Independent School District Research Articles

Exploring critical health literacy in health education: A social justice approach

Objective: To explore the perspectives and practices of high school health education teachers implementing health literacy with a focus on the social determinants of health within the context of a concern for social justice. Design: Qualitative content analysis was used to assess high school teachers’ accounts of the practices used to teach health education in line with their professional preparation, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards, the textbook(s) used and the district’s health education curriculum. Setting: A large urban independent school district in southern Texas, USA. Method: Six high school health education teachers’ interviews were analysed using the social ecological framework and a social justice framework to identify themes that aligned with the teaching practices used to facilitate critical health literacy. Results: Although teachers were unfamiliar with the term Social Determinants of Health, they were able to speak to the challenges that their students faced in everyday life. The need for support and the remedying of knowledge deficits were two important themes. Conclusion: Health education teachers often lack the preparation to teach about the social determinants of health in a manner that resonates with students’ backgrounds. The current TEKS standards provide insufficient guidance, emphasising kinesiology, diet and movement over a focus on critical health literacy and the social determinants of health, resulting in a limited and inadequate curriculum for high school students.

The role of noncontiguous attendance zones in shaping school populations: A case study of Tucson, Arizona and Fort Bend, Texas

Noncontiguous school attendance zone boundaries (AZBs) have a unique, relatively uncommon shape that assign two or more non-adjacent residential areas to the same school. Given their ability to shape school enrollments by taking advantage of residential sorting, noncontiguous AZBs have historically been linked to explicit efforts to both segregate and desegregate schools. In this paper, we use a novel, longitudinal dataset of AZBs and descriptive quantitative and geospatial methods to understand how the relationship between noncontiguous zones, school diversity, and neighborhood demographics changed from 1990-2020 in two southwestern school districts—Tucson Unified School District, Arizona and Fort Bend Independent School District, Texas. Each district has a unique legal history and demographic context that informs their use of noncontiguous AZBs. We find noncontiguous AZBs are more strongly associated with racially diverse schools and are more likely to bring together neighborhoods with different compositions in Tucson compared to Fort Bend. However, the association between Tucson’s noncontiguous AZBs and racially diverse schools has waned since 1990, as the district has negotiated the end of its court-ordered desegregation plan. Our findings provide insight into when and how noncontiguous AZBs can effectively contribute to ethnoracially diverse schools.

District enters into voluntary resolution agreement

Case name: Letter re: Denton Independent School District, No. 06‐19‐5002 (OCR 04/11/24).

District enters into voluntary resolution agreement

Case name: Letter re: Denton Independent School District, No. 06‐19‐5002 (OCR 04/11/24).

OCR concerned with exclusion of service animal

Case name: Letter re: Schertz‐Cibolo‐Universal City Independent School District, No. 06‐23‐1745 (OCR 10/04/23).

Should School Buses Be Green? A Sustainability Decision-Making Case Study

ABSTRACT The Director of Transportation for Grenze Independent School District wants to transform the bus fleet to clean energy, but budget constraints are a constant barrier. The health and safety of pupils, particularly those with asthma, is a compelling feature of this case to engage students and explore the benefits and challenges of electric vehicles. The purpose of this case study is to encourage students to consider all stakeholders when analyzing data for business decision-making, thus utilizing the triple bottom line. Learning objectives for Module 1 are to (1) analyze financial data for optimal decision-making, (2) identify and describe environmental and social concerns, and (3) evaluate and support recommendations considering financial, environmental, and social factors. Module 2 learning objectives focus on governmental accounting concepts to (4) analyze the impact of bond issuance on taxpayers, (5) prepare related journal entries, and (6) explain the reporting of transactions on fund-based and government-wide statements.

Authentic student voice at the board table: A conversation with Jennifer Tran of the National Student Board Member Association

Jennifer Tran, the first student board member in California’s Garden Grove Independent School District, is an advocate for authentic student participation in the governance of school districts. She successfully petitioned her school district to add a student member to the board of education. In this Kappan interview, she discusses the challenges of serving on the board as a student, how her status as a preferential voter affected her ability make change, and how the National Student Board Member Association (NSBMA) helps to advocate for and provide training to student board members.

OCR concerned with exclusion of service animal

Case name: Letter re: Schertz‐Cibolo‐Universal City Independent School District, No. 06‐23‐1745 (OCR 10/04/23).

OCR concerned with exclusion of service animal

Case name: Letter re: Schertz‐Cibolo‐Universal City Independent School District, No. 06‐23‐1745 (OCR 10/04/23).

OCR concerned with exclusion of service animal

Case name: Letter re: Schertz‐Cibolo‐Universal City Independent School District, No. 06‐23‐1745 (OCR 10/04/23).

