TSTA Sues Longview ISD
The Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) filed suit (Jan. 30) against Longview ISD on claims that the ISD is violating a state law that limits the percentage of an ISD’s students who can be enrolled in district-administered charter schools to no more than 15 percent of the ISD’s prior school year’s enrollment.
LISD reportedly claims it received a waiver from the TEA to exceed the cap. The TSTA contends state law prevents a waiver to be granted.
Bus Grant Applications Halted
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) suspended (Jan. 30) accepting new applications for this year’s Texas Clean School Bus program grants, 23 days after the grant application period began on Jan. 7 (updated info here).
The suspension was prompted by the commission receiving applications totaling $18.03 million, about 12 million more than the $6.2 million that was appropriated. The original target date for closing the applications was Dec. 17, 2020.
No grants had been awarded as of press time.
Recycling Mandate Proposed
A proposed TCEQ rule to implement 2019’s SB1376 seeks to require school districts with 10,000 or more students — unless a hardship can be shown to the commission’s satisfaction — to comply with TCEQ-imposed mandates for governmental entities to establish recycling programs and purchasing preferences for products made of recycled materials.
Prior to SB1376, all Texas districts had been exempt from TCEQ recycling related mandates on governmental entities. Other parts of the proposed rule address recycling by municipalities.
The TCEQ will hold a hearing on the proposed rule at its Austin headquarters on Feb. 27, and the public comment deadline is March 3.
Boiler Safety Rule Proposed
Recent accidents in which hundreds of Texas students and staff have become ill from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning at schools is one of the reasons cited by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) for proposing a rule to stop these types of accidents from happening.
The proposed TDLR rule would require that if a non-electric-fueled boiler is installed for the first time (or is reinstalled) in any “room” inside a building (such as a school, governmental facility, apartment building, restaurant, office building, hospital, hotel, etc.) on or after June 1, 2020, then there must be, in that room:
- A CO detection device that provides real-time monitoring of CO levels. (This reportedly differs from residential CO detectors, which typically measure average CO levels over eight-hour periods.)
- An “interlock” device that immediately shuts off every boiler if the detected CO levels in the air exceeds the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-set air concentration maximum of 50 parts per million (ppm).
The proposed rule also requires that the devices be calibrated to ensure they are working correctly at least once every 18 months.
The TDLR’s Boiler Board (webcast) estimates that the cost to outfit a boiler room with the required devices is $1,000 ($750 for the devices plus $250 for installation).
Although the official public comment deadline is March 2, a TDLR spokesperson told TEN that comments should be submitted ASAP to have the maximum impact on the rule adoption process.
Sentenced
Prosecutors allege Woods received $50,000 in kickbacks from Anyanwu in a scheme involving the selection of Anyanwu’s company as the charter’s federal E-rate contractor.
The judge ordered Woods and Anyanwu to individually and jointly be responsible for paying $337,951 in restitution to the Federal Communications Commission for the E-rate contract.
The judge (according to Dallas media) reportedly labeled the $20,000 bonus Woods received from Nova after being convicted last year as “outrageous” and indicative of the poor management of the taxpayer supported charter.
More Charter “Perks” Rescinded
The Houston Chronicle reported (Jan. 30) IDEA Public Schools (the state’s largest charter chain) has notified its 7,000+ employees that after the recent public outcry that prompted the charter to drop plans to lease a private jet for nearly $2 million a year for eight years, the charter is dropping a number of other “hard to defend” spending practices.
The letter by IDEA CEO Tom Torkelson says, among other things, that the charter will not renew its agreement with the San Antonio Spurs for tickets and a luxury box when the season ends, an agreement costing the charter $400,000 this year, with the “lion’s share” of the tickets going to campus level staff and students.
IDEA had contended that the jet lease would have been funded from private donations, and not from taxpayer funds, as are the Spurs tickets and other perks that are being cancelled.
Torkelson’s letter also says IDEA will no longer allow business deals between the charter network and high-level leaders and their relatives.
Phishing Update
The Austin-area Manor ISD announced (Feb. 3) that it anticipates recovering $800,000 of the $2.3 million it lost in an email phishing scam by working with its bank and insurance provider, and that additional funds may be recovered as law enforcement continues to investigate the incident.
Suspended Student’s Notoriety
Arnold, who is African American, appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where the host announced her support and gave him a $20,000 scholarship, and he and his mother were invited to the Academy Awards.
BHISD insists that it’s the length of his hair, and not dreadlocks, that caused him to be in violation of the district’s student dress code, a policy the district says has been in place for 30 years.
Texas media have started reporting other incidents (such as this one) of students, particularly African Americans, being penalized due to school district hair polices, and the Texas Tribune is asking Texans (parents, students, teachers, etc.) to share (via an online form) their experiences “with hair discrimination in schools.”