Austin ISD is considering whether to close Dobie Middle School in Northeast Austin because of low accountability ratings from the state, the district's superintendent said Friday.
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) gives school districts and campuses grades largely based on student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. If a school gets a failing grade for five consecutive school years, TEA can replace the superintendent and elected school board, as it has in Houston ISD, for example.
Dobie received an "F" rating from TEA for the 2018-19 school year. No schools were graded during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years because of the pandemic. TEA again released accountability ratings in 2022, but schools that would have received a "D" or "F" were listed as "Not Rated." That's the designation Dobie received that year.
In 2023, the TEA was blocked from releasing accountability ratings after more than 100 school districts sued — including Leander, Hays, Del Valle and Hutto.
On Thursday, a state appeals court ruled the Texas Education Agency could release accountability ratings for the 2022-23 school year.
“There is not going to be a strategy or path that I support that introduces a risk of state intervention. We want to ensure that the way that we educate students … in Austin ISD stays with the administration and stays with the board of trustees.”AISD Superintendent Matias Segura
A separate lawsuit has so far prevented the state from releasing school ratings for last school year, but Austin ISD anticipates that could also change, according to an FAQ on its website. The district estimates Dobie would have received a failing grade in the last two school years.
Because of the movement on these lawsuits, Austin ISD said it has less time to improve Dobie's ratings and is at greater risk of triggering state intervention.
"We felt as though the timing of [the lawsuits] was gonna be a little further out, and it would give us the ability to implement [a] turnaround plan into next year, but that’s certainly not the case," Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said in a press conference Friday. "So as things unfolded, it became clear that we were gonna not be able to have that year, and because of where we are in the timeline, we need to take a stronger position moving forward.”
“There is not going to be a strategy or path that I support that introduces a risk of state intervention," he continued. "We want to ensure that the way that we educate students … in Austin ISD stays with the administration and stays with the board of trustees.”
To avoid state intervention, Austin ISD has a few options:
- It could close the school permanently after the 2024-25 school year
- It could temporarily close the school and revamp it
- It could partner with a charter school to run the campus, as it has with Mendez Middle School
The district will make a decision before the end of April. Regardless of the outcome, Segura said, the district doesn't anticipate cutting Dobie's staff; if the school closes, employees would be moved to other schools in the district.
The possibility of closing Dobie comes as Austin ISD looks into closing schools to help address its $110 million budget deficit. The district said a list of potential campuses to shutter will be developed by mid-fall and the board will vote on closures in December. The closures would take effect during the 2025-26 school year.
Austin ISD is already under a TEA order to improve its special education services.
