September 15, 2024 -- The Dallas Morning News published a letter to the editor written by Brewer Partner and Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (FLP) founder William A. Brewer III calling for the release of Texas school accountability ratings.
The FLP is a is an award-winning public-private partnership that provides academic resources and leadership training to economically disadvantaged students in the Dallas Independent School District. The Brewer Foundation on September 5, 2024, filed a petition in intervention in Travis County court on behalf of its Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (“FLP”), seeking the release of the Texas Education Agency (“TEA”) 2024 A-F accountability ratings for school districts and campuses.
On August 12, 2024, a Travis County judge blocked the scheduled release of the school ratings with a temporary restraining order after five school districts (located across West and South Texas) sued Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath in Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District, et al., v. Mike Morath.
The Foundation is represented by the Brewer Storefront – the community service affiliate of the national litigation firm of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.
The full text of the letter as it appeared in the Sunday edition of the newspaper is below:
Release school ratings
Re: “Why we released our schools’ ratings,” by Joe Carreón and Robert Selders Jr., Monday Opinion.
It is encouraging to see Dallas ISD School Board President Joe Carreón call for two items of importance in Texas education: accountability and transparency. Both are in short supply these days in public education — as several school districts recently brought a Travis County lawsuit to block the Texas Education Agency from releasing school ratings statewide. Meanwhile, DISD and a handful of other districts took the lead in releasing their preliminary ratings.
The accountability rating system is an A-F methodology that evaluates districts and schools. By definition, the system promotes awareness of educational challenges, helps identify best practices and instills confidence in parents and students. The ratings also spark interest and engagement — as we all work collectively to improve the educational system in our state.
Our law firm’s community service legal affiliate, Brewer Storefront, filed a petition to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of our Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program seeking the release of the ratings. The FLP is a public-private partnership that provides academic resources and leadership training to DISD students. We will argue the issue before the court to give a voice to schools, students and communities.
The plaintiff school districts face considerable challenges with student achievement, with between 51% and 73% of students not meeting grade level last year on STAAR exams. We need a system that identifies such problems and inspires the corrective actions necessary to improve schools. It is not only the Texas educational system that depends on this, but also the future generations it serves.
William A. Brewer III