What happened: At a special meeting on Tuesday, April 28, the Midland ISD Board of Trustees approved an instructional plan to reassign IDEA Travis students for the 2026–27 school year, opting to move students to Lone Star Trails and General Franks after determining the district could not realistically reopen the Travis campus on its own or pursue another partnership in time for the upcoming school year.

The decision follows the board’s April 21 vote to terminate its building lease with IDEA Public Schools, which requires IDEA to vacate the campus by June 1. Two weeks ago, the board faced multiple paths forward for IDEA Travis students amid the district’s growing public tension with its Senate Bill 1882 partner.

The big picture: Superintendent Stephanie Howard said the district evaluated three options for Travis, including reopening the campus under district control, reassigning students to existing campuses, or pursuing another 1882 partnership.

Howard said reopening the campus under MISD control was not feasible with less than four months before the start of school, particularly because IDEA controls the building, furniture, and technology until the lease ends. The district cannot directly communicate with enrolled families due to the SB 1882 partnership agreement.

She also said pursuing a new partnership would face many of the same challenges, including uncertainty around enrollment and limited time to plan and staff a campus. The board ultimately selected to reassign students to two existing campuses, citing the ability to place students in schools with established systems, staffing, and higher projected performance.

What they’re saying: Trustees based their decision on the urgency to improve student outcomes after IDEA Travis held a Texas Education Agency accountability rating of D for the past three years in a row.

“I’m not holding this campus or any other campus to any other standard that I’ve held our campuses to,” Board President Josh Guinn said. “Are we doing right by these kids, or are we not? So as a board member, I look at this, and I say, we can’t afford another D [rating].”

“When [these students have] been sitting here for four years in a D school, that is not moving the needle for these students,” Trustee Sara Burleson said. “We cannot afford for these kids to have a year or two or three more years to sit in that school and not be educated well. So we want all students, every part of town, to be educated well for the vitality of our community.”

“I feel as though it’s better to move them to a high-quality seat with high-quality instruction,” Trustee Brandon Hodges said. “Because although we were told that they were going to receive high-quality instruction in a high-quality seat, we now have data analytics that prove, case by case, year over year, that they failed to improve student outcomes.”

“The status quo is simply unacceptable,” Trustee Matt Friez said. “We were able to discuss in previous board meetings when talking to IDEA, and again, it just showed us how little accountability we had to try to turn this school around, and it just wasn’t going anywhere.”

The other side: Trustees repeatedly pointed to the district’s lack of control over the IDEA partnership as a key reason for acting now. However, The Permian Press found six other MISD-operated elementary and junior high campuses with D or F ratings over the same three-year period. Unlike IDEA Travis, those campuses operate fully under district control.

Those campuses include DeZavala, Jones, and Bunche elementaries and Abell, Goddard, and Alamo junior highs.

What’s next: Officials will monitor enrollment throughout the summer and make adjustments once students report to campuses. The board expects to revisit long-term plans for the Travis facility later this year.