The HISD Board of Education voted to change promotion standards for grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 at the January 12, 2017, board meeting and suspended non-SSI grade level STAAR indefinitely.
Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.0211, also known as the
Student Success Initiative (SSI), supersedes local policy; therefore, no local policy suspension is requested for grades 5 and 8. SSI requires fifth- and eighth-grade students to meet the passing standard on STAAR in
mathematics and
reading to be promoted to the next grade level.
Due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey, the Commissioner of Education is waiving the requirement for the creation of a Grade Placement Committee (GPC) for the SSI grade levels 5 and for districts in the Presidential Disaster Declaration area due to Harvey. Specifically: If a student fails the second test administration, districts will not be required to administer a third test. HISD has communicated to TEA that the district will not administer a third test.
Student Success Initiative requirements for fifth and eighth graders are detailed in the
Student Success Initiative Manual. The GPC must use professional judgment and knowledge of a student’s abilities to make promotion decisions at the end of Summer School for students in grades 5 and 8 who have not passed the testing standard during the school year.
