Liberty Hill ISD reports strong TAPR results, special education meets RDA requirements but flags disproportionality
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Summary
At a public hearing, Liberty Hill ISD reported STAAR and college-readiness measures above region and state, a 99.3% graduation rate, and a determination level 1 for special education RDA while noting disproportionality concerns for students of Asian ethnicity in autism identification and placement.
Liberty Hill ISD presented its Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) and the Special Education Results Driven Accountability (RDA) report at a public hearing Feb. 16, highlighting district performance above regional and state averages and a strong graduation rate while flagging targeted special-education disproportionality.
Assistant Superintendent Heather Stoner briefed the board on district profile changes, noting a 2% increase in the Asian student population and a 1% decrease in economically disadvantaged students year over year. Stoner said the district outperformed the region and state across reading and math performance levels and reported a graduation rate of 99.3% for the class of 2024. She also reported CCMR (college, career and military readiness) at about 78.4% and that the district uses TAPR data to guide Title funding and improvement plans.
Special-education results were presented by Kimberly De La Jose, who said the RDA combined domain scores earned a determination level 1 (meets requirements). De La Jose noted positive outcomes (maintenance or increases in passing rates for special-education students, low rates of long-term ISS/OSS placements for special education) but reported the district remains "significantly disproportionate" in two RDA areas: the identification of students of Asian ethnicity for autism and the placement of students of Asian ethnicity in general education less than 40% of the day. She said the district is in year three of targeted reviews to ensure valid identification practices and to reduce disproportionality.
Trustees asked about demographic and outcome reporting for trades/military enrollment, testing modalities (computer vs. paper), and the mechanics of growth measures; presenters explained where the TAPR provides standardized statewide comparisons and where local analyses will augment the data.
Stoner and De La Jose said TAPR and RDA materials are posted online and that the reports will feed the district’s comprehensive needs assessment and next year’s campus and district goals.
Board and community members publicly thanked staff and asked for continued attention to areas needing improvement, particularly early math and science mastery at higher performance levels.
