(Texas Scorecard) – An appeals court has ruled that the Texas Education Agency can release its A-F accountability ratings of school districts for the 2022-23 school year, although the 2023-24 ratings remain blocked.
Lawsuits filed by school districts have kept the information hidden from the public.
The A-F accountability ratings, which TEA rolled out in 2018, are meant to serve as a “report card” to assess how well schools are serving students and taxpayers.
The agency’s ratings are based on student achievement, school progress, and closing gaps in academic performance for certain groups of students. The ratings metrics are “refreshed” every five years.
More than 100 Texas school districts sued Education Commissioner Mike Morath in 2023 to block release of that year’s ratings, claiming changes in how the scores were calculated unfairly assigned lower grades to the districts.
District officials alleged that TEA and Morath did not provide adequate notice of the changes, which they said could result in lowered scores for campuses even if their performance had improved.
A Democrat district court judge in Travis County sided with the school districts, forcing TEA to hide the results from the public.
On Thursday, Texas’ 15th Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision and dismissed the case with prejudice, permanently closing it and clearing the way for release of the report cards.
The court also ordered that all costs of the appeal be paid by the school districts.
A separate lawsuit filed last year by a handful of districts blocked release of the 2024 ratings. That lawsuit has not been resolved, so those reports are not yet cleared for release.
State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe), who chairs the Texas Senate’s Public Education K-16 Committee, hailed Thursday’s ruling as “a victory for accountability in public education.”
“When it comes to our kids’ futures, what isn’t measured isn’t fixed,” Creighton posted on X.
This lawsuit has kept last year’s school ratings from being released to the public—until now. Thanks to the court’s decision, 2023 ratings should finally be made public, giving parents and communities the transparency they deserve.
Unfortunately, a separate lawsuit filed in 2024 is still dragging out, continuing to delay full accountability. And while these cases stall, it’s students and teachers in struggling schools who pay the price.
“With reinstated accountability, Texans can feel confident that the historic investments and reforms we are working on at the Capitol will further lift up public education, support teachers, and unleash the full potential of Texas schools,” said Creighton.