What to watch: The Midland ISD Board of Trustees will meet on Tuesday, March 24, at 5:30 p.m. to address IDEA Travis’ continued low performance and potential contract changes, approve improvement plans for eight other campuses, and consider a new K-5 reading curriculum, bond reallocation for the Encore Academy, and student conduct policy.

Key points:

  • IDEA Travis: Trustees will hold a public hearing on an improvement plan for IDEA Travis, as required by the state for low-performing schools. The campus has held a D rating since 2023. The district previously heard from campus leaders in December, who cited challenges in upper-grade reading and math performance and inconsistent attendance.

Trustee Matt Friez proposed that the board consider renegotiating the IDEA Travis contract beginning in 2026–27. Potential changes would require the campus to follow the same board policy requirements as other MISD schools, including adopting student outcome goals, reporting beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year performance, and identifying low-performing classrooms with improvement plans tied to teacher quality.

IDEA Travis is an 1882 partnership school. Under Senate Bill 1882, the state designed the partnership model to give operators more autonomy than traditional district campuses. Friez’s proposition seeks to increase oversight on IDEA Travis, even though the contract already allows the district to terminate the partnership after three consecutive years of D ratings.

IDEA Travis was B-rated in 2022. The previous MISD-operated Travis Elementary was F-rated in 2019 before transferring to IDEA Public Schools. The state didn’t issue accountability ratings in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Midland’s top stories. One quick email. Free, every Friday.
Get Midland Wrapped, our free weekly email for busy Midland residents. Each Friday, we break down the week’s most important local stories — what happened, why it matters, and what to watch next — so you can stay informed without the noise.
    Subscribe
  • Improvement plans: Trustees will consider approving improvement plans for eight campuses, including Burnet, Henderson, Jones, and Pease Elementary Schools, Alamo and Goddard Junior Highs, and Legacy High School. All campuses were rated C or D in the 2025 accountability ratings. The state requires improvement plans for low-performing campuses.
  • Bluebonnet curriculum: Trustees will consider adopting Bluebonnet Learning as the district’s K–5 reading curriculum beginning in the upcoming school year. Bluebonnet Learning is state-developed and aligns with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The materials include a full scope and sequence, daily lesson plans, assessments, and student resources designed to support grade-level instruction.

District leaders say the move would reduce variability across campuses and strengthen early literacy outcomes. The move also aligns with state efforts to incentivize the use of high-quality instructional materials through available funding and implementation support.

  • Student conduct: Trustees will consider adopting a new local policy addressing student disruptions and unauthorized absences. The policy prohibits actions such as leaving class without permission, organizing walkouts, blocking hallways, or refusing staff directives. Students who violate the policy may face disciplinary action, loss of credit under the 90% attendance rule, and compulsory attendance enforcement.
  • Encore program: Trustees will consider transferring $5.9 million in 2023 bond funds from the Midland Lee Freshman High School project to the Encore program. They will also consider relocating the program to a new building at the future Randy Storie Middle School (current Legacy High School campus).

Encore Academy is the district’s life-skills education program for students with special needs between the ages of 18 and 21. This type of program is required under Texas law and is intended to prepare special-needs students for independent living in adulthood. Encore relocated to the previously district-owned Simpatico apartment complex in 2021, which the district listed for sale last year.