The San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) is gearing up to better educate its district and campus leaders on a state law aimed at protecting students experiencing homelessness from suspensions, with the exception of extreme cases. This comes on the heels of an investigation by the San Antonio Report, which uncovered that the law has been violated repeatedly since its enactment in 2019.
In the wake of these findings, scheduled for later this month is a leadership summit during which hundreds of SAISD leaders will participate in small group training sessions to reinforce the law's details, and parameters. According to SAISD spokeswoman Laura Short, the district seems committed to rectification, yet specifics on the training contents were still being ironed out by the end of June.
It's not merely a local issue; as inquiries came in from the San Antonio Report and the Houston Landing regarding breaches of this law across various school districts, the Texas Education Agency has proceeded with a state compliance review. Meanwhile, the Northside Independent School District is concurrently reassessing its approach to student suspensions and promises to make any necessary adjustments to its processes.
Beyond school district walls, non-profit groups such as Communities in Schools San Antonio, are gearing up to integrate a review of the law into their back-to-school training, per President and CEO Jessica Weaver. This reflects a broader communal desire to strengthen and enforce the law, echoing sentiments shared by lawmakers, advocates, and readers, in anticipation of the legislative session in 2025. Yet amid the swirl of reform and review, labor leaders are pushing for more funding and internal measures rather than critical state intervention.
Luke Amphlett, a Burbank High School teacher and member of the San Antonio Alliance executed council, advocated for solid internal accountability mechanisms, stressing the potential for state compliance processes to become politicized. "Our union is very invested in ensuring that our school district follows the law, ideally, using internal mechanisms of accountability," Amphlett told the San Antonio Report. He highlighted the need for a substantial uplift in funding to support crucial services for students in place of suspensions.
Despite concerns about funding, SAISD has dedicated $2.4 million to programs associated with mental health, relationship-building, and restorative practices. These efforts are deemed critical to decreasing out-of-school suspensions. The district has also introduced social worker positions and a coordinator role to bolster support for homeless students under the McKinney-Vento federal guidelines. As the momentum for change propels forward, the challenge lies in not just meeting legal compliance but doing so in a manner that holistically tends to the complex needs of students grappling with homelessness.
