Austin ISD is getting ready to hand the day-to-day management of three long-struggling middle schools to an outside operator, a high-stakes move aimed at heading off a possible state takeover.
District leaders this week outlined a plan to pursue an SB 1882 partnership that would shift operations at Burnet, Dobie, and Webb middle schools to the Texas Council for International Studies, or TCIS, and temporarily pause certain state interventions. Trustees are expected to review the proposal at their March 26 board meeting, and the district faces a March 31, 2026, deadline to submit an application for Texas Partnerships benefits. If the deal is approved, the partner would run the campuses under a multiyear contract through 2029.
How an SB 1882 Partnership Works
Under Texas law, an SB 1882 agreement lets school districts contract with nonprofits, charter systems, or institutions of higher education to operate campuses while securing extra state funding and a limited pause on accountability interventions, according to the Texas Education Agency.
TEA guidance lays out the application cycles and required documents for partnerships that would start in the 2026–27 school year, including a final benefits-application deadline of March 31, 2026. Districts that wait until late February or March to apply have to submit a pre-opening checklist and a detailed implementation plan with their paperwork.
What AISD Is Proposing
Austin ISD's restart materials identify the Texas Council for International Studies, working in collaboration with Region 1 Education Service Center, as the proposed operator for Burnet, Dobie, and Webb. The district says trustees may take up a vote on the plan at the March 26 board meeting, according to Austin ISD.
District officials frame the SB 1882 partnership as a contingency plan that would build on improvement efforts already underway while buying time and bringing in additional resources to speed up student achievement. Earlier in March, AISD held in-person engagement meetings at all three campuses to collect feedback from families and staff ahead of the board discussion.
Who Is the Texas Council for International Studies?
The Texas Council for International Studies is a Dallas-based nonprofit that backs International Baccalaureate programming and runs a network of partner campuses across Texas, according to the Texas Council for International Studies. The group says it focuses on IB program development, professional development, and direct campus management, and local reporting notes that TCIS already works with schools in other Texas districts.
University of Texas education professor David DeMatthews warned that a new operator alone is no magic wand. “Just going to a new overseer doesn't necessarily mean that any of those things will actually change,” he told KEYE/CBS Austin.
The Stakes for AISD
Burnet, Dobie, and Webb have each logged multiple failing accountability ratings, putting Austin ISD dangerously close to a statutory trigger that can force state intervention if a campus earns a fifth straight unacceptable rating. Past TEA actions show the commissioner can order campuses closed or appoint a board of managers once that five-year mark is hit, as The Texas Tribune has detailed.
That looming possibility is a major reason AISD leaders say they are weighing an SB 1882 partnership: they argue it could preserve as much local control as possible while sidestepping the harshest consequences of a full state takeover.
Next Steps
Trustees will get a detailed look at the proposal at the March 26 board meeting and could vote on moving forward with an application for Texas Partnerships benefits. If the board signs off, AISD would submit its application to TEA by the March 31 deadline, in line with Texas Education Agency guidance.
The district says any approved partnership would begin with the 2026–27 school year and include an implementation plan designed to protect student programs during the transition. AISD and TCIS say they plan to continue community engagement and to release more specifics if TEA signs off on the benefits application.
