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Hello, Houston,
Earlier this week, I walked outside and for the first time since I moved to Houston in July, I said to myself, "Wow, the weather is really nice today." Finally, I thought, the unbearable Houston heat that everyone warned me about had come to an end. Then, I woke up today and saw that the forecasted high temperature was back in the 90s. At least it was nice while it lasted.
Although I've moved away from Austin, I'm still keeping an eye on the Texas Legislature's debate over legislation on private school vouchers and public education funding. School finance experts told me that more state funding could improve Black and Latino student outcomes in Houston ISD, but it's still unclear what bills, if any, will make their way to the governor's desk.
While you're counting down the days until the end of "Augtober," catch up this afternoon with our recap of what happened in HISD this week.
This week's must reads:
- AP Physics students at DeBakey High School for Health Professions were forced to teach themselves college-level science for seven weeks due to a district hiring freeze. They finally got a new teacher this week after a staffing audit concluded.
- Have thoughts on HISD's school choice process? State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles will be seeking feedback in October and November on potential improvements as it prepares for an overhaul of the process.
Is there something happening you think we should be covering? Let us know here or by replying directly to this email.
 | Megan Menchaca, Houston ISD Reporter |
HISD suspends more homeless students in 2022-23 school year despite state ban, report says
State lawmakers passed a law in 2019 that was supposed to largely keep school districts from giving homeless students out-of-school suspensions with the goal of encouraging campuses to find more constructive alternatives for disciplining some of their most vulnerable students.
The Texas Education Code now states that districts can't place homeless students in out-of-school suspension unless they violate certain laws related to weapons, violent behavior, drugs or alcohol, but that doesn't mean that the policy is enforced.
About two years after the law passed, Houston ISD campuses continued to suspend homeless students. During the 2021-22 school year, schools gave homeless students 91 days of discretionary out-of-school suspensions, prompting a district official to urge them to stop.
According to a new district report, they did not stop. In fact, they increased the number of suspensions.
The district reported that homeless HISD students missed 102 days in 2022-23 for "discretionary suspensions," and they missed nearly 2,000 days in total with out-of-school suspensions. Homeless youth advocates say that those suspensions may increase the likelihood of negative educational outcomes for those students.
"If those (suspensions) are not within the exceptions outlined in the law, then those should not be happening," said Brett Merfish, director of youth justice for Texas Appleseed. "We need to do better and figure out, with the schools, what is happening in those instances and come up with a solution."
And that's just one of the data points in HISD's new Student Disciplinary Action Report for the 2022-23 year. Read more here about the report, which includes data on the district's disproportionate suspensions of special education, Black, economically disadvantaged and at-risk students last year.
What Else Happened This Week
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The Calendar Ahead
• Thru Dec. 7: Magnet school tours start at 9 a.m. Thursdays for elementary schools and 1 p.m. for secondary schools. Check with the specific campus before you arrive.
• Oct. 20: 4:30-6:30 p.m., Houston Federation of Teachers protest at HISD administration, 4400 W. 18th.
• Oct. 28: 9 a.m. to noon, School Choice Fair at Northside High School, 1101 Quitman.
• Nov. 4: 9 a.m. to noon, School Choice Fair at Westside High School, 14201 Briar Forest.
• Nov 10: Staff professional development (no classes)
Shout Out
Teacher grants
Houston was the launch site Friday for the announcement of a $1 million national expansion of the Powerful Partnership Institute, an American Federation of Teachers program that will support Texas AFT, Houston Federation of Teachers, Houston HESP, and other partners across the state who are trying to improve student outcomes.
Library upgrades
The Gregory Lincoln Education Center received a $10,000 grant from KPMG's Families for Literacy for upgrades to their campus library.
The finance firm hopes to "eradicate childhood illiteracy by putting new books into the hands of children in need and developing the next generation of young leaders through reading," according to HISD.
Meet The Team
Photo by: Susan Barber
Our HISD coverage is fueled by reporting from Anna Bauman, Megan Menchaca and Sam González Kelly. Assistant City Editor Jennifer Radcliffe also helps contribute to this newsletter.
You can reach out to any of them by emailing them at their firstname.lastname@houstonchronicle.com, filling out this survey or by replying directly to this email.
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