Overview
- In mid-September Austin ISD announced it will not collect or advocate for parent petitions to close Burnet and Webb middle schools and said families must submit petitions directly.
- Both campuses received five straight failing ratings, a state trigger that requires the education commissioner to intervene by either ordering campus closures or appointing a board to take over the district.
- To force a closure, a majority of parents at each campus must sign a petition based on the state’s Oct. 30 'Snapshot' enrollment; using 2025 numbers that means more than about 410 signatures at Burnet and 251 at Webb.
- Families must submit petitions to the district by Oct. 15 for validation, the district would send any validated petitions to the Texas Education Agency by Dec. 1, and trustees may file an opposing request by Dec. 15 before the commissioner decides in December.
- AISD says it will continue school improvement work at both campuses and is developing plans to place students if closures occur while Mayor Kirk Watson has urged parents to consider petitions as an alternative to a full state takeover.