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WELL, ALL RIGHT. THE TIME IS NOW 2:15 P.M.
WE HAVE A QUORUM OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN DULY POSTED.
THIS MEETING IS A CALLED BOARD MEETING, A MEETING OF THE DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT.
THE SAME TRUSTEES ARE PRESENT.
NOT PHYSICALLY IN THE ROOM, BUT THEY'RE IN THE BUILDING.
OUR SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS IS HERE.
I'M JUSTIN HENRY, THE BOARD PRESIDENT.
WE DON'T HAVE ANY SPEAKERS TO THIS BOARD.
OKAY. THE BOARD IS NOW GOING TO RETIRE THE CLOSED SESSION.
[4. CLOSED SESSION - The Board will retire to closed session pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551 concerning the following sections:]
THE PUBLIC AND STAFF ARE WELCOME TO STAY IN THIS ROOM, ARE CONNECTED TO ZOOM WHILE THE BOARD LEAVES THE MEETING TO ATTEND THE CLOSED SESSION.THE PUBLIC PORTION OF THE MEETING WILL RESUME.
AFTER CLOSED SESSION, THE BOARD WILL RETIRE THE CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 551 CONCERNING ANY AND ALL PURPOSES PERMITTED BY THE ACT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE.
SECTION 551.071 FOR PRIVATE CONSULTATION WITH ITS ATTORNEY ABOUT PENDING OR CONTEMPLATED LITIGATION, OR ON A MATTER IN WHICH THE DUTY OF THE ATTORNEY TO THE GOVERNMENTAL BODY UNDER THE TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT OF THE STATE BAR OF TEXAS, CLEARLY CONFLICTS WITH THIS CHAPTER, INCLUDING KINGSVILLE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT AT ALL VERSUS MIKE MORATH IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION.
CIVIL ACTION NUMBER D1GN 23 004675.
IN THE 419TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS, SECTION 551.074 TO DELIBERATE THE APPOINTMENT EMPLOYMENT EVALUATION, REASSIGNMENT DUTIES, DISCIPLINE OR DISMISSAL OF A PUBLIC OFFICER EMPLOYEE, OR TO HEAR A COMPLAINT OR CHARGE AGAINST THE OFFICER OR AN EMPLOYEE.
AND 551.129 TO CONSULT WITH HIS ATTORNEYS BY USE OF TELEPHONE CONFERENCE CALL, VIDEO CONFERENCE, CALL, COMMUNICATIONS OVER THE INTERNET AND THE OPEN MEETING AND OR CLOSED MEETING. THE TIME IS NOW.
2:17 P.M. AND WE ARE IN CLOSED SESSION.
ALL RIGHT THE TIME IS NOW. 3:52 P.M.
AND WE'RE BACK IN OPEN SESSION.
[5. Action Item]
TRUSTEES WE HAVE ONE ACTION ITEM ON THE SPECIAL CALL MEETING AND IT'S CONSIDERING TAKE POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE FILING OF LEGISLATION EXCUSE ME, LITIGATION REGARDING THE A THROUGH F ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM AND JOINED AS INTERVENOR IN THE LAWSUIT CAPTIONED KINGSVILLE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT VERSUS MIKE MORATH IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION CIVIL ACTION NUMBER D1GN 23-004675 IN THE 419TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS.HAVE A MOTION. MOTION TO MOVE TO APPROVE.
OKAY, Y'ALL CONFUSED? ALL RIGHT. MOVE TO APPROVE.
SECOND. MOTION BY TRUSTEE MITCH.
SECOND BY TRUSTEE JOHNSON TRUSTEES, IS THERE DISCUSSION? MR. PRESIDENT, I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT TO MAKE HER STATEMENT AND THEN HAVE THE TRUSTEES MAKE THEIR STATEMENTS.
THAT'S FINE. THAT'S ALL RIGHT.
WE TAKE THAT JOB VERY SERIOUSLY.
OUR PRINCIPALS TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.
