Parents, staff and community members took the mic one after another for the first time last week to express how they felt about the Austin Independent School District’s school consolidation plan. Some worried about the social and academic continuity of their children, others about layoffs. Many mentioned the possible impact on low-income communities and emerging bilingual […]
AISD
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Almost $300 million in public property is at stake as Austin ISD looks to close 13 schools
If the Austin Independent School District closes 13 schools as planned, what happens next could remove some of the most valuable public land nestled among residential neighborhoods across the city. The Austin ISD board — made up of nine elected officials — meets Thursday for the first time since staff unveiled the school consolidation plan last Friday. AISD leaders […]
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Austin ISD to release school closures list on Friday
A long-awaited list of which Austin Independent School District campuses will close for the 2026-2027 school year will be released to parents at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. In an Instagram video, Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said the late-in-the-week announcement is “very very intentional.” “I know 5:30 p.m. on Friday isn’t the best time to receive […]
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Austin ISD to host meetings on closures as 12 more schools are flagged for failing grades
A dozen schools in the Austin Independent School District will need to close or make significant changes after receiving three consecutive failing grades from the state. The Texas Education Agency ratings were released last month. Austin ISD saw some improvements from last year, but roughly one third of the district’s 116 campuses still had unacceptable ratings. In […]
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Austin ISD gets a ‘C’ in latest school ratings. Here’s how to find your campus’ grade.
Following the release of long-awaited A-F accountability ratings from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Austin Independent School District Superintendent Matias Segura said modest improvements in scores show the district is making progress. “There’s obviously a lot of work to get to do with the number of D’s and F’s that we have, but when you look at […]
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Texas attorney general investigates Austin ISD for allegedly teaching ‘critical race theory’
Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday accused Austin ISD of using materials to teach critical race theory. His office plans to depose the superintendent and school board as part of an investigation. The AG’s office alleges the district is using curricula related to the “The 1619 Project,” which recenters U.S. history around the impact of […]
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Austin Independent School district buys more time for plan to address Dobie Middle School, but prepares for seismic shifts
After years of deferrals and litigation, new state mandates for public school performance are finally catching up to Austin Independent School District, leaving hundreds of its children, teachers, and administrators unsure if they will have a school to return to come August. Dobie Middle School, a Title 1 campus on East Rundberg Lane, faces an […]
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Austin ISD says it is prepared for potential impact of Trump’s immigration policies
Officials for the largest school district in Central Texas said they have taken steps to prepare for the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Austin ISD General Counsel Kenneth M. Walker II said the district began reviewing its protocols before Trump began signing executive orders. “We could … anticipate that some of the […]
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How Austin ISD is lowering its chronic absenteeism rate, which more than doubled during the pandemic
When Austin ISD students Jonnell and Layth started middle school a few years ago, their attendance was on the spottier side. Jonnell said she didn’t like going because it wasn’t easy to get along with some of her classmates at Webb Middle School. But over the years, that’s changed. “I used to have problems with […]
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Austin ISD is asking voters to approve a new tax rate to help fund pay raises, reduce deficit
The Austin ISD school board is asking voters to approve a higher property tax rate in November that would increase the district’s revenue by tens of millions of dollars. That money would be used to give more than 60 percent of employees a raise and reduce the district’s budget deficit to $78 million. Austin ISD […]
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Austin ISD’s budget deficit means staff pay will barely budge without voter help
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted to approve a 2024-25 budget that will require the district to dip into its savings account to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Austin ISD’s annual operating budget will total nearly $954 million after a vote on Thursday. How large the district’s budget deficit will be during the next fiscal year largely […]
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Austin ISD plans to cut at least $30 million from its next budget
The Austin Independent School District is working on ways to cut its $60 million budget deficit in half during the next school year, while trying to limit the impact it will have on classrooms. Austin ISD is one of the many Central Texas districts facing tough choices because the state’s spending on public education has […]