El Paso ISD delays recommendation on DOI 90% attendance exemption to Jan. 20, 2026

Administration told trustees on Nov. 18 that a stakeholder committee has been reviewing the District of Innovation (DOI) exemption to the Texas Education Code 90% attendance rule and will return in January with a formal recommendation.

Maribel Macias, chief organizational transformation and innovation officer, said the DOI attendance-exemption review used multiple datasets (10-year attendance trends, correlation of attendance and course passing, loss-of-credit analyses, transfer patterns and a review of policy/procedures). She described a planning team of roughly 20 stakeholders representing 15 departments that had met eight times and an advisory committee that is still collecting teacher and parent input.

Macias explained the practical effect of removing the exemption under Texas Education Code 25.092: a student must be present at least 90% of class days to receive credit or be promoted, which for a 180-day calendar equates to no more than 18 absences. She said the committee found students who pass classes despite low attendance, while struggling students with low grades often also have poor attendance, and that historic records included a high rate of "attendance not taken" that defaulted to present and may have inflated earlier attendance figures.

Trustees raised questions about the original intent of the exemption (to allow credit for demonstrated mastery through experiential/CTE activities and field experiences), whether mastery was actually being documented, how athletic or approved events are coded, and whether other districts had adopted similar policies. Trustee Hanani said the data suggest mastery is not compensating for lost seat time in many cases and asked administration to explicitly address mastery metrics in the forthcoming recommendation.

Administration asked the board to extend the Nov. 30 deadline in the earlier resolution to allow the committee time to complete stakeholder feedback and policy recommendations. Trustee Hanani moved to set a new deadline of Jan. 20, 2026 for administration to present a comprehensive recommendation; Trustee Cuellar seconded. The motion carried 7-0.

Administration said the January recommendation will include mastery analyses (interim assessments or end-of-course data), updated procedures to ensure attendance is coded and monitored with fidelity, and additional comparisons to peer districts; the committee will also report on recommended policy language if the board elects to retain or remove the exemption.

The board did not vote on removing the DOI exemption on Nov. 18; it voted only to extend the timeline for an informed recommendation.