At the Oct. 13 Stafford Municipal School Board meeting, Shauna Punch, Director of Federal and State Programs, presented the district’s annual multilingual program evaluation required by the Texas Administrative Code. Her presentation covered student demographics, STA R performance comparisons between the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years, TELPAS proficiency and progress measures, reclassification statistics and the district’s use of bilingual exceptions and ESL waivers due to certification gaps.

Key data presented:
• Emergent bilingual (EB) students constituted about 24% of the district population overall, with campus-level rates of about 30% at the elementary/ECC level, 27% at the middle school, 7% at STEM and about 20% at the high school.
• The elementary summer/STAR comparisons showed some grade‑level declines in 2025 versus 2024 in certain subjects, though district staff noted that the EB performance was generally within about 10 percentage points of campuswide results in most categories.
• STEM Academy EBs had strong STA R outcomes in 2025; STEM’s small EB cohort (about 25 students) recorded gains in several performance levels.
• TELPAS composite proficiency results showed many younger students rated at beginner or intermediate levels (K–2), with older students shifting to intermediate/advanced; district TELPAS progress measures placed Stafford Elementary near the state interim target and STEM well above it.
• Reclassification: staff reported 31 students were reclassified as English proficient during the year under LPAC criteria.

Punch emphasized staffing and certification challenges and a district push to increase ESL/bilingual certification among core teachers. Specific operational details included:
• Waivers/exceptions filed for 2024–25 included multiple ESL waivers: ECC had nine ESL waivers impacting about 15 students; elementary dual‑language coding was affected by several instructors lacking bilingual certification leading to 131 students coded into alternate programs; secondary English teachers' ESL certification gaps affected about 135 students and led to 29 ESL waivers and several bilingual exceptions.
• The district offered regional training and exam prep; 17 teachers attended a Region 4 exam prep course and three passed and became certified.
• Punch listed district actions to address gaps: targeted recruitment, grow‑your‑own teacher programs, university partnerships, and a slate of professional development offerings (biliteracy, dual‑language essentials, second‑language acquisition and language objectives training).

Trustees asked clarifying questions about waiver counts, the TELPAS interim targets, and how staffing assignments and scheduling affect waiver need. Trustees urged continued focus on recruiting certified bilingual/ESL teachers and on monitoring outcomes.

Ending: The board received the annual multilingual evaluation and directed staff to continue certification, recruitment and professional development efforts aimed at reducing the need for waivers and improving EB outcomes.