What's up with Texas schools
Three Austin ISD middle schools — Dobie, Webb, and Burnet — have four straight years of "unacceptable" state ratings. A fifth this year could lead the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to close a campus or replace Austin's elected school board with a state-appointed one, under Texas Education Code Chapter 39A. In May 2026, the TEA rejected AISD's Senate Bill 1882 rescue plan to engage a charter school partner for these three schools, in order to pre-emptively avoid a TEA takeover. This year's school and district accountability ratings will publish in August, and could determine whether Austin becomes the next Texas district taken over by the state.
Explore the issues ↓Jump to FAQThe per-student "basic allotment" hasn't risen since 2019, Texas ranks 46th nationally, and a new $1B voucher program now draws from the same pot.
Read more →The rating rests almost entirely on one standardized test — not on attendance, the arts, school climate, or whether kids are thriving.
Read more →Austin's main strategy to pause sanctions — an outside partnership — was rejected by TEA in May 2026. The clock keeps ticking.
Read more →TEA has taken over Houston, Fort Worth, Lake Worth and more. Its commissioner is appointed by the Governor, not elected.
Read more →AISD is redrawing attendance lines districtwide, with changes due in 2027. Two draft maps are out; community input matters now.
Read more →Engage your trustees, speak up at board meetings, join groups already organizing, and tell your story effectively.
Read more →Under Texas Education Code Chapter 39A, if a campus gets five straight "unacceptable" ratings, the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) — appointed by the Governor — can close that campus or replace the district's elected school board with a state-appointed "board of managers" that runs the whole district.
Three middle schools — Dobie, Webb, and Burnet — have four consecutive "unacceptable" ratings as of 2025. One more would hit the five-year trigger. Austin is one of ten Texas districts at four straight years on TEA's official 2025 list.
A campus is rated F when its overall score is 59 or below (0–99 scale). For middle schools, that score rests almost entirely on the STAAR test across three domains. It does not capture attendance, fine arts, teacher retention, school climate, or whether students feel supported and known.
Senate Bill 1882 lets a district hand a struggling campus to an outside partner for a two-year pause on sanctions plus extra funding. Austin's board approved a partnership with TCIS in March 2026; TEA denied it on May 28, 2026, citing the partner's lack of demonstrated capacity. The partnership can still proceed, TEA says — but without the 1882 protections.
TEA posts final ratings in August. After fall appeals, TEA could notify the district it has met the threshold for intervention, with a state-appointed board potentially installed in late 2026 or early 2027.
Separately from the takeover threat, Austin ISD is redrawing school attendance boundaries districtwide to balance enrollment and align feeder patterns, with changes anticipated for August 2027. Two draft maps — "Oak" and "Elm" — are under public review, and the district plans to combine elements of both.
Contact your Austin ISD trustees, give public comment at board meetings, plug into groups already organizing (ATX116, Educators in Solidarity, Brentwood PTA, Education Austin, Raise Your Hand Texas), and subscribe to updates through Brentwood PTA's newsletter, The Bark. The Get Involved page has specifics and tips.
Timely updates go out through special Advocacy Editions of Brentwood PTA's newsletter, The Bark. There's also a community calendar of upcoming meet-ups.
Subscribe to The BarkSee upcoming meet-upsQuestions or want to add an event? whatsupwithtxschools@gmail.com