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SAISD board approves class‑size waiver compliance plan; nine classrooms will appear on waiver submission
Summary
Trustees approved a compliance plan to accompany the district’s class‑size exception waiver under Texas Education Code 25.112; staff reported nine classrooms exceed the statutory pre‑K–4 limits and outlined monitoring and recruitment steps.
The board voted 7–0 to approve the district’s compliance plan that will accompany a class‑size exception waiver to the Texas Education Agency under Texas Education Code 25.112. Doctor Gomez explained the statewide requirement that pre‑K through fourth‑grade classes not exceed a 22:1 student‑teacher ratio and clarified that the district’s local policy extends a comparable standard to fifth grade because fifth grade sits on elementary campuses locally.
Gomez told trustees that of the district’s classrooms, 13 exceeded the district’s local limits for pre‑k through fifth grade as of the most recent weekly enrollment check; nine of those are in statutory grades pre‑K through fourth grade and therefore will appear on the TEA waiver submission. The identified classrooms included one kindergarten class at Reagan, three third‑grade classes (one at Bottom, two at Fort Concho), and five fourth‑grade classrooms between Bradford and Lamar; district staff said fifth‑grade overages were concentrated at Bonham.
The compliance plan the board approved lists the district’s monitoring and mitigation steps: continued recruitment/hiring of certified teachers, use of clinical teachers and paraprofessionals where appropriate, monitoring enrollment weekly and formally at least monthly, paying stipends for teachers in over‑ratio classrooms and adjusting special‑education or other support minutes across campuses to address needs. Gomez said strategy adjustments occur at different cadences depending on the intervention (for example, small‑group instruction may be changed on roughly a six‑week basis if it is not producing results).
Board members asked how the current number compares with previous years; Gomez said the number is down from last year. The plan will be submitted to TEA once the board’s compliance plan approval is entered and staff will monitor and report progress each semester.
