A Travis County judge has again blocked the state from releasing A-F accountability grades.
Judge Daniella DeSata Lyttle on Wednesday granted a coalition of school districts a temporary injunction preventing the Texas Education Agency from making the scores public.
Five school districts – including Forney ISD and Crandall ISD – sued state Education Commissioner Mike Morath last month to challenge the rollout “because those ratings are based on a flawed assessment instrument (the new STAAR test) that is not valid and reliable,” the lawsuit read.
It’s the second year in a row that the state has not been able to release A-F ratings after it overhauled its method of grading STAAR tests, which the ratings are predominantly based on.
“A fair rating system must be consistent, and it cannot arbitrarily change from year to year,” the lawsuit states.
After a hearing earlier this week, Judge Lyttle sided with the plaintiffs, saying in her order that they “made sufficient showing that Defendant’s implementation of the A-F accountability system for the 2023-024 school year is unlawful.”
The order does not prevent Morath from using the data to apply for federal funds.
A handful of school districts released their own projected accountability ratings based on STAAR data. Dallas ISD projected it received a C, down from a B last year, but said it expected the number of high schools with A and B grades to increase.
Garland ISD said it expects a B grade. Both Irving ISD and Fort Worth ISD project they received C grades.
Morath told the court he plans to appeal the injunction. He said at a Dallas Chamber event Tuesday that the TEA “will prevail” in the lawsuit.
A hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 10.
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