A Systematic Examination of Texas School District Websites for Suicide Prevention Information

AbstractYouth suicide and related behaviors continue to be a significant public health concern in the USA. Multiple approaches across settings, including schools, are required to address this multi-faceted public health concern. The Texas Suicide Safer Schools Report recommended that districts post suicide prevention information on their websites as one piece of more comprehensive suicide prevention initiatives. However, there is no examination in the literature on whether this recommendation has been implemented and what, if any, information is accessible to parents and students about suicide on school district websites. This study quantifies the suicide prevention information available on a random sample of 20% of all Texas school district websites (N = 242) and conducts exploratory analyses to examine what district features are associated with an increased likelihood of posting this information. Results indicate that 53% of the sampled websites contained any suicide prevention information. Of the websites containing this information, the most frequent types posted were the numbers of suicide prevention hotlines followed by links to professional organizations. Significant relationships were found between Hispanic/Latino enrollment and information available in Spanish, independent school districts (vs. charters), and posted suicide prevention information, as well as total district enrollment and posted suicide prevention information. Implications and targeted efforts for improvement are discussed.

Seeking shade equity: Tree canopy coverage in public schools in Austin, TX.

Tree canopies have dermatologic and environmental benefits, especially on school campuses. However, inequities likely exist, and tree planting initiatives may further exacerbate disparities. We sought to identify any relationship between tree canopy shade on public school campuses in Austin, TX and the socioeconomic makeup of the student population, as well as whether current initiatives appropriately address any inequities. In this cross-sectional study, we used ArcGIS, a publicly available geographic information system (GIS), to calculate the percentage of tree canopy on campuses within the Austin Independent School District (AISD) for the years 2006 and 2022. We compared this with the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced meals (FRM) at each school. The percentages of FRM-eligible students were also compared for "low priority" versus "high priority" neighborhoods, as assigned by Austin's Tree Priority Map. Among 112 schools analyzed, schools with minority FRM-eligible students had significantly more tree canopy compared to schools with majority FRM-eligible students (19.9% vs. 12.4%, p < .001). When comparing tree priorities, there was a significant difference between the percentage of FRM-eligible students in "low priority" schools compared to "high priority" schools (23.8% vs. 62.2%, p < .001). Additional work is needed to rectify inequities in tree canopy access for public school students. Designations such as those used in Austin's Tree Priority Map would likely help direct such efforts. We hope this study encourages future research with GIS by both dermatologists and other health care professionals to promote interdisciplinary work with urban planners.

Navigating Pandemic Education in Smallville: Challenges of Socioeconomic Disparities, Leadership Dynamics, and Racial Tensions in a Rural School District

The Smallville Independent School District case study highlights the challenges of a school district facing the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural–urban divide. The district’s socioeconomic status, with a high population of economically disadvantaged families, limited resources, and dependence on grants and local charity, further complicates matters. The district’s new superintendent was hired, expecting her experience to help address the district’s challenges. Teacher retention and technology integration were critical areas of focus. However, resistance from some board members added to the already-existing racial tensions in the town, making it a challenging environment to implement change during a pandemic.

Addressing the shortage of African American male teachers in minority-serving school districts with innovative partnerships

PurposeThe paper discusses a partnership between Huston–Tillotson University (HT), a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and the Austin Independent School District (AISD), a minority-serving school district, both in Austin, Texas, with a grant provided by Apple Inc. (Apple). The purpose of the partnerships is that valuable relationships can increase the number of African American male teachers in primary and secondary education in minority-serving public schools. The African American Male Teacher Initiative (AAMTI) at HT was created as an innovative approach to recruit and select 20 African American males each year of a four-year grant provided by Apple.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reviewed the literature on the lack and need for African American male public school teachers. Once the data is established during a three-to-four-year period, a mixed-method approach will be utilized to examine data retrieved from interviews, surveys, demographics of student participants, numerical data and retention and graduation rates. This will establish whether strategic partnerships can successfully increase the number of qualified African American males in public education.FindingsThis paper proposes and provides research evidence that African American male teachers can positively impact all students in the classroom setting.Research limitations/implicationsThere is limited data to test a hypothesis on the effectiveness of a partnership between the university and public school to increase the number of African American male teachers through recruitment – selection and retention efforts. Therefore, follow-up research is needed for the first graduating class of 2024.Practical implicationsThe broader impact of this paper is to show that partnerships between universities and public schools with corporate sponsorship can positively increase the number of African American male teachers prepared to teach in public schools through strategic recruitment and selection efforts.Social implicationsThis paper can serve as a model for universities and school districts to implement. High placement of prepared Black male teachers in public schools can reduce the school-to-prison pipeline and juvenile homicides and defeat generational poverty.Originality/valueMuch research highlights the problems associated with a lack of African American male teachers. This paper includes the challenges but offers a sound basis for practical solutions.

Rodriguez at Fifty: A Legacy of Intersecting Inequalities

AbstractFifty years after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, the trajectory of school finance desegregation has shifted from expansive federal hopes to narrower state efforts. Attempts to address many of the disparities continue to be constrained by the complex and intersecting nature of the inequalities, rooted in compounding decades of discrimination. This article examines the legal historiography and politics of the Rodriguez decision, analyzing the path from Brown v. Board of Education to Rodriguez in the context of the scholarship around Rodriguez over the last fifty years as well as the wide body of work discussing state-based litigation efforts since the 1973 ruling.

