After months of legal wrangling and courtroom delays, the Texas 15th Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of releasing the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) A-F accountability ratings. This decision overturns previous legal obstacles that had halted the release of these ratings and effectively dismisses the lawsuit that had blocked them.
Breaking Down the Ruling
The court’s opinion is clear: the trial court erred in blocking the ratings, and the case should never have moved forward. The appellate judges stated, “We vacate the trial court’s orders, dissolve the temporary injunction, and render judgment dismissing this suit for want of jurisdiction.” In simple terms, the lower court never had the authority to issue the injunction in the first place.
The ruling also highlights a key concern: allowing school districts to challenge the rating system in court causes unnecessary delays. The concurring opinion pointed out that the 19-month legal battle has already slowed down accountability efforts. “Every time a judicial resolution is sought, a final resolution will be delayed for a year or two,” the opinion states. This means that the schools’ legal challenges effectively prevented the 2022–23 ratings from being released until at least 2025—an outcome the court found unreasonable.
The Lawsuit and the Controversy
At the heart of this legal battle was the TEA’s “2023 A–F Refresh,” a plan to update the way schools are graded. Over 200 Texas school districts opposed the changes, arguing that the TEA had failed to ensure the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test was valid and reliable. They also claimed the agency failed to provide fair notice on how the new ratings would be calculated.
In response, a bipartisan group of Texas legislators sent a letter to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, urging reconsideration of the refresh plan. However, despite these concerns, the court’s ruling effectively allows the TEA to proceed with releasing the ratings under its updated system.
Why These Ratings Matter
The TEA’s A-F accountability system is meant to provide parents, educators, and policymakers with a clear picture of how well public schools are performing. Supporters argue that having an objective, transparent rating system helps identify struggling schools and ensures that action is taken to improve them.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), a strong advocate for the A-F rating system, praised the court’s decision, calling it a “sweeping victory.” He emphasized the importance of measuring school performance, saying, “We must have a functioning ranking system for all our parents and communities to know how our public schools are doing teaching our kids! As I always say - What gets measured gets fixed.”
What’s Next?
With the legal roadblocks cleared, the TEA is now free to release the long-awaited ratings. However, the controversy surrounding the rating system isn’t likely to disappear. School districts that opposed the changes may continue to push for legislative action to modify the accountability system.
For parents, educators, and students, the next steps will be watching how these ratings impact schools, funding, and policy decisions in the coming years. Whether the updated rating system achieves its goal of improving school performance or leads to further disputes remains to be seen.
