After TEA review, Alief ISD adopts corrective action plan for suspensions of homeless (McKinney-Vento) students

Alief ISD presented a corrective action plan on Jan. 23 in response to a Texas Education Agency review that found the district's discipline reporting for students experiencing homelessness was outside expected ranges.

Chief of Schools Cecilia Crear told the board TEA's review focused on discipline data submitted to PEIMS and that an internal audit found 15 of 25 student suspensions for the 2022-23 year involved students identified as McKinney-Vento (homeless) and were erroneously entered as out-of-school suspensions. Crear described corrective steps already taken, including retraining staff, and additional measures to be submitted to TEA:

- Update the student code of conduct to require consideration of homeless status in disciplining decisions. - Introduce a critical alert in the student information system to surface the homeless marker before any suspension is entered. - Require principal-level approval for all suspensions to reduce data-entry errors. - Conduct regular audits to ensure PEIMS discipline submissions are accurate and timely.

"These errors are not in alignment with who we are as a district," Crear said, adding the district has retrained staff and is tightening administrative oversight. Trustees asked whether alternatives to suspension are available; Crear said restorative practices and campus-based interventions are in place and should be used for McKinney-Vento students unless the conduct triggers mandatory disciplinary placements.

The board approved the corrective action plan and will submit it to TEA; TEA will assign a state intervention coordinator/implementation specialist to support monitoring if it chooses.

What's next: implementation of the daily MIS report to flag homeless students, ongoing training and periodic PEIMS audits to ensure discipline reporting compliance.