The Roots of Inequality: Texas School Politics and the Leadup to Rodriguez

AbstractContrary to Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell’s majority opinion in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973), Texas’s school finance system was the result of years of legislation and state-building that gave some areas the resources and capacity to provide more educational opportunities than others. As this article demonstrates, during the century leading up to the Rodriguez decision, Texas political leaders developed a public school funding system reliant on the highly unequal spatial distribution of property wealth across rural/urban, class, and racial lines. There was nothing inevitable about this. In fact, the history of Texas’s system reveals four pivotal eras when the state’s White leaders created and maintained a school finance system reliant on local property taxes and defined by rural/urban and racial differences that cemented deep inequalities. This case study traces those changes over time and brings part of the story to life through the example of Kirbyville, Texas, and its struggle to finance a new White high school. Returning to the historical roots of school financing in Texas reveals how rural/urban, racial, and wealth inequalities have been foundational to Texas’s public school finance system.

Texas Developmental Center for AIDS Research CFAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative Program.

The Texas Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR) diversity program, termed the CFAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative (CDEIPI), was created in 2021 to engage high school students and graduate students from Underrepresented Minorities/Black, Indigenous, and People of Color populations. The Texas D-CFAR CDEIPI has partnered with 2 Texas high schools with predominantly economically disadvantaged and minority student populations-Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions in Houston, TX, and the South Texas Independent School District Medical Professions High School in Olmito, TX in the Rio Grande Valley. A total of 370 high school student learners at both partner schools participated in presentations of research and career paths related to HIV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 during the 2021-2022 academic year. Afterward, learners completed anonymous surveys to share their self-reported interest in research degrees and careers. Learners reported increased knowledge of related science content and interest in research careers, including HIV-1 research, after each of the sessions. The programming has been of interest to student learners, and future additions intend to build upon the Texas D-CFAR CDEIPI.

Human papillomavirus vaccination uptake in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas: Results from a pilot community‐based educational and school‐based vaccination program

AbstractObjectiveTo pilot and evaluate a combined community‐based education and middle school‐based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program in a rural, medically underserved Texas area.MethodsThe study included 2276 students enrolled at three Rio Grande City Grulla Independent School District, (RGCGISD, formerly Rio Grande City Consolidated Independent School District) middle schools (08/2016–02/2020). The intervention took place in a middle school setting with the community‐based, physician‐led HPV education campaign starting in 08/2016, and a school‐based vaccination program (Phase 1: 08/2017; Phase 2: 08/2018). Pre‐ and postintervention HPV vaccination rates were tracked against 2016 National Immunization Survey‐Teen rates (target: initiation 49.3%; completion 32.9%). Summary statistics were stratified by middle school.ResultsIn 2016, HPV vaccine initiation and completion rates for RGCGISD were lower than the national average (39.7% and 17.9%, respectively). In 2020, the overall HPV vaccine initiation rate increased by 58.0% (from 39.7% to 68.5%) and completion rates doubled (from 17.9% to 42.1%). The median age at HPV vaccine initiation and HPV vaccine completion (range) were 11.2 years (9–15) and 12 years (9–15). The median interval between HPV vaccine doses (range) was 287 days (36–1576). There were different between males and females among the three middle schools.ConclusionsMiddle schools serve as a feasible, effective interventional setting for delivering and increasing HPV education and vaccine uptake among adolescents, which offers substantial long‐term health benefits.

An integer programming model for the deployment of mobile health clinics

Facility location and resource allocation play an essential role in the operational management of mobile health clinics (MHCs) as optimization of both can help medical service providers improve their service coverage under limited resources. In this paper, we consider the issue of maximizing the coverage of immunization services provided by MHCs in vulnerable communities such as school zones and census tracts. Since demand in communities overlaps with neighboring communities, this leads to the so-called mobile facility location with overlapped demand (MFL-OD). To capture the overlapped demand in different communities, we introduce a novel integer programming model with linear and bilinear constraints (BLCIP) and show that the BLCIP model is NP-hard. A polynomial-time approximation algorithm is proposed for the BLCIP, and the approximation ratio of the obtained solution is estimated. We implement the proposed model and approximation algorithm for a case study in the Houston Independent School District and its associated communities. Preliminary experiments demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed model and the efficiency of the proposed approximation method.

Capital appreciation bonds and the cost of borrowing

AbstractA Capital Appreciation Bond (CAB) is a financial instrument that is most attractive as a resource‐flow management instrument. It bridges multiple fiscal years for jurisdictions experiencing rapid growth, potentially stretching for decades, but may also be used by localities experiencing fiscal distress. Using debt issuance data by independent school districts in Texas, who utilized almost all such bonds in the state, we present empirical evidence that CABs are associated with both the service and fiscal pressure factors. We further observe that, though the threat from CABs in terms of borrowing costs may have been exaggerated, enacting limits on debt repayment ratios (ratio of payment size at maturity to premium size) was likely the right legislative intervention.