Promotion or Retention? A Texas Senior’s Dilemma

• In Event: Constructing and (Re)imagining Educational Leadership Through the Use of Case Studies

Abstract

This case study, Promotion or Retention? A Texas Senior’s Dilemma, examines the ethical, legal, and instructional complexities surrounding a high school senior, Debbie, who, despite years of passing grades and consistent effort, is denied graduation due to failing English IV. What begins as a classroom-level grading dispute reveals deeper systemic failures in early identification, intervention, and support for students with reading-based learning disabilities.
Grounded in Bolman and Deal’s Four-Frame Model (2021), the analysis unpacks how structural, human resource, political, and symbolic dynamics intersect in school leadership decisions. The case highlights lapses in the district’s implementation of RTI, MTSS, and Child Find procedures. Debbie received informal accommodations for years (e.g., text-to-speech), yet was never formally evaluated or identified under Section 504 or IDEA until a cheating allegation prompted a last-minute special education assessment. Testing confirmed a specific learning disability in reading fluency and decoding.
The teacher, citing Texas Education Code §28.0214, upheld the failing semester grade based on professional judgment, while the principal attempted to navigate the competing responsibilities of advocating for the student, respecting teacher autonomy, and ensuring legal compliance. Debbie’s mother expressed frustration over long-standing concerns that went unaddressed. After a thorough review of school records, the educational diagnostician confirmed that systemic oversight, not student effort, was the root issue, thereby underpinning the need for clearer protocols that align instructional supports with formal identification systems.
Designed as a teaching construct for graduate students and school leaders to apply ethical frameworks to real-world educational dilemmas, this case illustrates how fragmented support systems and reactive leadership practices can undermine educational equity, even in high-performing schools. It raises critical questions about ethical grading, legal mandates, and the role of school leaders in ensuring that intervention frameworks do more than exist on paper—they must be implemented with fidelity, urgency, and accountability. The case further explores how STAAR testing accommodations, such as locally approved supports and universally available Accessibility Features, are not always aligned with students' actual instructional needs (STAAR Accommodations Educator Guide, 2024). Research critiques suggest a lack of robust evidence on the long-term impact of accommodations for students with disabilities (Trachtenberg, 2016), reinforcing the need for systemic reform.

Authors

• Sonia Brown, Texas Christian University

• Zarvonia Gibbs, Texas Christian University

• Ron Mendoza, Texas Christian University