Key Terms

A glossary of the policy, legal, and economic vocabulary that frames this dissertation.

Achievement Gap: By nearly every educational measure, there is a gap in the achievement levels between White students and students of color. Standardized test scores, grade point averages, dropout rates, retention rates, and other statistics all show a gap in achievement between the racially ethnic groups of students at all educational levels (Assari et al., 2021; Olneck, 2005).
Accountability: Accountability standards have increased school closures, school takeovers, and district takeovers to a national high (Weatherley, Narver, & Elmore, 1983). It is, therefore, important to identify the legal support for school and district takeovers and both the national and state contexts within which takeovers occur.
Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS): Detailed performance data tables that provide information about every public school and district in the State of Texas as it relates to state test data, attendance rates, dropout rates, completion rates, and college readiness indicators.
Accreditation Status: Process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented: Accredited, Accredited Warned, Accredited Probation, and Not Accredited Revoked.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 347 U.S. 483 (1965): The US Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of public schools was found in violation of the 14th Amendment. This marked the end of the “separate but equal” laws.

Edgewood v. Texas (Kirby): This court case centered around an attempt to reform the Texas public school finance system so that it would be equitable. A lawsuit was filed by Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund against Commissioner of Education William Kirby in 1984, citing discrimination against students in poor school districts. The case went to trial in 1987, indicating that the state's school finance system is unconstitutional on both “equal protection” and “efficiency.” In 1989, the Texas Supreme Court reversed the decision.
Elementary Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA): ESEA, which was first enacted in 1965, is the principal federal law affecting K-12 education. The No Child Left Behind Act is the most recent reauthorization of the ESEA.
Equity: A term expressed when discussing the fairness of school funding between property-rich and property-poor school districts.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): At the end of 2015, Congress passed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), allowing states to leverage progress.

Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST): The purpose of the financial accountability rating system (Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 19, § 109.1001) is to ensure that school districts are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and achieve improved performance in the management of their financial resources. The ratings are listed as follows: Superior Achievement; Above Standard Achievement; Standard Achievement; Substandard Achievement; Suspended – Data Quality.
Focus Schools: Refers to Title I schools that show the widest gaps between reading/math performance of the federal student groups and safeguard targets of 75%.

Governance: A system that provides a framework for managing organizations. It identifies who can make decisions, who has the authority to act on behalf of the organization and who is accountable for how an organization and its people behave and perform.
Governance of Education: Refers to the system of policies, regulations, and decision-making structures that guide the operation of schools and other educational institutions. In the United States, it is shared among federal, state, and local governments.

Local Education Agency (LEA): A public board of education or other public authority within a State that maintains administrative control of public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a state.

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB): Refers to legislation passed in 2001 which reauthorization the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (P.L. 107-110). Its main purpose aimed to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice. NCLB, Title I, Part A, § 1116 refers to academic assessment, local education agency, and school improvement. Each local education agency receiving funds under this part shall use the State academic assessments and other indicators described in the State plan to review the progress of each school annually served under this part to determine whether the school is making adequate yearly progress as defined in section 111(b)(2). NCLB, Title I, Part B, § 1003(g) refers to assistance for local school improvement. The Secretary shall award grants to States to enable the States to provide subgrants to local educational agencies for the purpose of providing assistance for school improvement consistent with section 1116.

Office of School Turnaround: Responsible for providing financial assistance and other support, including through the administration of School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, for state and district efforts to turn around the lowest-performing five percent of schools in each state.

Priority Schools: Title I high schools with less than 60% graduation rates and/or schools with the lowest academic performance on reading/math system safeguards at the All Student level.
Property Poor: Low funding per student due to low property values.
Property Rich: Higher funding per student due to higher property taxes.
Public Law 107-110: An act to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind.

Reform Strategy: A strategy to improve the educational system that places emphasis on increased student performance specifically through content, assessments, and teaching resulting in sanctions as consequences.

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1: In 1971, San Antonio ISD acting on behalf of students and families living in poor school districts argued that its students were deprived because their schools lacked sufficient school aid compared to other school districts.
SES (Social Economic Status): An economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's economic situation.