Del Valle ISD administrators presented an information item on the Optional Flexible School Day (OFSD) program and a proposed partnership with Graduation Alliance, saying the two items are linked and staff will request board approval to apply to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) next week.

“[OFSD] is designated for students in grades who are at risk of dropping out. It provides a flexible schedule for them,” Dr. Mark Kent said, explaining the program’s purpose: to remove barriers for students who are behind on credits, work, or face medical or behavioral challenges while preserving funding and pathways to graduation. “This is about helping our students stay in school.”

Kent and others said the district receives full average daily attendance (ADA) funding for students enrolled in OFSD when TEA’s requirements are met, which makes the model financially viable for the district while enabling flexible scheduling for a small subset of students. “This provides that chance, while still being in a traditional campus,” Kent said, noting the option can also be used at the Opportunity Center and district alternative education program (DAEP).

Board members asked a range of questions about eligibility, oversight, staffing and scale. Trustee Pantoja asked how many students might benefit; staff said a reasonable initial estimate could be about 10% of high-school students who need an alternative pathway. “Typically, I would say about 10% of our students that really need an alternative,” Dr. Kent said.

Trustees sought guarantees that OFSD would not be used merely to boost ADA without improving student outcomes. Vice President Lodesma Woody asked, “What does the outcome look like that, hey, this was a successful program for us?” Kent said graduation on-time or maintaining cohort status would be the primary success metric. “Our measure is always we want to ensure that this student stays on cohort,” he said, and described changes such as assigning a consistent counselor from freshman through senior year to improve continuity.

The Graduation Alliance representative described a pay-for-performance, course-completion model used to reengage older students (up to age 26 under funding rules) who have dropped out or are not enrolled. “We are a program within the district. We are not a school… these are students of the district and their sole goal is to get a diploma from Del Valle ISD,” a Graduation Alliance speaker said, describing a model that provides laptops, hotspots and an academic coach/advocate who supports students locally and virtually. Staff emphasized the district controls the list of students who would be offered the program and that the Graduation Alliance conducts outreach and re-enrollment with district approval.

Trustees asked operational questions: whether teachers would be reassigned, whether counseling or athletics would be available to reengaged students, whether students could walk with a cohort at graduation, and how enrollment and continual eligibility would work. Staff said current district teachers and counselors would be employed for OFSD cases where appropriate and that Graduation Alliance students receive virtual instructional and support services; local internship or extracurricular eligibility would depend on district policy and the student’s enrollment status.

Staff noted OFSD requires a TEA-approved application; the district intends to submit the OFSD application and present both items for board approval the following week, so the Graduation Alliance partnership could operate under the OFSD designation. No formal vote was taken during the special meeting.

Trustees asked staff to return with clear eligibility criteria, success metrics (graduation/cohort status), and details on staffing, outreach and safeguards to prevent inappropriate referrals.

“Before they are enrolled in the Opportunity Center, maybe a pathway for them,” Dr. Kent said, describing OFSD as a targeted, last-resort pathway intended for a small percentage of students who have exhausted other interventions.