- Teacher pay — The TEA announced (Aug. 25) the first 26 districts (14 ISDs and 12 charters) approved for a Local Designation System as a part of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) created by 2019’s HB3. These first districts will collectively designate approximately 3,650 teachers and will generate nearly $40 million in additional state funding.
Districts will receive $3,000 to $32,000 annually for every designated “highly effective” teacher they employ, and will receive greater funding for designated teachers who work in rural and/or high needs campuses.
The TIA funding will be tied to the district where the designated teacher is teaching as of February 2021, which may not be where the teacher is currently working, the TEA notes in an
updated (Sept. 3) advisory. - Troubled ISD — The TEA on Sept. 2 informed the financially troubled (see TEN, Aug. 24) DeSoto ISD in Dallas County that former TEA deputy commissioner for governance AJ Crabill has been appointed conservator to the district and that the agency is launching a new special accreditation investigation to look at issues involving the school board and other governance and related concerns. In rapid succession (recounted here), DISD’s board met in a special Sunday meeting to accept, via a 4-3 vote, the purported resignation of its superintendent, D’Andre Weaver, and to appoint an interim superintendent.
Then, a week later, the board unanimously voted to reinstate Weaver as superintendent (who said he never signed the board’s offered resignation agreement) after
news broke that the interim superintendent the board had named was reportedly responsible for Facebook postings that were considered to be racist and transphobic in nature.
TEA Rule News (more info):
Proposed (comment by Oct. 5):
- Adding pregnancy as a PEIMS reportable reason for why a student is no longer attending school.
- Revising optional flexible school day program rules.
Adopted:
- Providing for the implementation of the new School Safety Allotment under HB3. Effective Aug. 25.