AUSTIN, Texas — The release of new A-F school ratings by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has been temporarily halted by a Travis County judge.
On Thursday, Judge Catherine Mauzy said that districts involved in the case sufficiently showed that the commissioner’s planned implementation of the new A-F accountability system for the previous school year would violate state law and harm districts across the state.
Districts involved in the case argued that the agency did not provide adequate notice of the planned changes, arguing that the changes had the potential to lead to lower scores for schools in spite of whether or not performance improved.
Numerous Central Texas school districts joined the lawsuit after it was announced. In August, Del Valle ISD joined the lawsuit, calling it an "easy decision." They were joined shortly thereafter by Hays CISD, Bastrop ISD, Leander ISD and Dripping Springs ISD.
The increasing number of plaintiffs in the suit ultimately led to the TEA delaying the release of the accountability ratings in September.
By law, the State can take over a school district if it ranks low enough for long enough.