OUR TEACHERS TAKE IT SERIOUSLY, OUR STUDENTS, OUR PARENTS, AS DO OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT BEING SAID, WE ALSO THINK THAT WHEN WE ARE EVALUATING STUDENTS OR TEACHERS OR ANY MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM, THAT THEY WOULD ALWAYS KNOW WHAT EXACTLY THEY'RE BEING EVALUATED ON PRIOR TO THE COMPLETION OR CONCLUSION OF THEIR EVALUATION.
AT THIS TIME, THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY HAS EXPRESSED ITS INTENT TO EVALUATE SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS WITH DIFFERENT RULES THAN PREVIOUSLY UTILIZED AND HAS NOT COMPLETED THEIR COMMUNICATION WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS REGARDING THESE CHANGES. WHILE SHORTLY IN ANOTHER MEETING, I WILL PRESENT EVEN ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS IN ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE ON THE STATE ASSESSMENT BY OUR STUDENTS, FROM THE WORK OF PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS.
OBSERVATIONS AND LISTENING TO OUR COMMISSIONER WHOM WE ALL RESPECT.
HE HAS INDICATED THAT HIS HANDS ARE TIED AND THAT HE MUST INDEED FOLLOW THE LAW.
AND I TRULY ALSO BELIEVE THAT THEREFORE OUR HANDS ARE EQUALLY TIED AND THAT WE MUST TAKE A
[00:05:08]
POSITION TO ALLOW THE EXISTENCE OF COURT SYSTEMS TO HELP US WITH THE DIFFERENCE IN THE INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW.MR. PRESIDENT, I THINK IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BOARD TAKES A POSITION ON LOOKING AT THE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM AND HOW IT'S CURRENTLY GOING TO BE PUT ON THE DISTRICTS.
MANY OF US HAVE ENJOYED THE OPPORTUNITY OF OF LOOKING AT THE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM IN A NEGATIVE LIGHT, BUT ALSO FINDING OUT FOR ME, PARTICULARLY IN MY DISTRICT, I HAD NO DOORS AND NO F'S.
DOESN'T MEAN THE STUDENTS CHANGE.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THE FACULTY CHANGE DOESN'T MEAN ANY OF THAT.
IT JUST MEANS THAT WE'RE GETTING A SYSTEM BEING ROLLED OUT THAT BASICALLY WE HAD NO OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE SYSTEM AND IT'S BEING ROLLED OUT AFTER THE TEST.
NOT ONLY THAT IS, IS THAT THERE WAS A NEW TESTING MECHANISM PUT IN PLACE WHERE ACTUALLY THE STUDENTS DID ALL OF THE TESTS ON A DEVICE THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.
AND SO THAT WAS VERY NEW TO THE STUDENTS.
AND I THINK ALL OF THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
SO I WILL BE SUPPORTING THIS MOTION AND WILL HOPE THAT THE COMMISSIONER HEARS OUR URGENT CRY BECAUSE TRYING TO EXPLAIN D'S AND F'S IN MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES WILL NOT WORK.
THANK YOU. TRUSTEE FOREMAN TRUSTEE JOHNSON? YES. AND I RAN FOR SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEE.
I RAN ON EQUITABLE PROCESS, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
SO MY PLATFORM, MANY OF YOU THAT I SERVE WITH, MENTIONED THAT AND RAN ON THAT SAME THING.
THIS BOARD BELIEVES IN ACCOUNTABILITY, BELIEVES IN EQUITY AND BELIEVES IN TRANSPARENCY.
AND THIS PROCESS IS NOT EQUITABLE, NEITHER IS IT TRANSPARENT.
PARENTS AND THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS DESERVE TRANSPARENCY.
AND SO I WILL BE SUPPORTING THIS MOTION.
AS THE SUPERINTENDENT HAS CLEARLY STATED, OUR HANDS ARE EQUALLY TIED.
THANK YOU TRUSTEE JOHNSON, TRUSTEE WHITE.
AND I JUST SEE AREAS WHERE I DON'T FEEL THERE'S TRANSPARENCY.
