William Brewer Writes in The Dallas Morning News About Texas School Accountability Case
October 15, 2024 — William Brewer III writes in today’s Dallas Morning News opinion section that Texas school accountability ratings should be released, and shares that the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program (FLP) intervened in a court case in support of doing so.
The text of the piece follows:
The “Texas miracle” is an often-told tale of unbridled economic expansion and explosive population growth.
But as new residents flock to our state — an estimated 470,000 last year — many public schools in Texas are failing to adequately educate the children already here. It is no “miracle” when most of Texas students attending public school did not meet grade level on the state STAAR exam last year, including 64% of Black children, 58% of Hispanic children and 62% of economically disadvantaged students who did not, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Unfortunately, rather than a united determination to fix the situation, battle lines are emerging in the community — and in the courtroom. A monumental fight is taking place in state court that will determine whether parents can easily access information evaluating the student performance at schools that their children attend. Incredibly, the answer from a Travis County judge may be “No,” as she recently blocked the release of such data after five school districts sued Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.
School and district ratings should be released, for the sake of transparency and accountability. Doing so represents the first step in addressing the state’s educational crisis. Such information informs educational choices parents make for their children. Information is power, and the effort to suppress it is a detriment to educational progress and the future generations of our state.
That’s why the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program, which supports students from a dozen Dallas ISD schools, is among the parties that intervened in the case in support of releasing school ratings. Programs like the FLP, parents and community stakeholders need to access such information and use it to empower them to make critical educational decisions.
School districts are taking divergent paths in the legal action over the release of Texas public school accountability ratings, with some districts, such as Dallas ISD, voluntarily releasing their projected ratings.
Texas has more than 1,200 school districts, and yet just 33 districts that have now joined the lawsuit are blocking the release of ratings for all districts.
Of those school districts, 27 performed worse than the state average when it comes to students meeting grade level in 2023, according to TEA data on STAAR performance by school district. While scrutiny often focuses on large urban school districts such as Houston and Dallas, the plaintiff districts in the lawsuit demonstrate that many rural districts and exurb communities are struggling and failing to adequately educate children.
For example, in 2023, Kingsville ISD enrolled 2,694 children and only 27% met grade level on the STAAR exam across all grade levels and subjects tested.
We must invest in public schools and commit to making them better. They are part of the fabric of our state and will always remain so. In 1876, the Texas Constitution wisely declared that it was the duty of the state Legislature to support and maintain “an efficient system of public free schools” given the essential role of a “general diffusion of knowledge.” We must resist the urge to turn the accountability case into a referendum on vouchers.
The immediate impulse may be to penalize these failing districts. Instead, let’s talk about solutions: schools need adequate funding to address challenges to student achievement.
Many studies report that Texas is not funding its public schools adequately. An August 2024 report by Rice University’s Kinder Institute found that 73% of Texas public schools are underfunded and that districts with the larger funding gaps tend to have the lowest student achievement ratings from the TEA. The report concluded that “severely underfunded” school districts were “strongly associated” with ratings of “C” or worse. The correlation comes as no surprise.
Let’s consider the findings of the accountability ratings a galvanizing force. Within every district, we should promote transparency, address academic and financial shortcomings, and share best practices, all benefits of the ratings process. Only then can we live up to our larger-than-life story of the Texas miracle.
William A. Brewer III is managing partner of the Brewer Storefront and founder of the Brewer Foundation Future Leaders Program. Katherine Leal Unmuth contributed to this article.
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Seniors Scammed: Dallas CBS Affiliate Produces Story About Brewer Storefront Client
September 25, 2024 – CBS News Texas reports on how Brewer Storefront assisted client Shirley Ison–Newsome, 77, after she was the victim of a predatory financial scam like many seniors face.
The investigation, “Caught in the Scam,” reports Ms. Ison-Newsome lost more than $50,000 after her bank, Chase, allegedly failed to warn her of fraudulent activity. She also said a bank employee at her local Chase branch promised her that her wire transfer to China had been caught and stopped in time, but days later she learned the financial transaction had gone through.
With the help of the Brewer Storefront, the community service affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, Ison-Newsome resolved a legal action with Chase to the satisfaction of the parties.
"It can't be that at the end of the day that it is just too bad, especially when, importantly, [Ison-Newsome] was extremely vigilant,” said Brewer Partner Will Brewer IV. “She immediately alerted her trusted financial institution. That's everything that you would expect someone to do to fix the situation."
New York Post Reports on Brewer Storefront Fraud Case
November 10, 2023 – The New York Post reported today about Brewer Storefront client Kimaya Taylor and her fraud case against a New York City consignment store. According to the article, “The owners of an Upper East Side antiques store are being sued by a series of clients who claim they were ripped off and had their heirlooms trashed.”
The article continues, “The owners of Sara’s Antiques, on Lexington Ave and E. 73rd St., are facing six lawsuits, a complaint to the police and to the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection about their business selling treasures on consignment.” According to the Post, Sara’s proprietors Sayeh Sassouni Khorshad, and her husband Vahid Peter Khorshad, who goes by Peter, face a series of legal actions for selling the valuables of their clients and keeping the cash themselves, handing back one-off pieces badly damaged, or losing them entirely.
The Storefront is the legal community service affiliate of the Brewer firm.
Read more here.
