Making Choices

What to Know: Houston leaders are considering turning over some of their failing schools to a new nonprofit group.

“The nonprofit would partner with HISD through a recently passed state law commonly known as SB 1882,” the Houston Chronicle reports. “Under the law, school districts temporarily can surrender control over campuses to an outside organization — including a nonprofit — in exchange for a two-year reprieve from state sanctions tied to low academic performance, an extra $1,200 in per-student funding and some regulatory breaks. If HISD does not engage in an outside partnership this academic year at four chronically low-performing schools this year, the district risks state sanctions in 2019 if any of the campuses fail to meet state academic standards.”

The TPPF Take: It’s time for Houston to try something new – its schools are not serving their students.

“Many of Houston’s campuses did not get an A, B, C, D, or F rating due to Hurricane Harvey,” says TPPF’s Kara Belew. “But the Houston school board must focus on improving student results. Two-thirds, a full 66 percent of its poor students, read below grade level.”

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