In the CISD DOI (District of Innovation) 2022-2027 Plan, Canyon ISD plans to exempt themselves from the below list of laws or Texas Education Codes. If approved by the board of trustees as is, the plan will be in effect until 2027. Our concern with the plan is the violation of parental rights in multiple elements of the plan. Below are just a few of the concerns.
Exemption From: TEC §25.112; TEC §25.113
TEC §25.112 requires districts to maintain a class size of 22 students or less for Pre-Kindergarten – 4th Grade classes.
TEC §25.113 requires district to notify parents of waivers or exceptions to class size limits. Districts are required by state law to maintain a 22:1 student to teacher ratio for Pre-Kindergarten – 4th Grade classes.
PreK-4th Randall County Parents:
Do you feel that you should be notified if your child's class size exceeds the state mandated threshold?
Do you feel that CISD should waive your rights of notification if your child's class exceeds the state limit?
Exemption From: TEC §21.003(a); TEC§ 21.057
TEC §21.003(a) states a person may not be employed as a teacher by a school district unless the person holds an appropriate certificate or permit issued by the appropriate state agency. In the event a district cannot locate a certified teacher for a position or a teacher is teaching a subject outside of their certification, the district must request emergency certification from the Texas Education Agency and/or State Board of Educator Certification.
TEC §21.053 requires a teacher to present his or her certificate to the District before their employment contract will be binding, and prohibits the District from paying an educator for teaching if the educator does not hold a valid certificate at the time.
TEC§ 21.057 requires that a school district provide parental notification if the district assigns an inappropriately certified or uncertified teacher to the same classroom for more than 30 consecutive instructional days.
Randall County Parents:
Do you have concerns about the quality of educators in the classroom?
Do you believe you have the right to know if your child's teacher is not state certified?
Do you want your board of trustees to give reporting on the number of locally certified educators outside of shop and Ag?
Do you want to see the 'local qualification requirements' for the educators hired to teach your children?
Canyon ISD Teachers:
Do the partnerships, increased mentoring and observations take time away from your already overloaded schedules?
How do you feel about all of the efforts you went through to gain state certification/accreditation and a new person can simply get 'locally certified'?
There are five other Texas laws that CISD is exempting themselves from in the proposed DOI 2022-2027 plan. We recommend you review the content in its entirety.
Other Questions:
Why is the district innovation plan a full 5 years? The plan can be up to 5 years. Is there a reason why CISD is doing the maximum?
Where can county tax payers see the district-level committee members established under Section 11.251?
Was Canyon ISD performing as a DOI, but on an expired plan in Spring of 2022?
conclusion:
In our humble opinion, there are no circumstances in which parent notification should be eradicated. The remaining areas of the plan leave parents and community members with unanswered questions. We are counting on our elected board members to communicate with the public. We believe that schools should be fully transparent with parents regarding everything and that parents are the primary and final authority in all matters.
"One survey found that nine in ten teachers said that smaller classes would strongly boost student learning."1
How can parents make decisions about what is best for their child if they are unclear on educator qualifications and classroom size? In light of the district's recent STAAR test scores, we should do everything we can to bolster student success in the classroom.
"Other studies in California, Minnesota, New York City, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin have shown lower class sizes boost test scores, too."1
One could also argue that this plan is not beneficial to teachers. Did we recently survey educators? Maybe we should ask everyone who is in the trenches? Is it a possibility that the district should evaluate increasing teacher pay so that we can attract excellence and ensure we have state certified educators in every classroom with classroom sizes well under state mandates? With the latest district STAAR results, do we need our leadership to possibly change a few things? Or do we need to change leadership?
Canyon Independent School District (CISD) is in Region 16 of Texas and covers the Amarillo and Canyon, TX, areas in the Texas Panhandle. CISD is under the superintendent supervision of Dr. Daryl Flusche.
Also, see "Education Spotlight: HB1842 in 84R".
Also, see "Questions Submitted About Canyon ISD's DOI Plan" for 2022-2027.
Also, see "Canyon ISD STAAR Results 2021-2022".
References:
1 Does Class Size Really Matter? A Chalkbeat look at the research.; Matt Barnum, Jun 10, 2022.
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