Houston ISD faces legal action from teachers' union over appraisal system
HOUSTON - The Houston Federation of Teachers has filed a lawsuit against the Houston Independent School District's superintendent, Mike Miles, and all district school board members.
According to the lawsuit, Miles proposed and the board of managers approved Policy DNA, a new local appraisal system.
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"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 states.
Their adoption of this system led to an end to T-TESS appraisals, along with its established processes and criteria for measuring teacher performance.
A Harris County judge has issued a temporary restraining order against HISD's newly implemented teacher evaluation system.
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A court order prohibits the superintendent and the board of managers from enforcing Policy DNA.
As reported by Chris Tritico, a lawyer for the Houston Federation of Teachers, the policy will remain inactive until September 11th, pending a hearing for a temporary injunction.
It is alleged that teachers' employment status and compensation were illegally determined and implemented by the district's teacher evaluation system.
In its injunction request, HFT asks that the court determine that Miles and the appointed board of managers are not permitted to adopt and implement a teacher appraisal policy that wasn't legally developed and approved.
"Injunction relief is necessary in this matter because if not granted, teachers will be appraised this current school year and have those appraisals used by HISD to make high-stakes employment decisions under an illegally developed appraisal system," the suit states.
The Texas Education Code requires input from district and campus-level committees. The code also requires that any appraisal system list performance measure criteria based on observable, job-related behavior, including teachers' implementation of discipline management procedures and the performance of teachers' students and other items.