The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced the final 2025–2026 Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) ratings for public schools on Nov. 9, saying 79.87 percent of school systems earned an A, or Superior Achievement, rating.
According to the agency’s news release, the FIRST system was established by the 77th Texas Legislature in 2001 to provide accountability for the quality of financial management practices at Texas public schools. Ratings are based on annual financial reports submitted by school systems to TEA for the 2025 fiscal year, which the agency then reviews before assigning a rating.
TEA said school systems receive one of four grades: A, Superior Achievement; B, Above Standard Achievement; C, Meets Standard Achievement; or F, Substandard Achievement. Of 1,183 school systems rated, 945 earned an A (840 districts and 105 charter schools), 144 earned a B, 76 earned a C and 18 earned an F, the agency said. Those totals represent 79.87 percent, 12.18 percent, 6.43 percent and 1.52 percent of systems, respectively.
According to TEA, ratings for traditional school districts and public charter schools are calculated using 21 financial indicators, such as administrative cost expenditures, the accuracy of financial information submitted to the agency, and any financial vulnerabilities or material weaknesses in internal controls identified by an external auditor. Four critical indicators result in an automatic F rating if a school system fails in that category, regardless of its overall score.
The agency said charter schools operated by public institutions of higher education are rated separately on a Pass or Fail basis using seven indicators. For 2025–2026, all five such charter schools received a final rating of Pass.
TEA said 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. The agency said the final ratings are available at txschools.gov, as well as on its School FIRST webpage for independent school districts and its Charter FIRST webpage for charter schools.