The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has released the final 2024-2025 ratings for the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), a program established by the 77th Texas Legislature in 2001 to provide accountability for financial management in public schools.
Under FIRST, school systems are given one of four letter grades—A, B, C, or F—corresponding to Superior Achievement, Above Standard Achievement, Meets Standard Achievement, or Substandard Achievement. The ratings are determined based on annual financial reports submitted by each school system and reviewed by TEA.
For the 2024-2025 year, out of 1,190 rated entities:
– 969 received an A (81%)
– 121 received a B (10%)
– 74 received a C (6%)
– 26 received an F (2%)
The ratings process evaluates schools on 21 financial indicators. These include administrative cost expenditures, accuracy of submitted financial information, and identification of any material weaknesses in internal controls as reported by external auditors. Failure on any of four critical indicators results in an automatic F rating.
Charter schools operated by public institutions of higher education are assessed separately and assigned either Pass or Fail based on seven different indicators. For this cycle, all five such charter schools earned a Pass rating.
“All Texas public school systems are required to share their financial accountability ratings with parents and taxpayers at a public meeting to discuss the financial report,” according to TEA.
Further details about FIRST ratings and access to the complete list for independent school districts and charter schools can be found on TEA’s official web pages.
