Two AISD Schools Got Fifth F Scores. State Intervention Could Follow.

Two Austin ISD North Austin middle schools, Webb and Burnet, have earned a fifth consecutive F accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2026, the district announced Thursday afternoon. A fifth consecutive F campus rating triggers state intervention. 

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath is now able to either close the two schools or take over the entire district, which usually means replacing the superintendent and elected school board with state appointments.

Dobie Middle School, which has earned four consecutive F scores since 2019, earned a D.

AISD can now appeal the accountability ratings by the state’s deadline of Sept. 11. How the state agency decides to intervene in Austin’s school district would be announced after the appeals processes are resolved, likely this fall.

On Thursday, district leaders publicly emphasized the district’s academic growth and downplayed state intervention and risk of takeover. The ratings do show growth – the district’s overall rating increased to a B for the first time in four years, and 35 campuses bettered by a letter grade. 

“This is not one school’s problem or one neighborhood’s problem. It is Austin’s.”

Still, 11 schools earned D ratings and 20 campuses earned F ratings in 2026. Only 25 of those campuses are reopening this school year due to school closures and consolidations.

AISD trustees are planning to discuss the ratings during the Aug. 13 board meeting. The district’s announcement comes one day early, before TEA is scheduled to formally release ratings for schools and districts across Texas on Friday.

On Thursday morning, before the district’s announcement, dozens of Austin ISD families and community members gathered in front of Eastside Early College High School in opposition to state takeover of their school district. A newly formed community group, Keep Austin Schools Independent (KASI), organized the press conference.

“In Houston [ISD] … every family lost their elected board on the same day, no matter which school their kids attended,” one AISD parent said. “This is not one school’s problem or one neighborhood’s problem. It is Austin’s.”

Members of the district’s union, Education Austin, were also present. “Our teachers and staff in Austin are qualified. They’re smart. They’re dedicated, and we should listen more to their ideas,” the union’s vice president, Trasell Underwood, said. “We need TEA to stay out of our district. Education Austin is opposed to any takeover of Austin ISD.”

Pamela Mathai, a former AISD teacher now running for the at-large District 9 seat on Austin’s school board, said that she was “terrified” to put her name in the hat. Nonetheless, she’s stepping forward for her kids and community.

“This election is going to be important,” Mathai told us. “And having educators with experience, having parents who have kids in the district who have skin in the game, that’s going to be the representation that we need at a time like this.”

KASI organizer Sharyn Vane said now, more than ever, it’s important to educate each other about state takeover and how the community can continue to self-advocate. “We’re not gonna put up with the takeover. This isn’t what we want,” Vane continued. “We’ve seen what’s happened in the other cities, and we don’t want that here.”

Read more about what’s at stake with a TEA takeover in this week’s cover story. 

This is a developing story. Read more in next week’s issue.

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