State Initiates Procedure to Close Underperforming Schools

On July 19, 2016, the State School Reform/Redesign Officer (SRO) initiated meetings with school superintendents and board presidents who have underperforming buildings within their districts. Identified as “priority schools,” there are ap­proximately 184 underperforming school buildings targeted by the SRO.

The SRO requested that school officials meet by September 1 to discuss priority schools in their districts. In the meeting request, the SRO indicated that the following information would be provid­ed to each school district:

• SRO’s roles and responsibilities
• Priority school status
• 2015 state ranking
• SRO’s expectations with an annual timeline for next levels of accountability for priority schools.

In the individual meetings held to date, the SRO has discussed each priority school’s data, including the 2014 MEAP and 2015 M-STEP test scores. The SRO also has presented the Performance Information System (PERIS), which allows school officials to review teacher and student data pertinent to the specific priority school.

Some school districts designated for individual meetings attempted to have legal counsel attend the meetings, particularly given the SRO’s increased scrutiny of priority schools and the recent appointment of a chief executive officer in East Detroit Public Schools. School officials contacted by the SRO should carefully consider how to prepare for these meetings and evaluate the potential consequences if one or more of that district’s schools are a priority school that is out of compliance with either the school district’s applicable intervention model or any prior recommendations from the SRO.

In an August 15, 2016, Detroit Free Press article, the SRO emphasized that some priority schools ranked in the lowest 5% of the state would be closed by the end of the 2016-2017 school year.  Moreover, the SRO stated that closure decisions would be based, in part, on the 2015 and 2016 M-STEP test scores. Notably, the SRO indicated that if students who attend these priority schools do not have a high-performing school alternative, the SRO may take that into account when making closure decisions.

If your school district or PSA (a) has one or more buildings designated with “priority school” status for three years or more as of the 2016-2017 school year or (b) has been contacted by the SRO regarding potential closure of one or more buildings, please contact a Thrun attorney to discuss the various consequences for the priority school. Thrun Law Firm will continue to keep our retainer clients informed if there are any further developments concerning the SRO and priority schools in school districts or PSAs.