Friday, March 29, 2024

DISD’s Home-rule – An Option for Change

Image: Kaytee Riek (Flickr)
Image: Kaytee Riek (Flickr)

Letter of the law gives school districts wiggle room

By Tamarind Phinisee, NDG Contributing Writer

The topic of home-rule has been met with both support and opposition since it was first introduced earlier this year. As the air of uncertainty continues to grow around home-rule, so has the confusion as to just what it is and what it could mean for one of the state’s largest school districts – Dallas Independent School District (DISD).

These mixed reviews have been fueled, in part, by lack of specific answers on goals for this initiative from Support Our Public Schools, a political action committee (PAC) that pushed for the initiative. The PAC has past and present ties to DISD. Calls and emails to reach PAC members and financial supporters of the PAC were not answered by press time.

“Part of the issue is the way this movement started. There are a lot of questions as to what exactly the group wanted changed,” said Dax Gonzalez, communications manager for the Texas Association of School Boards.

Ironically, Gonzalez said, the law is designed to ensure that the board works in conjunction with the community and staff.

“It’s the opportunity for a district to restructure and to create a charter that would provide for a new governance or a new way of running a school district,” Gonzalez said.

Mike Morath, DISD board of trustee member, adds, “The law allows school districts to change their governance structure and to partially deregulate or opt out of certain Texas education regulations.”

Sam Marten, manager of public affairs and communications in Mayor Mike Rawlings’ office, said the concept of home-rule is the idea that local control is better.

“The way the mayor is looking at this is if the commission is listening to the community as to what changes they want; that’s inherently a good thing,” Marten said.

Indeed, home-rule school districts were authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1995 to give voters more local control.

To be sure, Chapter 12 Subsection B of the Texas Education Code allows school districts to change who governs it and how it’s governed. Despite this change of governance, home-rule or charter school districts would still have to meet certain state and federal guidelines.

This story will focus mainly on defining home rule per state law. Subsequent coverage of the topic will explore who does or does not support home rule and why.

 

What could change?

According to the education code, a school district may adopt a home-rule charter under which the district will operate.

The law states that a home-rule school district can adopt and operate under any governing structure and create offices, as well as determine the selection process and qualifications and duties of the

officers. Other items that would be within a home-rule district’s power to change include student discipline, leaves of absence, and professional development requirements.

Gonzalez said a school district with a home-rule charter would have the freedom to change things such as the length of the school year, teacher contracts, salary schedules, and terms of board trustees – if it decides to have one – and when to have elections for these trustees.

“You have some teacher groups worried about protections, salaries, and contracts. Some are worried about the governance and the possibility that the charter would do away with the current board of trustees,” he said. “I think that’s where a lot of the opposition has come in – just the not knowing.”

Some of these adjustments, Gonzalez said, can actually be changed without home-rule.

Districts, he said, simply have to apply to the Texas Education Agency for a waiver and follow the required process.  By going for a home-rule district charter, Gonzalez said, a district could make all of the changes at once and simply take the items before voters.

Rena Honea, president of Alliance American Federation of Teachers, said these concerns have been voiced to her by teachers and parents. Her organization represents DISD teachers and support staff and is affiliated with the state-based teachers’ association called Texas AFT.

Alliance AFT has been holding a series of community meetings to discuss what teachers and parents know about home rule and to give these individuals an opportunity to voice their concerns. Honea said the information gathered at these meetings will be taken to the charter commission, so that, hopefully, there will be true community, teacher, and student voice inside the charter.

“They can choose to accept it or they can choose to reject it. But at least the taxpayers … the people that really support the neighborhood public schools; they have a voice in what happens with the school district,” Honea said.

 

What remains the same?

Of course, the proposed changes don’t mean that home-rule school districts would have total free reign to do as they please.

School districts that adopt a home-rule charter would still have to abide by certain federal and state guidelines. These guidelines include application of federal law and applicable court orders relating to eligibility for and the provision of special education and bilingual programs; health and safety provisions; high school graduation requirements; school finance laws; and bus safety standards.

Additionally, the letter of the law states the State Board of Education retains the right to place on probation or rescind/revoke a home-rule charter, if there has been a mismanagement of funds or a violation of the charter.

Furthermore, the adoption of a home-rule charter does not affect the district’s boundaries, or taxes or bonds of the district authorized before the effective date of the charter.

Essentially, Gonzalez said, the district would become more like a charter school.

“It would still be subject to the state oversight that a charter school would be. For example, the state would still provide the general structure for the district; the home-rule district would still have to report data to the TEA; and it would still have to do criminal background checks on staff and people working with students,” he explains.

 

So what’s next?

What’s not clear is just what the charter will look like once it comes before voters.

Currently, a charter commission has been pulled together to draw up a proposed charter to bring before voters, if possible, for the November elections.

As laid out in the law, Marten said the commission has one year to devise a proposed charter. But the hope, he said, is that the commission can get the work done in a much shorter time frame.

If this happens, Marten said 25 percent of registered voters need to vote for approval of the charter.

“And we hope (they reach that percentage) because of other elections that will be happening at that time of year,” he said.

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