The Dallas Independent School District could follow in the footsteps of Richardson, Garland, and Keller ISDs, all of which have decided not to hold classes on Election Day.
Citing “safety concerns of campuses being used as polling places and individuals having open access to more than half of the district campuses,” the district will consider whether to designate Election Day as a “professional development day” without in-person classes.
In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting and amid heightened political tensions, some school board officials in North Texas have opted to avoid any potential incidents on campuses when thousands of voters will have access to school grounds.
Dallas ISD’s board of trustees will consider the question on August 25.
“I think if we really put our money where our mouth is, and we want to make our schools as safe as they can, and keep our staff as safe as we can — to just take that fear and that anxiety away, then why wouldn’t we just cancel class on that day,” said former Dallas ISD police chief Craig Miller.
Still, not everyone in the Dallas community feels that canceling classes on Election Day is the best move.
In an opinion piece published by The Dallas Morning News editorial staff, the authors lamented the circumstances that led to such a consideration:
“These concerns about building access are well-founded. But so much is lost when our school buildings become fortresses.
“Schools are where we come together to cheer on the next generation. They are where we teach our children how to treat one another with respect and how to be responsible citizens.
“What message are we sending to our children when we can’t promise they’ll be safe at school — not even on our day of civic reckoning?”
As Texas falls behind the rest of the U.S., Dallas ISD has fallen behind the rest of the state. Dallas ISD’s STAAR scores for the 2020-2021 school year were below the statewide average across the board. For all grades and all subjects, only 60% of Dallas ISD students received scores of “approaches grade level,” compared to 69% in the state.
Additionally, a four-year longitudinal study on the class of 2020 indicated that only 82.8% of the district’s students graduated high school on time, compared to a statewide rate of 90.3%.