I'M QUITE SURE THE COMMISSIONER WANTED THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE HE FELT LIKE WE WERE DOING SO GREAT THAT THERE NEEDED TO BE CHANGES MADE. I KNOW THERE'S BEEN CHANGES MADE IN THE PAST AS FAR AS THE THE STAR SYSTEM, BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE THE WAY THAT IT WAS IMPLEMENTED, THAT WE JUST TOOK A HIT FROM COVID AND OTHER FACTORS.
AND I JUST THINK THAT ALSO, SINCE IT IS BASICALLY WITHIN THE LAW STATING THAT CERTAIN THINGS SHOULD BE ROLLED OUT IN A CERTAIN MANNER AND APPARENTLY IT HASN'T THIS TIME THAT WE ALL SHOULD BE IN SUPPORT OF JUST NEEDING MORE TIME TO GET ACCLIMATED WITH WHAT THE NEW SYSTEM IS THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE LIKE WE HAVE IN THE PAST.
WE'VE HAD TIME BEFORE BENCHMARKS AND WHAT HAVE YOU, TO GET THINGS IN PLACE TO GET OUR STUDENTS READY BECAUSE OUR STUDENTS CAN PERFORM AND THEY DO PERFORM.
AND WE DO HAVE GREAT TEACHERS AND WE HAVE A GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM THAT I FEEL NEEDS THIS TIME IN ORDER TO ADJUST. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. TRUSTEE. TRUSTEE. IS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS? TRUSTEE MICCICHE TRUSTEE MACKEY.
GO AHEAD, MAGGIE. TRUSTEE MACKEY WE'LL FINISH WITH MITCH.
YEAH. A COUPLE QUICK THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS HERE.
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID? THE THE REAL QUESTION I HAVE IS, IN ALL OF THE STATEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN SAID PREVIOUSLY, IT'S ABOUT WE DON'T WANT TO SEE A D OR AN F CAMPUS. IF THAT'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.
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WE DO NOT HAVE ALL OF OUR KIDS READING ON GRADE LEVELS.WE STILL HAVE ACHIEVEMENT GAPS.
AND AS THIS REFRESH OCCURS, THIS IS AROUND RAISING THE BAR AND IT IS RAISING THE BAR FOR DISTRICTS BECAUSE WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACK WITH A'S AND B'S IF WE'RE NOT WHERE WE WANT TO BE ULTIMATELY.
NOW, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, AND THIS IS A QUESTION IS DIRECTED TO SUPERINTENDENT ELIZALDE THAT THIS LAWSUIT, THOUGH OUR COMMENTS ARE ALL ABOUT AN ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM, IS NOT ABOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY CHANGE OR MAKING THE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM MORE REFLECTIVE OF WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR STUDENTS.
CAN YOU PLEASE ELABORATE ON THAT? BECAUSE I DIDN'T CATCH THAT IN YOUR COMMENTS.
MY ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS ABSOLUTELY.
WE THINK OUR STANDARDS NEED TO CONTINUOUSLY BE RAISED AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE, AND WE HAVE DONE SO EVEN INTERNALLY AS NECESSARY. SO WE SUPPORT ACCOUNTABILITY AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ACCOUNTABILITY.
THERE WERE CHANGES WE COULD HAVE MADE HAD WE KNOWN SOME OF THE SPECIFIC.
CHANGES THAT WERE GOING TO TAKE PLACE WITH ACCOUNTABILITY.
NONE OF US ARE READY TO TAKE A VICTORY LAP.
WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH ONE STEP.
AND I WOULD STILL WANT TO BE ABLE TO CELEBRATE THE SUCCESSES THAT OUR CAMPUSES HAVE EXPERIENCED RATHER THAN TO RECEIVE A GRADE THAT IS NOT IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE SUCCESSES THAT THEY HAVE WORKED TOWARDS.
IS THIS LAWSUIT ASKING FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS WHICH ARE BEING RAISED AS PER THE REFRESH TO BE LOWERED NEXT YEAR OR TO KEEP THE STANDARDS THAT THEY ARE SETTING, JUST IMPLEMENT THEM NEXT YEAR? THE LAWSUIT THAT I HAVE ASKED AND RECOMMENDED THE BOARD TO SUPPORT US JOINING IS TO SIMPLY PROVIDE THE TRANSITION BENCHMARK YEAR THAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED PREVIOUSLY WHEN WE HAVE HAD THESE TYPES OF CHANGES, NOT TO LOWER ANY OF THE STANDARDS.
