What happened: The Midland ISD Board of Trustees met on Jan. 22 and approved a state-required policy allowing teachers to immediately remove disruptive students from class and voted to terminate the district’s Memorandum of Understanding with Midland County tied to the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP).

The board also approved construction contracts and increases in facility funding, reviewed early academic data from a new learning platform, and heard updates on special education planning and campus improvement efforts.

Key points:

  • Disruptive students: The board unanimously approved state-mandated policy changes allowing teachers to immediately remove disruptive students from the classroom. The change was required under the last legislative session and is intended to give teachers faster authority to maintain classroom learning environments.
  • iReady data: Trustees reviewed early data from the new iReady academic platform being used in middle schools and junior highs. Early elementary reading results increased from 22% to 37%, meeting grade level expectations.

Eighth-grade reading increased from 19% to 22%. Trustees and staff said the data is too early to draw conclusions and said a full year of data will be needed to evaluate progress.

  • Special education: Trustees reviewed results from an outside special education audit and heard updates on short-term improvement efforts while a long-term plan is being developed for May.

Short-term steps include shifting staff between campuses based on student needs, daily classroom walkthroughs, and evaluating specialists. The audit also identified a need for more administrator training in discipline and behavioral management.

  • Certified teachers: District staff previewed a request expected next month to delay implementation of House Bill 2, which requires certified teachers in foundational K-5 classrooms.

About 16% of teachers in those positions currently do not have the required certification, affecting about 208 teachers. MISD is working on a multi-year plan to meet the requirement, including support tied to a $1.95 million UTPB grant to help teachers obtain certifications.

  • Improvement plans: Staff updated progress at Burnet Elementary, Henderson Elementary, Jones Elementary and Goddard Junior High. Efforts include targeted interventions, tutoring, student data tracking, teacher coaching and expanded specialist support, with early academic improvements reported at some campuses.
  • HVAC funding: Trustees approved increasing annual HVAC repair and replacement funding from $750,000 to $1.5 million. Trustee Brandon Hodges voted against the increase, citing frustration that the district has not created a long-term maintenance plan after the original funding level was approved. Other trustees supported the increase to address ongoing facility needs.
  • JJAEP agreement: Trustees unanimously voted to terminate the district’s Memorandum of Understanding with Midland County tied to the JJAEP program.

The vote followed staff discussions with County Judge Terry Johnson. Trustees said they believe juvenile justice placement capacity is becoming a countywide issue and said they did not expect additional progress while the agreement remained in place.