Richardson Independent School District
Richardson Independent School District (RISD) is a school district based in Richardson, Texas (USA). RISD covers and serves the city of Richardson and portions of the cities of Dallas and Garland (60 percent of RISD is in North Dallas, with 35 percent in Richardson and 5 percent in Garland). RISD operates 55 campuses that serve more than 39,000 students. Including administration and support, RISD maintains 70 facilities covering more than with of grounds. In 2011, the school district was rated "recognized" by the Texas Education Agency. A majority of RISD is located in Dallas. Two portions  of North Dallas are in Richardson ISD: One is north of Interstate 635, between Coit Road and Preston Road, and south of the Collin-Dallas county line; the other is the portion of Lake Highlands east of White Rock Creek and north of the Northwest Highway. These areas, annexed into the City of Dallas after 1960, are generally high income. History. The district was founded in 1854. At the time it provided education for children of local farmers, small business owners and settlers around the railroad just outside Dallas, TX. In recent times RISD has been rated as "Recognized" by  the Texas Education Agency for many years in a row. RISD is the largest, most racially and socioeconomically diverse district in Texas to receive a rating this high. In 2010 the Texas Business and Education Coalition (TBEC) added 22 RISD schools to the TBEC Honor Roll. RISD and Houston ISD leads the state in schools named to the Honor Roll. Only 252 public schools out of 8,000 in Texas were named to the TBEC Honor Roll, placing those 22 RISD schools in the top 4% of Texas public schools. In 2007 a report stated that, due to new development and  older residents, certain areas of RISD faced student decreases. The removal of some low income apartment complexes contributed to the losses. In 2021 Richardson ISD implemented a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas and kept it in place even when the Texas Supreme Court upheld Governor of Texas Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates. Demographics. In 1997, over 50% of the students were non-Hispanic white. In a period until 2009, Richardson ISD's student body transitioned from a mostly white and affluent student body to a racially and socioeconomically diverse student body. In 2009 the State  of Texas defined "college readiness," or readiness to undergo university studies, of high school graduates by scores on the ACT and SAT and in the 11th grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests. During that year the district's high schools consistently had high college readiness rates. Holly K. Hacker of "The Dallas Morning News" said that "Richardson school district leaders credit the strong showing at their high schools to attitude -- a refusal to accept poor performance based on changing demographics." From 1997 to 2016 the number of non-Hispanic white students had declined by 44%, the least  severe decline of the four major suburban Dallas County school districts that were majority white in 1997. From 1997 to 2016 the number of students on free or reduced lunches, a way of determining low income status, increased by 131%, the least severe increase of those four districts.