Fort Stockton ISD
Senate Bill 1697 Update Information for Parents (07/26/2021)
SB 1697 allows parents to elect for their child to restart kindergarten or repeat a course or grade
Date: Thu, 07/22/2021 - 15:51
SB 1697 allows parents to elect for their child to restart kindergarten or repeat a course or grade
AUSTIN, Texas – July 22, 2021 – Given the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the 2020-21 school year, the Texas Legislature passed SB 1697 to give parents new rights to determine whether their children should repeat a course or grade. This is just one of several new rights the 87th Legislature granted to Texas parents for the upcoming school year. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is compiling resources for parents to support this and other decisions they may have the opportunity to make; for more information, parents can visit: www.tea.texas.gov/parents.
This option is especially important to consider for the parents of the nearly 25,000 children in Texas who were eligible for kindergarten in School Year 2020-21, but who did not enroll, as well as for those kindergarteners who had a significantly disrupted school year. Resources to inform this decision can be found here.
The decision to opt for a student to repeat a course or grade may also be right for children in older grades who struggled academically. Resources to inform this decision are available here.
Any Texas parent who believes his or her child would benefit from repeating a course or grade now has the right to make this decision, but must act quickly. If parents decide that it is best for their child to repeat a grade or course, they must inform their school in writing before the start of the upcoming school year. Because schools are making plans now, parents interested in this option should contact their school as soon as possible. The final decision as to whether a student needs to repeat a course or grade in the upcoming school year is now a Texas parent’s to make, though schools can provide input to further inform a parent’s decision.
For students in grade 4 and above this option exists only for the 2021-22 school year, but for Pre-K through grade 3 the option is permanent.
More information on the process, along with resources to support parents in making the best decision for their child, can be found on a new TEA webpage: http://www.tea.texas.gov/parents.
To see an explanatory video on how this process works, please view here.
Below is information on parents decision to:
- Repeat a Grade or Course
- Restart Kindergarten
- Grade Retention Research
Fort Stockton ISD
Parents: Should Your Child Repeat a Grade or Course?
If you believe your child needs to repeat a grade or course, you as a parent have the right to make this decision but you must act quickly. You can find the steps you must take here.
Given the disruptions of the 2020-2021 school year, the Texas Legislature has given parents new rights to make this decision for the upcoming school year. For students in grade 4 and above this option only exists for the 2021-22 school year, but for pre-k through grade 3 the option is permanent. The decision as to whether your child needs to repeat a grade or course in the upcoming school year is your decision to make as a parent.
- For children in grades 1-8:
- Repeating may be right for your child if he/she struggled learning while remaining virtual most of the year
- For students who took high school courses:
- Repeating one or more courses may be right for your child if he/she struggled in a foundational course (e.g. Algebra I or computer science) and is worried about being successful in higher level courses
This page offers resources to help you make this decision.
For information on repeating or restarting pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, see Restart Kindergarten. For more resources on how to prepare your child for school in the fall, please visit our parent hub.
When Making the Decision, Consider:
- Your child’s academic results, including grades, test scores, and other evidence of their learning. Does your child’s work and performance lead you to believe they are ready for the next grade?
- Research shows that students who are repeating a grade should have access to additional academic supports (such as tutoring, summer school, and differentiated learning opportunities) to improve their learning. Just repeating the school year without a plan to better cover material doesn’t necessarily improve results. Students will have access to additional tutoring supports in the upcoming year if they did not meet standards on STAAR or didn’t take the exam. For more information, please visit tea.texas.gov/tutoring.
- Talk to your child about the decision – how do they feel about repeating a grade or course?
Parents of High School Students Should Also Consider:
- For children interested in varsity sports, review eligibility rules based on student age.
- Ask your school about their grading policy: if a high school student received a passing grade for the course they will repeat, they will keep their original grade on their transcript unless the school has a different policy.
- Review your student’s progress towards graduation: will repeating a course delay when they will be ready to graduate?
- Research on repeating a grade is mixed; different studies have found positive and negative results for students’ academic learning and social development. When making decisions, parents should keep in mind both the general research AND the specifics of their student’s situation.
If you decide your student will repeat a grade/course, it is important to act quickly!
1. You must tell your school in writing before the start of school year:
- Check your school's calendar (often available on the school’s website) to make sure you know when school starts for the 2021-22 school year.
- Make your request in writing to the school principal. You can use this form to submit your request.
Parents: Should Your Child Restart Kindergarten or Pre-Kindergarten?
Kindergarten Students:
If you believe your child needs to restart kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, you as a parent have the right to make this decision but you must act quickly. You can find the steps you must take here.
Given the disruptions of the 2020-2021 school year, the Texas Legislature has given parents new rights to make this decision for the upcoming school year. The decision as to whether your child needs to repeat kindergarten in the upcoming school year is your decision to make as a parent.
Kindergarten is an important year for students to develop socially and learn skills that prepare them to succeed in the classroom. If, during the previous school year, your kindergarten-age child:
- Did not attend kindergarten
- Missed many days of kindergarten because of the disrupted school year
- Attended kindergarten but struggled
You may want to consider whether he or she should restart kindergarten in this upcoming school year. This page offers resources to help you make this decision.
Pre-Kindergarten Students:
Similarly, if your child was eligible for pre-kindergarten in the previous school year and did not attend or had a disrupted school year, you may choose to have your child restart pre-kindergarten, or he or she may continue on and attend kindergarten. If you choose to have your child restart pre-kindergarten, you must act quickly. You can find the steps you must take here.
For information on repeating other grades, see Repeat a Grade or Course. For more resources on how to prepare your child for school in the fall, please visit our parent hub.
What Should You Consider When Making This Decision?:
Consider social factors. Kindergarten is a time when students learn a lot about interacting with other children in school and learn how to behave in a classroom. Would your child benefit from more practice in these areas?
Look at your child's work from the previous year, including progress reports, teacher feedback and the student body of work they created. Does your child's work and performance lead you to believe they are ready for the next grade?
Research on repeating a grade is mixed; different studies have found positive and negative results for students’ academic learning and social development. When making decisions, parents should keep in mind both the general research AND the specifics of their student’s situation.
If you decide your student will restart kindergarten or pre-kindergarten, it is important to act quickly!
You must tell your school in writing before the start of the school year.
- Check your school's calendar (often available on the school’s website) to make sure you know when school starts for the 2021-22 school year.
- Make your request in writing to the school principal, or to whomever the district otherwise directs you to address your request. Unless your school gives you different instructions, you can use this form to submit your request.
Fort Stockton Independent School District
Email: panther@fsisd.net
Website: https://www.fsisd.net
Location: 101 West Division Street, Fort Stockton, TX, USA
Phone: (432) 336-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fortstocktonisd