Austin ISD Weighs Urgent Options to Avoid State Takeover of Dobie Middle School

Austin ISD officials are considering challenging alternatives for Dobie Middle School and College Prep Academy in North Austin after a state judge's ruling that permits the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to publish the long-awaited public school accountability ratings for the 2022-23 academic year. 

The ruling on April 3 overturns a 2023 injunction that had stopped the TEA from releasing the ratings, which assess campuses with an A-F grading scale. The suspension of these ratings has been in effect since 2019, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing legal disputes.

AISD Superintendent Matias Segura stated that the district is committed to maintaining control of its schools instead of confronting a state takeover. If Dobie Middle continues to receive failing grades for five consecutive years, the TEA may take action to replace the existing AISD board of trustees with a board of managers appointed by the state. 

The district is exploring three options to avoid that outcome: collaborating with a TEA-approved charter operator, permanently closing the school after the 2024-25 school year, reallocating students, or temporarily closing the school to reimagine the campus before a future reopening.

Dobie Middle received an "F" rating in 2018-19, and while ratings were not officially released for the subsequent years, AISD officials believe that the campus would have received another failing grade for 2022-23 if the data had been made public. The likelihood of ongoing academic challenges in 2024-25 is increasing the urgency of taking action.

AISD highlighted that this decision is being made separately from a larger school consolidation plan under consideration to tackle budget constraints. The district seeks to safeguard student outcomes while steering clear of state intervention.

“Our goal is to make certain that the approach we take in educating students remains with the administration and board of AISD,” Segura stated at a press conference on April 4. 

No timeline has been announced for the release of accountability ratings by the TEA.

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