Alief ISD board approves new local improvement plans, requires mid-year benchmark update

Alief ISD trustees voted to approve newly required local improvement plans for campuses that received state or federal accountability labels, after district staff described the content and monitoring approach.

Rayyan Amin told the board that state and federal rules now require board approval for local improvement plans for campuses rated additional targeted support, targeted support and some campuses with state D or F ratings. Amin said the LIPs emphasize the Effective Schools Framework (ESF), especially levers on building teacher capacity through observation and feedback (ESF 5.2) and data-driven instruction (ESF 5.3).

When a trustee asked when the board would next see progress information, Amin said the district will present a mid-year update next month with benchmark and i-Ready data from recent assessments. Amin noted that campuses and central office staff are already implementing plans and that monitoring will continue through ILTs.

President Rowe called for a motion to approve the 2025-26 local improvement plans; Trustee Williams moved and Trustee Moreno seconded. The transcript records the vote as "6 for, 4 against, 0 abstention" and the motion passed.

Administrators cautioned that closing a campus does not remove accountability for the students who transfer: if students primarily transfer to campuses rated C or higher, interventions at the receiving campus may not be required; if they move to underperforming campuses, supports must remain in place for the receiving campus. The district said it will continue to track student outcomes and report back to the board.