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We reviewed the upcoming agenda for SOUTHWEST ISD and found 5 items with policy significance ahead of the vote.
| PRIORITY (LEVEL 9) |
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Board to Approve Lengthened Grievance Response Times
The board will vote to approve revisions to its formal grievance policies (FNG, DGBA, GF). The district is using its ‘District of Innovation’ status to extend the timeline for investigating and responding to parent and staff complaints to ten business days, overriding recent changes from the state legislature intended to shorten them.
Policy Use
BRIEF STATE AFFAIRS: Item VII.A uses a ‘District of Innovation’ waiver to circumvent state law on grievance timelines. Secure the adopted policy text as a clear example for testimony on DOI oversight and parental rights.
Policy Lever: Parental Grievance Process
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| PRIORITY (LEVEL 8) |
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District to Approve Extensive Library Book Purchase
The board will vote on a large purchase of library materials for multiple schools as part of the consent agenda. The provided book lists include numerous titles with themes of social justice, race, and gender identity, such as ‘We all want to change the world : my journey through social justice movements’ and ‘I didn’t ask for this,’ which is about an intersex character.
Policy Use
BRIEF STATE AFFAIRS: Item V.D. is a consent agenda vote to approve library books, including titles with contested ideological content. The attached lists (Attachments 19-23) provide specific examples for testimony on curriculum transparency and parental rights.
Policy Lever: Curriculum Content
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| PRIORITY (LEVEL 8) |
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Board to Vote on Undisclosed Final Budget Amendment
The board is scheduled to approve a ‘2026 Final Budget Amendment,’ but the agenda explicitly states the document will not be provided to the public until the evening of the meeting. This prevents any public review of the fiscal action prior to the vote.
Policy Use
FLAG FOR TRANSPARENCY TEAM: Item VIII.B is a vote on a final budget amendment with no public documentation provided in advance. This is a significant failure of public notice and should be documented as an example of poor fiscal transparency.
Policy Lever: Undisclosed
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| PRIORITY (LEVEL 8) |
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District to Adopt Campus Goals Including SEL
The board will approve the 2026-2027 Campus Performance Objectives, which are state-mandated academic goals. Multiple campus plans, such as for Legacy High School and Resnik Middle School, explicitly include providing ‘SEL, guidance, counseling lessons, services, and resources,’ formally embedding Social-Emotional Learning into the district’s official objectives.
Policy Use
TRACK AND DOCUMENT: Item IX.A formally adopts SEL as a campus performance objective across multiple schools. Capture the language from Attachment 42 as evidence of how SEL is being institutionalized through state accountability mechanisms.
Policy Lever: State-Mandated Goal Setting
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| WATCH (LEVEL 6) |
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District Designates Maximum Allowable TPIA Non-Business Days
The board will approve the designation of ten non-business days for 2027 for the purpose of calculating Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) request deadlines. This action uses the maximum number of delay days allowed under a new state law (HB 3033), slowing public access to records.
Policy Use
DOCUMENT FOR STATE IMPLEMENTATION TRACKER: Under Item V.F., the district is maximizing allowable delays for public records requests under HB 3033. Document this as an example of local implementation that runs counter to the spirit of transparency.
Policy Lever: Public Records Access
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