After the Texas Education Agency released its 2025-26 accountability ratings, attention has turned to Austin Independent School District, where nearly 30% of students are designated as emergent bilingual.
Last week, the TEA released its 2025-26 A-F accountability ratings. According to the ratings for Austin ISD, 28 schools earned an A, 33 received a B, 22 received a C, 11 received a D, and 20 received an F.
Among the failing schools, two district campuses—Burnet Middle School and Webb Middle School—received their fifth consecutive F rating, prompting some residents to raise concerns about the district’s academic performance and the number of emergent bilingual students enrolled.
According to the TEA, approximately 69,000 students were enrolled in Austin ISD during the 2025-26 school year. Of those students, 29.7% were designated as emergent bilingual, meaning about 20,500 students were identified as English learners.
The statewide average for emergent bilingual enrollment during the 2025-26 school year was approximately 21% to 24%, depending on the measure used. Austin ISD’s rate was therefore higher than the statewide average.
According to Ami Lynne, an advocate and investigator focused on Texas public education, the state’s basic allotment for students identified as emergent bilingual could amount to more than $8.5 billion annually statewide.
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For Austin ISD, applying the basic allotment to the district’s approximately 20,500 emergent bilingual students would amount to roughly $224 million to $328 million annually, depending on the allotment used.
However, Austin ISD’s rate of emergent bilingual enrollment is not the only issue facing the district. With two schools receiving their fifth consecutive F rating, the district could face additional state intervention.
Under state law, five consecutive years of unacceptable campus performance can trigger intervention by the Texas education commissioner. Depending on the circumstances and the commissioner’s actions, intervention can include closing campuses or replacing the elected school board with a state-appointed superintendent and board of managers.
Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, spoke to Fox 7 Austin, telling the station that the ratings are preliminary and that the state will determine its next steps regarding Austin ISD.
“Unfortunately, this school year, that school district had two campuses reach five years of an ‘F’ in a row, and it was Austin,” Morath said. “Ratings are what we refer to as preliminary ratings, then there’s a 30-day appeal window, then there’s a 30-day window to apply for appeal. Then there’s about 60 days when we have a third party panel review and just check all the work, make sure it’s accurate.”
“Sometimes, those results in ratings changes,” Morath added. “So I think it’s way preliminary to discuss what actually might happen in Austin as a result of that.”
Austin ISD did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication.
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