Parent urges Dickinson ISD to revise cheerleading evaluation process, citing transparency and fairness concerns

At the Dickinson ISD Board of Trustees meeting, Nakisha Owens addressed board members and Superintendent Brown during public comment to raise concerns about how student athletes are evaluated and chosen for cheerleading.

Owens identified herself as a parent and advocate and said the district’s current rating system for cheerleading "warrants immediate review." She asked the district to clarify how scores are determined, who evaluates students and what safeguards exist to prevent bias. "Parents and students deserve to know how scores are determined, who is evaluating the scores, and what measures are in place to ensure that bias does not influence outcomes," Owens said.

She also criticized the district’s response timelines, saying delayed replies to complaints often come after important deadlines and can "effectively invalidate an opportunity for resolution." Owens formally requested that the district review and revise the cheerleading evaluation process, make a transparent rubric publicly available before tryouts, provide clearly communicated timelines for responses, and establish “a fair and open appeal process not bound by subjective deadlines.”

Discussion versus decision: Owens’ remarks were given during the public comment portion of the meeting. The transcript records the request for a timely response and the parent’s call for policy changes; the board did not take a formal vote on the subject during the meeting.

Sources: public comment remarks by Nakisha Owens as recorded in the meeting transcript.