP debate North Forest’s future

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

HISD SUperintendent Terry Grier and KIPP co-founder Mike Feinberg meet with the Chronicle to discuss their vision for North Forest ISD. Under either scenario, students could face longer school hours to help them catch up academically, and some employees may … Continue reading →

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North Forest still fighting closure

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how successful they’ll be, nor do I know if I should wish them luck. Texas Education Agency officials on Friday made their final case for closing North Forest ISD, while district leaders countered that the school system … Continue reading →

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Not so fast on the North Forest charter plan

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone is convinced that the plan to allow a consortium of charter schools to take over North Forest ISD is a good idea. In interviews Monday, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Sens. Rodney Ellis and John Whitmire, all Democrats, … Continue reading →

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Charters apply to take over North Forest ISD

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. In a potentially groundbreaking move, three of Houston’s top-performing charter schools are making a pitch to run the long-troubled North Forest school district. The charter groups — KIPP, YES Prep and Harmony — are asking Texas Education … Continue reading →

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