Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the district will enforce a policy to ensure students fulfill the state’s Career, College, Military Readiness criteria, which requires incoming seniors to have their CCMR ‘point’ at the start of the academic year to earn late arrival and/or early dismissal. If the requirement is unfulfilled, seniors will be put into a class during their release or arrival block until the ‘point’ is earned.

Although the concept behind the policy is sound, the district should abandon the harmful policy because it only benefits some, feels financially motivated and doesn’t accurately reflect its intended goal.

For most, adding late arrival or early release to their schedule during senior year feels like an achievement. It’s the perfect reward for three years of waking up at odd hours in the morning. But now, this reward is now effectively locked up for those who don’t meet the district’s requirements. MISD requires students to have either passed academic tests with qualifying scores, provide proof of military enlistment or achieve professional certification through Ben Barber classes. While this may seem easy, fitting the idea of “Career, College and Military Readiness,” it doesn’t benefit the majority of students. Not everybody is planning to go to college, so they don’t feel the need to take AP classes or various tests. Similarly, not everybody has the insight to dedicate multiple years to a Ben Barber class for a chance at certification. Not everybody feels compelled to join the military. There are even instances where students desperately need the off-period to work so they can help provide for their family. It is not fair to restrict such students for failing to fit the district’s idea of “career ready”. For those who don’t fit in their defined molds, it limits the benefits and the deserved time seniors get to enjoy for their efforts.

Ensuring students meet the state’s criteria is incredibly valuable for the district to prioritize. Meeting these requirements is not only a moral obligation – to adequately prepare students for life after high school – but it is also an economic one, as MISD receives state funding through demonstration of positive CCMR outcomes, according to a TEA bonus report. As it stands now, school districts in Texas are grossly underfunded and, as a result, many programs face funding issues. As far as most districts are concerned, having a box checked-off is an easy way to earn needed funding. While ensuring all district facilities are adequately paid for, punishing seniors isn’t the best way to approach it.

Ironically, this CCMR criteria rarely reflects its intended purposes. Texas wants to ensure students are prepared for life after high school at the end of the day. They put the career, college and military readiness requirement in place to foster preparedness for pathways they view as most important. However, these requirements hardly translate to the real world, and the state has acknowledged this. With legislation such as House Bill 3’s introduction in 2021, Texas has attempted to address alternative measures for career readiness, predominantly in rural districts. This is a direct demonstration that the state not only recognizes the drawbacks in the current CCMR criteria, but is actively searching for new solutions. Even on a smaller scale, not everyone who passes an AP test will go on to use it, so that should not be the goalpost for “success” in life after high school. 

The best solution for this issue is to disconnect late arrival and early release with CCMR. CCMR can be better emphasized with the curriculum of core classes, so that on testing days subsidized by the district, the average student can meet qualifying scores 

Ultimately, this goes beyond campus jurisdiction to the entirety of the district. Students, staff and parents are encouraged to voice their concerns against the upcoming late arrival/early release plan at the school board meeting Tuesday.