HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — It’s just days into the new school year, but Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles and the board of managers are being sued over how teachers are evaluated.
The Houston Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit in Harris County on Wednesday, alleging that Miles and the board violated Texas Education Code requirements when they developed teacher evaluations, saying their system was created illegally.
Specifically, the teachers’ union says the violation came in by not getting input from teachers and other stakeholders during the process. Therefore, they’re seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the evaluations from being implemented.
“Superintendent Miles has grossly and illegally expanded both his power and that of the appointed school board. He is refusing to follow the law by shutting out the voices of teachers, parents, students, and other community members and punishing educators in the name of streamlining the district,” HFT President Jackie Anderson said.
The evaluations are tied to teachers’ employment and pay.
Over the summer, Miles said that teachers and principals’ pay will be tied to performance.
According to the lawsuit, the district didn’t include the schools’ Shared Decision Making Committees, thus violating state code.
The union says that the district spent two years working with teachers on an appraisal system called the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS), which is used in the rest of the state, our partners at the Houston Chronicle report. But the lawsuit claims that Miles and the board scrapped the T-TESS system in favor of their new local appraisal system known as Policy DNA.
“The hollowed-out version of DNA approved by the board of managers does not contain any performance criteria, and it is unknown what the criteria will be for evaluating a teacher’s performance,” the suit alleges.
HFT was set to hold a news conference about the lawsuit Thursday, but that has been postponed.
Still, ABC13 reached out to HISD for comment on the case and received the following response.
“The Houston Independent School District cannot comment on a pending legal matter. The Superintendent and the School Board remain focused on the critical work of ensuring HISD prepares all its students for the world and workplace of Destination 2035 and allow the legal process to run its course. We will not answer any additional questions until the matter has concluded.”
[ad_2]
https://abc13.com/hisd-lawsuit-houston-federation-of-teachers-superintendent-mike-miles-school-district-sued/13722116/
