State law currently prohibits school districts from starting class before the fourth Monday in August unless they are year-round districts.

The Angleton ISD school start date will be determined annually by a recommendation from the District Calendar Committee pending approval by the Angleton ISD Board of Trustees. An earlier start date will better balance the number of days in the fall and spring semesters, provide more educational days prior to scheduled state assessments, and better align with dual-credit college courses in the fall, spring and summer semesters.

The calendar committee will use parameters established by the District to prepare several possible calendars for the upcoming school year. Calendars will be shared with the district staff and the community for review. The proposed school calendar will be chosen by popular votes which will then be presented to the District Advisory Committee for recommendation to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees has final approval on the calendar.

Classes in grades kindergarten through fourth may not exceed a 22:1 student to teacher ratio. When an individual class exceeds this ratio, the District must either add a new teacher, reassign teachers from other schools with lower student enrollment, or submit a waiver request to the Texas Education Agency. The waiver requests have not been rejected by TEA. In addition to the waiver request, it is required that a letter be sent to each parent with a child in the class that exceeds the 22:1 ratio informing them the waiver has been submitted and the class exceeds the 22:1 ratio.

Angleton ISD will strive to maintain the 22:1 student to teacher ratio in kindergarten through fourth grades and will continue to follow the process of thoughtful planning, assignment of teachers to the schools with growing student enrollment, reviewing staffing ratios, and making decisions in the best interests of students while taking into consideration the financial capacity of the District. In the event that class sizes exceed the 22:1 ratio in kindergarten through fourth grade, the Superintendent will notify the Board of Trustees. Additionally, parents will be informed of all efforts relative to class size. This exemption provides Angleton ISD local control over class size ratios, without the unnecessary step of seeking a waiver from the Texas Education Agency.

Class size in grades kindergarten – first grade will not exceed a 24:1 ratio. Class size in grades second – fourth will not exceed a 25:1 ratio. If capacity is reached, an administrative transfer of the new student will be initiated to another school based on enrollment. Campuses requiring transfers and/or waivers will deny out –of – zone transfer requests. Students will return to their home campus the next school year if space is available. Angleton ISD will serve family/ siblings together at the same school if space is available. Communication regarding transfers will be made from principal to principal. If transfers are deemed necessary, home campus principals will notify families regarding change of school locations. Home campuses will notify and provide student information to the transportation department.

Students are required to attend class 90 percent of the school days each semester in order to earn credit.

The 90 percent rule is an arbitrary percentage which means school districts award credit based on seat time rather than based on content mastery. Abstaining from the requirement means the district will not penalize students who miss class due to extra/co-curricular activities, academic activities and/or support, and other school-related activities.

Exemption from this requirement will provide educational advantages to students of the District by promoting personalized learning through innovation in the methods, locations, and times instruction may be delivered to students, thereby accommodating students with legitimate scheduling conflicts, reducing dropouts, and increasing the number of graduates.

Relief from TEC §25.092 does not impact or alter existing compulsory attendance requirements or University Interscholastic League (UIL) rules.

School board policy already allows a maximum of ten extracurricular absences not related to post-district competition, a maximum of five absences for post-district competition prior to state, and a maximum of two absences for state competition. Absences beyond these must be pre-approved by the campus principal.

A probationary contract may not exceed one year for a person who has been employed as a teacher in public education for at least five of the eight years preceding employment with the district.

Angleton ISD will extend the continuation of probationary contract status at the discretion of administration beyond what is currently allowed if it is determined that it is in the best interest of the District’s students.

Teacher performance will be discussed with the principal, director of human resources and superintendent prior to determination of extending the probationary contract period of the teacher beyond Texas Education Code Chapter 21 requirements. The principal will be required to discuss the teacher’s performance evaluation and progress against goals to support the recommendation.

The state issued a new teacher appraisal system in the 2016-2017 school year, called the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) and the Texas Principal Evaluation and Support System (T-PESS).

Angleton ISD will continue to use a modified version of the T-TESS/T-PESS appraisal system with the exception of the provisions of the Texas Education Code, §21.351(a)(2) and §21.352(a)(2)(B), as they relate to student growth within teacher appraisal as clarified in the Texas Administrative Code §150.1001(f)(2). The T-TESS instrument is robust enough without the addition of student achievement to the teacher evaluation. Administrators already takeinto account student achievement whether it is through retention rates, passing rates, STAAR, CBAs, or other test measures.

In the event a district cannot locate a certified teacher for a position or a teacher is teaching a subject outside of their certification, the district must submit a request to the Texas Education Agency. TEA then approves or denies this request. In certain circumstances, a district can use a local one-year permit.

In order to best serve Angleton ISD students, decisions on teacher certification will be handled locally.

A. The campus principal may submit to the superintendent a request to allow a certified teacher to teach subject(s) out of their certification area. The principal must specify in writing the reason for the request and document the credentials the certified teacher possesses which qualify this individual to teach this subject.

B. An individual with experience in a CTE field will be eligible to teach a vocational skill or course through a local teaching certificate. The principal must specify in writing the reason for the request and document the credentials the individual possesses which qualify this individual to teach this subject.

C. Any individual with professional experience will be eligible to teach any course through a local teaching certificate. The principal must specify in writing the reason for the request and document the credentials the individual possesses which qualify this individual to teach this subject, and what they will do to ensure the candidate attains certification.
The superintendent will approve the request if the superintendent believes it is in the best interest of the District’s students.

Principals recommending a teacher to teach outside of their certified area, or requesting an individual to teach as non-certified, will be required to present the individual’s credentials from college, current certifications held and/or work experience to support the recommendation. The superintendent will have authority to approve the local permit and will present to the Board of Trustees for hiring. This exemption does not apply to special education or bilingual assignments.

All local permits will be reviewed on an annually.

A student placed in a District Alternative Educational Program (DAEP) who engages in documented serious misbehavior as outlined in TEC §37.007 (c), §37.010(b) may be removed from class and expelled.

Students whose serious or persistent misbehavior in the DAEP disrupts instruction and is detrimental to the educational environment may be expelled.

Serious misbehavior is defined in the Texas Education Code. For District purposes, persistent misbehavior is defined as continued acts of defiance or violations of the student code of conduct after a student is enrolled at the DAEP. The determination to pursue a recommendation to expel will be made by the DAEP principal and the decision to expel will be made by the District Disciplinary Hearing Committee.

Elementary students may not be placed in a disciplinary alternative education program with any other student who is not an elementary student.

Due to the significantly small enrollment of elementary students in the DAEP and limited staff, students will be better served by allowing flexible grouping with certain older students. To provide the most effective learning environment for students in the DAEP, Angleton ISD will use flexible grouping to accommodate learning within upper elementary and lower secondary grade levels, as appropriate.

Elementary students will be allowed to participate in flexible grouping where they will be incorporated into classrooms with junior high students, as appropriate depending upon the age of the students. The classroom teacher will continue to differentiate instruction to meet all student needs.