Investigation
The TEA sent a letter (Nov. 30) to the D/FW-area Lancaster ISD that was reportedly prompted by a recent LISD school board decision to accept a voluntary separation agreement with its superintendent (Elijah Granger) that could potentially cost the district more than $2 million.
The district’s chief financial officer stated that the payout could drain the district’s reserves to “practically nothing.”
LISD’s board had voted 4-3 — prior to the election of new board members on Nov. 3 — to accept the resignation that occurred two weeks after Granger had negotiated a five-year extension on his contract.
At press time, the district was under a temporary restraining order preventing the payout.
The TEA’s letter to the district also said the agency is investigating a conflict-of-interest allegation about a former board president.
Special-ed News
The TEA announced that the agency’s Special Education Data Book — that has been continually published to meet a 2004 federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirement — will no longer be published in its current format as of “mid December.” The TEA says that the info will continue to be available via several other online reports.
Rule News
Withdrawn:
- The TEA announced that rules that it had proposed for public comment last May (but were never adopted) — relating to school facilities and the implementation of 2019’s SB11 for school safety standards — have been withdrawn. Instead, replacement rules (based on stakeholder input) will be proposed for public comment soon.
Adopted (effective Dec. 6)
Click here for more info about the following adopted rules.
- Removing the specific requirement that school boards must provide options for public input before a board can approve, at a public meeting, an application to the TEA for an optional flexible school day program.
- Revising various ISD and charter school bond guarantee rules, mostly as the result of revisions to state and federal law.