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America First Policy Institute
Local Policy Brief
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| 📅 Tuesday, November 17, 2026 to Calendar |
| 📄 View Official Agenda |
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We reviewed the upcoming agenda for SOUTHWEST ISD and found 3 items with policy significance ahead of the vote.
| PRIORITY (LEVEL 8) |
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District Uses State Grants to Fund External Education Consultant
Multiple school improvement plans utilize state grant funding, including a ‘$120,000 PLC grant’ and the LIFT grant, to contract with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET). NIET will provide professional development, coaching, and support for implementing specific instructional changes in schools rated as low-performing by the state.
Policy Use
TRACK VENDOR AND FUNDING: Item II details the use of state grants to fund contracts with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) for teacher training. Add NIET to the vendor tracker for Texas and document this as an example of how state grants fund third-party pedagogical consultants.
Policy Lever: $120K+ State Grants
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| PRIORITY (LEVEL 7) |
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District Implements SEL Framework in School Improvement Plan
The Local Improvement Plan for Bob Hope Elementary, developed in response to a low state rating, explicitly adopts a focus on ‘Lever 3: Integrated Student Support Systems.’ This includes implementing a Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) to address student behavior, self-regulation, and ‘belonging.’
Policy Use
DOCUMENT AND BRIEF: The Local Improvement Plan for Bob Hope Elementary (Item II) embeds SEL and MTSS as a core strategy. Capture the text from Attachment 4, ‘BHE-SWISD-26-27 LIP,’ specifically the ‘Lever 3’ section, as an example for policy briefs on how state accountability systems can drive adoption of contested frameworks.
Policy Lever: State-Mandated School Improvement
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| WATCH (LEVEL 5) |
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School Improvement Plans Implement ‘District Created’ Curriculum
The improvement plans for Resnik Middle School and McAuliffe Middle School both specify the use of a ‘District Created’ curriculum for 6-8 Reading Language Arts (RLA). The content and development process for this curriculum are not detailed in the plans, limiting transparency for parents and the public.
Policy Use
REQUEST CURRICULUM MATERIALS: The improvement plans for Resnik and McAuliffe Middle Schools under Item II list a ‘District Created’ curriculum for RLA. Direct a records request to the district for all materials associated with this curriculum to assess its content.
Policy Lever: Curriculum Transparency
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District Leadership
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11914 DRAGON LN, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78252 |
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America First Policy Institute |