TEA issuing Harvey accountability waivers, 4 long-failing HISD schools not eligible

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath speaks with the Houston Chronicle's editorial board about the looming state action against Houston ISD Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Houston. ( Godofredo A. Vasquez / Houston Chronicle ) less Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath speaks with the Houston Chronicle's editorial board about the looming state action against Houston ISD Wednesday, May 9, 2018, in Houston. ( Godofredo A. Vasquez ... more Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close TEA issuing Harvey accountability waivers, 4 long-failing HISD schools not eligible 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

About 1,200 Texas schools affected by Hurricane Harvey, including hundreds throughout the Houston area, won't be punished for low academic performance this year as a result of the storm's devastation, Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Wednesday.

The list of campuses, however, does not include four of the 10 Houston ISD schools that could trigger major state sanctions this year. If all four of those campuses -- Mading and Wesley elementary schools, Woodson PK-8 and Worthing High School -- do not meet state academic standards in August, the Texas Education Agency must replace HISD's locally elected school board or close failing campuses. Woodson and Worthing are considered among the least likely of the 10 to meet state standards.

Morath's long-awaited decision grants a reprieve to many schools throughout the area, but it surely will deflate those in HISD who hoped all 10 of its longest-struggling schools would receive a waiver. In some local school districts -- including Alief, Fort Bend, Katy, Pasadena and Spring -- all campuses will be eligible for waivers. In most local school districts, including Houston and Cypress-Fairbanks ISDs, some but not all campuses will be eligible.

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An accountability waiver exempts a school from receiving an "improvement required" rating for poor academic performance. The TEA issues progressive sanctions on schools that receive "improvement required" ratings. Roughly 5 percent of schools in Texas are deemed "improvement required" each year, meaning the waivers will likely have no impact on most Houston-area schools eligible for one.

To receive a waiver, a campus must have met one of the four criteria following Harvey:

Closed for at least 10 instructional days

Ten percent of teachers were homeless

Ten percent of students were homeless or enrolled at another school

The student population attended school at another facility or shared its campus through winter break.

In an interview, Morath said the 10-day cutoff mirrored the threshold set for accountability waivers after Hurricane Ike in 2008. This time, however, Morath added the three additional criteria based on feedback from education leaders and availability of data.

"I think that given the totality of the impact of the storm, we had to set a threshold that was fairly low in terms of the degree of impact," Morath said.

Seven of the region's 20 largest school districts were closed for at least 10 instructional days, ensuring district-wide waivers. However, most districts were closed for seven to nine instructional days.

A few districts staggered their return dates. As a result, some campuses in a district will meet the 10-day threshold, while others will not.

In Houston ISD, for example, about 240 campuses missed nine instructional days, while 40 others missed 10 or more. Morath said he expects nearly 150 of those 240 campuses will still receive waivers because they meet other criteria.

At Houston Chronicle: TEA head Mike Morath discusses the future of HISD

Morath said some campuses in hard-hit districts "were just not affected by the storm" and "did not warrant getting any special storm-related adjusted accountability."

Regarding the long-struggling HISD schools subject to sanctions, Morath said: "The attention that's given to these 10 campuses in HISD has little to do with activities specific to this year. Each of those campuses has failed to meet academic standards for four years in a row, and at least one of them eight years in a row. We're talking about, in some cases, a generation of students."

HISD leaders, who have lobbied for district-wide accountability waivers, were magnanimous in comments Wednesday about Morath's decision, even as most of the district's schools fell just a single instructional day short of receiving an automatic break.

"The Houston Independent School District appreciates TEA Commissioner Mike Morath's consideration of the devastating impact Hurricane Harvey has had on our students and staff this school year," district officials said in a written statement. "Despite the challenges we have faced this school year, our data shows that our students performed well on state assessments. We know that we are moving in the right direction, and our focus remains on the academic success of our students."

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Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also offered no criticism of Morath on Wednesday. Rather, he emphasized the city's desire to help improve long-struggling schools, while offering a word of caution to the TEA.

"If the state is to step in and take over HISD -- the largest school district in Texas, 215,000 kids -- if you take that on, you own it," Turner said. "That's the only thing I'm saying to the state: Let's not make a situation worse. Let's be very methodical, very deliberative, because there are schools that have been failing in HISD for years."

State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, whose legislative district includes one of the four long-struggling schools that did not receive a waiver, denounced Morath's decision, saying the commissioner lacked an understanding of the storm's impact on the Greater Houston area. Coleman said he believes HISD isn't getting deserved breaks because Morath wants to replace HISD's locally elected school board.

"I think that the primary interest of the commissioner is dealing with governance at HISD, and whatever validates his reason for dealing with governance, I think he may be subconsciously doing that," Coleman said.

Under a law passed in 2015 with bipartisan support, the TEA commissioner must replace the school board or close long-failing campuses in any district with at least one campus that receives a fifth straight "improvement required" rating. Ten HISD schools risk triggering the law this year if they don't receive an accountability waiver and fail to meet state academic standards.

Supporters of the law argue it forces school district to improve performance at chronically low-achieving schools. Critics argue it gives improper control to the state, and that it's unfair to replace a school board if a single school in a district -- especially one as large as HISD -- repeatedly misses state standard.

Morath hasn't committed to which sanction option he would employ if one or more HISD schools trigger the law this year. However, comments by Morath and one of his top lieutenants, AJ Crabill, suggest the TEA might be leaning toward replacing HISD's school board. In a May 9 meeting with the Houston Chronicle, Morath said he's "not sure closure is, in fact, the best option in Houston," though he cautioned it's too early to make a decision.

Districts can appeal any accountability-related decisions, including the issuance of waivers. Appeals would likely be decided in late 2018.