So yesterday, I asked the folks at Support Our Public Schools what kinds of changes might be considered if their push to turn Dallas ISD into a home-rule district succeeded. One of the items on the “food for thought” list was: “Flexibility with curriculum — Allows schools to customize to the learning needs of their students.” I asked what that might mean.
The answer is that, according to SOPS, a home-rule district could ignore many of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requirements, aka the TEKS. These are the specific and sometimes very detailed course requirements course hashed out by the State Board of Education — and criticized by some as being “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Here’s how SOPS spokesperson Jennifer Pascal explained it:
Home Rule school districts are subject only to the graduation requirements listed in the Texas Education Code Section 28.025.
Home Rule school districts are exempt from the rest of Section 28. Section 28 establishes the TEKS.
This means that Home Rule school districts are exempt from the TEKS, however, Home Rule school districts are still subject to state accountability rules.
This means Home Rule school districts are subject to the STAAR Test in math and reading in grades 3 – 8, and a few other subjects throughout K – 12.
Home Rule school districts would follow the TEKS in the few grades and subjects that are tested, and Home Rule school districts have flexibility with other subjects and grades.
With this flexibility, a Home Rule school district would create a real opportunity for parents and the community to get more involved in Dallas ISD. Of course, people are going to debate about what to do with that flexibility, but research shows that more engaged parents and a more engaged community leads to better schools and that’s what this effort is about.
The only secondary courses subject to the STAAR are English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology and US History. So for every other secondary course, if Pascal is right, a home-rule DISD would be free to experiment. And for elementary/middle school, for everything but math and reading, ditto.
There are a couple of lines in the state education code that make me wonder if this interpretation is correct, but it’s anything but clear to me. (If you’ve ever tried reading the Texas Education Code, you’d know what I mean.) I’ve asked the Texas Education Agency for clarification.