Fort Worth ISD\u2019s fight against Texas taking control of the 70,000-student district<\/a> turns on one question: When did an outside group start managing operations<\/a> at the school that triggered the intervention?<\/p>\n Lawyers with FWISD and Texas argued over when that occurred Thursday during their first hearing with State Office of Administrative Hearings judges. Fort Worth ISD trustees Quinton Phillips and Tobi Jackson and board President Roxanne Martinez attended the virtual hearing.<\/p>\n At the center of Fort Worth\u2019s argument to thwart the takeover is when an academic accountability pause began for the now-closed Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade. Texas law allows districts to tap a third-party group \u2014 such as a college or charter operator \u2014 to manage day-to-day operations at a campus, an action that allows the school temporary relief from the state ratings.<\/p>\n Last year, the Forest Oak campus officially received its fifth consecutive failing academic accountability grade<\/a>.<\/p>\n Texas Education Agency lawyer Matthew Tiffee argued that Fort Worth started a state-approved partnership with Texas Wesleyan University \u2014 under a state law known as Senate Bill 1882 \u2014 during the 2020-21 school year because the district received funds and told the public about it.<\/p>\n At the same time, FWISD leaders wanted to close the school<\/a>, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are obviously not going to allow an 1882 agreement when they\u2019re going to close the campus,\u201d Tiffee said.<\/p>\n That timing matters because Texas law requires the education commissioner to either close a failing school or appoint a board of managers and superintendent in a district after a campus receives five consecutive failing ratings \u2014 unless those ratings fall within a two-year pause period allowed under certain partnership agreements.<\/p>\n Fort Worth ISD attorney Ben Castillo argued the pause should have started in the 2021-22 school year, pointing to state records showing the sixth grade campus was formally added to the partnership in August 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPaper planning doesn\u2019t represent operational reality,\u201d he said, adding that the agency improperly counted a later failing rating and should not have ordered a takeover.<\/p>\n The district\u2019s intent was to close the campus and merge it with Forest Oak Middle School in 2019, he said. However, agency rules would not allow for closure until the campus\u2019s accountability rating improved, both lawyers conceded.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district was trying to address accountability issues by creating a full middle school,\u201d Castillo said.<\/p>\n Agency lawyers argued that Fort Worth ISD\u2019s position amounts to hindsight.\u00a0<\/p>\n If district leaders had believed the pause began in 2020-21, FWISD officials might have delayed consolidation to maximize pandemic-era academic accountability relief. The state paused A-F ratings for two years starting in 2020.<\/p>\n But agency officials say that choice, while potentially beneficial for district leadership, would have come at the expense of students. Accountability is not a loophole to be avoided but a core feature of the system meant to protect children, they said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe education of thousands of children \u2014 and by extension their futures \u2014 are on the line in this appeal,\u201d the state wrote in court documents.<\/p>\n If the judges side with the state, Education Commissioner Mike Morath\u2019s takeover order moves forward. He will appoint managers and name a superintendent for the district.<\/p>\n If they side with Fort Worth ISD, the case will continue, giving the district a chance to fully present its case to the State Office of Administrative Hearings before any takeover moves ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n The judges\u2019 decision will be final and cannot be appealed.<\/p>\n But FWISD is not out of the woods for future potential interventions. William James Middle School and Leonard Middle School each received their fourth straight F<\/a> when ratings were released this summer.<\/p>\n Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @_jacob_sanchez<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org<\/a>or @matthewsgroi1<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. 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