Senator Paul Bettencourt Statement on Second Major Legal Victory for Texas A–F Public School Accountability System
AUSTIN, TX – Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), the second longest serving member of the Senate Committee on Education K-16, chaired by Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), and author of SB 1365 (87R), which restored and strengthened the A-F accountability system, released the following statement in response to the 15th Court of Appeals’ ruling securing the 2nd
major legal victory for the State of Texas releasing the 2023-2024 public school A-F accountability ratings.
“As the author of SB 1365 (87R), which restored and strengthened the A–F system, I’m extremely grateful and proud of this ruling,” said Senator Paul Bettencourt. “The Court saw through these delaying tactics, what I call ‘lawfare’, and reaffirmed that the public, families, teachers, students, plus taxpayers deserve to know how their schools and ISDs are performing. With only 30 ISD’s left of over 1k+ school districts in Texas that challenged
the system, the message is clear: it’s time for these ISD’s to stop playing legal games and refocus on educational performance of their students” added Bettencourt.
This is Texas’ second significant legal victory in defense of the A–F public education accountability system. In Morath v. Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD (15-24-00101-CV), the 15th Court of Appeals, led by Chief Justice Scott Brister, unanimously ruled that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) can proceed with releasing the 2023–2024 A–F ratings. This follows the Court’s prior decision allowing the release of the 2022–2023 ratings, effectively overturning attempts by certain ISDs to block public transparency through prolonged litigation.
“With the 2023–24 ratings now authorized for release by TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, Texas’ courts have once again reaffirmed the Texas legislature’ commitment to the A-F public education accountability system. What gets measured gets fixed! This ruling is a big win for public school accountability, transparency, and student outcomes.” Senator Paul Bettencourt concluded.
To read the Court’s full opinion, visit the official ruling at Justia.