TRUSTEE MACKEY TRUSTEE MICCICHE.
YEAH. I WANT TO THANK TRUSTEE MACKEY FOR HIGHLIGHTING A POINT THAT I HAD PLANNED TO HIGHLIGHT MYSELF, WHICH IS THAT THE CLAIM FOR RELIEF IN THIS LAWSUIT IS TO NOT HAVE THE A THROUGH F REFRESHED SYSTEM BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY. SO THIS IS NOT A DISCUSSION OR A OR AN ARGUMENT AGAINST ACCOUNTABILITY OR EVEN AGAINST THE PARTICULAR ACCOUNTABILITY METRICS IN THE A THROUGH F REFRESH.
THIS ISN'T THIS IS A CLAIM FOR RELIEF FOR THOSE METRICS BEING APPLIED RETROACTIVELY.
AND IN FACT, A THROUGH F REFRESH IS STILL NOT FINALIZED.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EVALUATING THE SCHOOL YEAR 2223, AND THE COMMISSIONER HAS NOT TIMELY ISSUED THE APPROPRIATE RULES OR TAKEN THE APPROPRIATE ACTIONS UNDER THE LAW, UNDER THE STATUTE TO IMPOSE A AN A THROUGH F REFRESH ON THE 2223 YEAR.
I ALSO THINK RETROACTIVITY IS A BAD POLICY GENERALLY.
SO NOT ONLY ARE THE ACTIONS THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSIONER IN IN VIOLATION OF THE STATUTE, IT'S BAD POLICY TO DO THINGS RETROACTIVELY AND WITHOUT WITHOUT FAIR NOTICE OF WHAT THE RULES OF THE GAME ARE.
I DO NOT LIKE THE DISTRICT BEING IN THE POSITION OF HAVING TO JOIN A SUIT AGAINST THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, BUT THIS IS A DISPUTE THAT IS BEING PURSUED IN GOOD FAITH AND WE ARE FOLLOWING EXACTLY THE PROCESS THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW WHEN WE WHEN WE DISAGREE WITH WITH THE ACTION OF THE AGENCY.
[00:15:08]
250 SUPERINTENDENTS RAISED THESE VERY CONCERNS ABOUT RETROACTIVITY.AND THERE'S A THERE'S STILL A DISPUTE BETWEEN THE AGENCY AND AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SO WE OUR HANDS ARE, IN FACT, TIED.
THIS IS THIS IS WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO WHEN WE HAVE A DISAGREEMENT.
THIS IS WHY WE HAVE A COURT SYSTEM.
SO I DO SUPPORT JOINING THIS JOINING THIS LAWSUIT LAWSUIT.
AND I HOPE WE CAN SEND A MESSAGE, A UNANIMOUS MESSAGE OF SUPPORT.
AGAIN, THE CLAIM FOR RELIEF IS SIMPLY TO NOT HAVE THE A THROUGH F SYSTEM BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY.
THE A THROUGH F REFRESH BE APPLIED RETROACTIVELY.
WE WOULD SUPPORT IT ON A GOING FORWARD BASIS, BUT NOT ON A RETROACTIVE BASIS WHERE THERE IS NO WAY FOR OUR OUR TEACHERS, OUR SUPERINTENDENT, ALL OF OUR EDUCATORS TO CHANGE THE INSTRUCTION TO MEET THE THESE RETROACTIVELY IMPOSED METRICS IN IN THE A THROUGH F REFRESH.
TRUSTEE MICCICHE ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? TRUSTEES. ALL RIGHT, TRUSTEES, WILL YOU PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTES BY SHOW OF HANDS? THE SYSTEM SET UP FOR THE BRIEFING.
OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO VOTE BY SHOW OF HANDS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND.
THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.