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State Board outlines accountability‑hearing schedule, eligibility rules for districts with repeated low grades
Summary
State Board of Education staff told the House Education Committee they will hold 18 accountability hearings the week of March 23 for LEAs that have two consecutive F letter grades or a D followed by an F; hearings will be public, 60–75 minutes long, and require district leaders to attend.
The State Board of Education briefed the House Education Committee on plans to conduct accountability hearings for school districts that meet statutory eligibility criteria — specifically districts with at least one school that received an F in two consecutive years or a D that subsequently dropped to an F.
Darrell Cobbins, vice chair of the State Board, and staff said the hearings are intended to provide public transparency about schools that are underperforming and to identify corrective actions or, if needed over time, audits of academic programming and financial practices. "Our statutory charge ... is to conduct ... accountability hearings for the districts of schools that have an F or an F letter grade," Nathan James, state board staff, told the committee.
Operational details: the board will hold 18 hearings the week of March 23, each 60–75 minutes, and require attendance by the director of schools, the school board chair, the chief academic officer (or equivalent) and the chief financial officer (or equivalent). Hearings will be held in the Davy Crockett Tower, be open to the public and allow written or emailed public comment.
Lawmakers’ concerns: Chairman Haston and other members questioned whether the letter‑grade methodology weights achievement in ways that undercount CTE and work‑ready accomplishments; Representative McKenzie expressed concern that a single failing school in a large district could trigger the same process as concentrated failures in smaller districts. State Board staff acknowledged those concerns and said the board will report back with feedback after the first round of hearings.
What’s next: the board will proceed with the March hearing schedule and the three‑member hearing committee will recommend corrective actions to the Department of Education; the State Board committed to report to the legislature after the first year of hearings.
Quote: "These meetings will be in person and will be open to the public," said Vice Chair Darrell Cobbins, describing hearing logistics.
