Gov. Abbott: Reexamine accountability, testing in Harvey affected schools

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked state Education Commissioner Mike Morath to waive certain rules relating to how the state will assess students and schools within the Hurricane Harvey disaster area based on standardized test scores.

Such an action could help Houston ISD, the state's largest school district, and several others stave off potential state takeover for a year, giving them more time to improve academic performances at certain long-struggling schools.

In a letter dated Dec. 11, Abbott wrote that he believes in academic accountability and hopes to ensure students graduate from public schools college- or career-ready.

"However, in times of crisis, it is important to re-examine some regulations related to accountability placed on those living in devastated areas," Abbott wrote. "With that in mind, consider ways to help relieve some of the pressures on students in areas most affected by Hurricane Harvey."

Texas Education Agency spokeswoman Lauren Callahan said the department has been working to address such issues since the storm.

"Commissioner Morath and TEA staff are actively working to determine how we can address all the issues outlined in the Governor's letter," Callahan said.

A one-time break in school accountability grades would potentially benefit Houston ISD, which faces school closures or a state takeover of the district's board of trustees if 10 chronically low-performing campuses don't improve this school year. If those 10 schools receive "not rated" scores, Morath said, "that essentially gives the district an extra year, a mulligan, as it were."

Abbott asked Morath to seek a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education that would give Texas the option of not rating certain campus while allowing those schools to receive federal funds.

Morath had warned state lawmakers and education leaders that failing to administer the state's battery of standardized tests would put the state in violation of U.S. law, threatening federal education funding. Federal dollars account for about 10 percent of the state's school funding.

"We don't think a waiver could be or would be granted," Morath said in November. "There's no precedent for that in federal history."

But school superintendents across Southeast Texas have said they would be willing to have their students take the test, so long as the TEA does not use scores to issue accountability ratings to schools, districts or teachers.

Katy ISD Superintendent Lance Hindt asked the Texas Senate's Education Committee to rate all schools and districts within the Hurricane Harvey Disaster Area as "not rated- data integrity issues."

"The state does not care that parents lost jobs or are living on the second story of their home," Hindt testified. "If you don't think that will have impact on accountability, let me come back a year from now and show you how it did."

After Hurricane Ike swept across Galveston Bay in 2008, state officials gave storm-affected districts a "not rated" grade if they performed worse than the previous year or were deemed "academically unacceptable."

Education leaders across Texas are also anxious over the state's new accountability rating system, which will make a soft debut next year. The Texas Legislature approved grading schools and districts on an A-through-F letter grade system based on various performance factors, including student scores on the STAAR exams. Districts will be given letter grades next August, and individual schools will receive the grades in 2019.

Superintendents in storm-affected districts have worried that receiving a low grade on the outset of the new accountability system would have far-reaching affects across their communities, affecting home prices, morale and the ability of areas to attract business,

"For us, F stands for flood, not a failing district," said Charlotte Baker, executive director of the Education Service Center 3 located in Victoria. "It should not stand for a district dealing with the social and emotional challenges of the community and schools as we allocate all efforts towards recovery."

Abbott also specifically asked that the TEA waive certain parts of the Student Success Initiative, including grade placement committees that use State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores to determine whether 5th and 8th graders should be able to advance to the next grade.

Jacob Carpenter contributed to this report.