News 12 The Bronx Reports on Brewer Storefront Fraud Lawsuit Against Consignment Business
July 6, 2023 – News 12 The Bronx reported on a lawsuit brought on behalf of Brewer Storefront client Kimberly Taylor against the owners of a New York consignment business for fraud concerning more than $650,000 in antiques she consigned. The investigative report chronicled many legal actions against the business.
Taylor sued the owners, Vahid Peter Khorshad and Sayeh Sassouni Khorshad, alleging fraud in connection with the antique vases, figurines, decorative art and jewelry she consigned at their Upper East Side Estate Sale store in 2021, which later closed and reopened as Sara’s Antiques. Filed on December 14, 2022, in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, the lawsuit against the stores and their owners, alleges that Taylor consigned valuable items to Estate Sale, but was denied the return of her items and received no records or commissions of any sales.
“Unfortunately, our client is well into this nightmare a year and a half now,” William A. Brewer III, counsel to Taylor and founder of Brewer Storefront told News 12 Investigates. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of valuables have not been returned and are unaccounted for.”
The report highlighted numerous other former customers who also said the Khorshads never gave them any commissions on sales nor did they recover their items.
The Brewer Storefront is the community-service legal affiliate of the national litigation firm of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, with offices in New York and Dallas.
The Dallas Morning News Reports on Brewer Storefront Client, Lawsuit Against Chase Bank
January 25, 2023 – The Dallas Morning News reports that Brewer Storefront client Shirley Ison-Newsome, a former longtime Dallas Independent School District administrator, alleges she was the victim of a financial scam reported to JPMorgan Chase – and the bank allegedly failed in its obligation to protect her funds. Ms. Ison-Newsome has filed a lawsuit against Chase alleging negligence, among other claims.
The article, “Two elderly scam victims in Dallas demand Chase recover $55,000 in stolen funds,” reports that someone stole thousands of dollars from Ison-Newsome. She and another, unrelated female fraud victim reportedly alerted Chase to stop questionable withdrawals – but Chase contends the women authorized the transfers and can do little about it. Ison-Newsome’s lawsuit alleges that her bank account was drained by more than $51,000.
Ison-Newsome says she was on her computer when she received a notice she had been hacked and was provided a phone number to call. A phone representative said they could work with her bank to protect her account. She became uncomfortable with exchange, and went immediately to Chase Bank the next morning to file a report. She was assured by bank officials her money was still in her account, as she had timely reported the potential scam. Chase allegedly froze her old account, and helped her set up a new one – to protect her assets. Ison-Newsome says that when she logged into the new account about a week later, the money was gone.
“I worked all my life,” she said. “I paid my bills on time. I tried to do the right thing. I’ve been with Chase for over 20 years, and I trusted Chase.”
Lake Highlands Advocate Reports on Positive Impact of Brewer Storefront Voting Rights Case
On February, 19, 2020, the Lake Highlands Advocate reported on increased diversity among Richardson ISD (RISD) school board members following a Brewer Storefront voting rights lawsuit brought on behalf of plaintiff and former RISD board member David Tyson. A settlement reached with RISD established a new election system including five single member districts, of which two districts are minority “opportunity” districts. The Storefront is the Brewer firm’s community service legal affiliate.
The article reported that Regina Harris, who is African American, was elected to the District 4 opportunity district, which includes the historic Hamilton Park neighborhood in November 2019. Debbie Renteria, who is Hispanic, filed for the District 3 opportunity district seat and will be taking that seat in May 2020.
Tyson reflected on the additions of Harris and Renteria to the board: “My part is finished. We’ve achieved what we sought.’ What we wanted was opportunity for people of color to feel comfortable running. Winning is equally important, but they first have to feel comfortable enough to run. I have always said we needed to have black and brown representation on the board. I’ve put my reputation on the line and my business on the line. My job now is finished.”
Tyson also reflected on the lawsuit: ““I expected to win…because attorneys at Brewer Storefront had a track record in Grand Prairie, Irving and Carrollton-Farmers Branch, and they wouldn’t have taken the case if they didn’t think they had a reasonable chance of winning.”
Texas Tribune Reports on Brewer Storefront Lawsuit
The Texas Tribune published an in-depth article regarding the latest voting rights lawsuit brought by Brewer Storefront, the firm’s community service legal affiliate. The firm recently filed a lawsuit against the Richardson Independent School District on behalf of plaintiff and former RISD Trustee David Tyson. The Dec. 11 article is titled “Richardson ISD’s student demographics have significantly changed. The makeup of its school board hasn’t.”
The article highlights the firm’s long track record of advocacy in the area of voting rights and states, “Over the last several years, William Brewer, a Dallas corporate lawyer with a reputation for playing hardball, has challenged North Texas school districts and city councils to change their elections systems — and his firm hasn’t lost a voting rights fight yet.”
The article is part of an education series being published by the Tribune titled “Dis-Integration.”
Lake Highlands Advocate Profiles Pro Bono Work by William Brewer
The Lake Highlands Advocate published a profile on October 10, 2018, of Partner William Brewer and his pro bono work through the Brewer Storefront, the community service legal affiliate of the firm. The article noted that the Storefront has prevailed in many voting rights lawsuits.
Brewer also discussed the most recent voting rights lawsuit brought by the Storefront, challenging the at-large election system used to elected the Richardson Independent School District Board of Trustees in North Texas.
“Our track record is that we don’t bring cases just to harass,” Brewer told the Advocate. “We bring cases where we believe change is needed and because we’ve done legal factual research.”