Texas Education Agency poised to finalize takeover of HISD

By Aleena Gilani

After years of threatening a takeover of the Houston Independent School District, the Texas Education Agency began taking control of the largest school district in Texas on March 15. In a letter sent to HISD leadership, Morath announced that the current community-elected Board of Trustees would be replaced by a TEA-appointed Board of Managers on June 1. The current superintendent, Millard House II, will also be replaced by an agency appointee.

Students, teachers and parents across Houston met the news with outrage.

“This action is necessitated because of the conditions of the schools in Houston ISD. Houston has many schools that are outstanding, some of the best schools in the state, and in fact, large numbers of kids in Houston are truly ourishing,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath in an interview with Fox26. “But there’s also a number of students in Houston ISD who the district is simply not provided adequate supports for those students to be successful.”

“If the focus is on the kids, then you tell me how this bene ts the kids,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner during a news conference the day of the announcement. “TEA is selecting the board of managers. So who are they? The state deserves an F on how they have handled the process up to this point, just a at-out F.”

TEA rst attempted to assume control of HISD in 2019, in response to the “F” TEA accountability rating at Phillis Wheatley High School as well as nancial misconduct by trustees. HISD lawsuits temporarily prevented a takeover; Wheatley’s STAAR scores rose and their “F” became a “C”; and the tarnished trustees were eventually voted out. Since 2019, the amount of HISD schools scoring an A, B or C accountability rating rose from 82% to 94%.

Despite the improvements, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in TEA’s favor in January. In an interview with ABC13, Morath cited low scores at an unnamed HISD campus as the reason for the takeover.

“If these schools had better reports, and they got out of the failing zone, then it clearly showed that something was working and they were doing something right,” said Victoria Allen, a senior at Bellaire High School. “To have TEA come and take that over and possibly make changes to our schools and how they run is really inconsiderate and shows me how much the government doesn’t care about the actual welfare of schools. They just care about having power.”

Hundreds of students across the district have organized walkouts and protests in response to the takeover, and parents have voiced their concerns at chaotic TEA community meetings. Yet, the public outcry has resulted in little action from state leaders.

“It makes it feel like we’re protesting for nothing,” Allen said. “Our voices aren’t being heard, which is arguably the most aggravating part about this whole situation.”

Anna Oliva, a sophomore at Carnegie Vanguard High School, participated in a walkout when TEA announced the takeover in March. Student protesters walked around campus chanting “T-E-A go away” and carrying signs, but Oliva soon realized that she and her fellow students were “powerless.”

“We’ve been protesting, and there have been a lot of amazing students, especially at Carnegie, involved in spreading the message and organizing to try and stop the takeover,” Oliva said. “But there’s really nothing you can do at this point.”

Critics of the takeover question how the future Board of Managers will be able to lead the district, especially since TEA does not require applicants to have a background in education. Junior Mackenzie Rice, whose father is an assistant principal at Westbury High School, says a board chosen by TEA would allow the state government to extend its control over HISD.

“It seems like a calculated political move on Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s part as he gears up for a [potential] presidential run,” Mackenzie said. “I would guess that they pick all prominent Houstonians to serve on this board. There will be a lot less autonomy, and these professionals who might not have any educational experience at all will deciding what learning looks like.”

Sehba Ali, CEO of KIPP Public Charter Schools, says the new Board of Managers may yet have the power to bene t the district — if they play their cards right.

“They can have a lot of power to make the right decisions for kids, but I think that it’s really going to depend on how they reach out to the community and get the community involved in their decisions,” Ali said. “They can make really smart decisions, but they will not be successful if they’re operating in a vacuum.”

Lamees El Beheary, a sophomore at Carnegie Vanguard High School, says the new Board’s goal of raising accountability scores in HISD campuses will mean an increased focus on standardized test scores.

“There is going to be way more standardized testing to make sure that people are getting ‘the education they need,’ when really, it’s going to be more STAAR prep,” El Beheary said. “All they care about is showing that we are learning when it is just shoving information at us.”

Mackenzie, who writes curriculum for K-12 schools, warns that a renewed focus on standardized testing would prevent teachers from customizing their curriculum.

“Teachers need to have the autonomy to create and adapt their classroom to best meet their students," she said. “Students are going to be at a fundamental disadvantage because cookie-cutter curriculum isn't bene cial."

Ali says state takeovers are a “mixed bag.” TEA successfully intervened in El Paso ISD and Beaumont ISD, but the takeover of North Shore ISD resulted in the permanent closure of the district. The enormity of HISD makes the outcome of the intervention even more unpredictable. It is the eighth-largest district in the country, serving over 189,000 students across 274 campuses.

“There isn’t one overwhelming example that we can point to and say, ‘that went really well,’” she said. “We’re going to expect a lot of upheaval, a lot of turnover of sta . That just creates a lot of disruption for the faculty and for the students.”

Ali expects that the takeover will lead to an increase in applicants to KIPP from HISD schools. Courtney Burger, Director of Admissions, says that St. John's could see a similar trend.

“Many HISD families are still trying to understand what the takeover will mean for their speci c school,” Burger said. “Many families may adopt a wait-and-see approach, but if things seem less than ideal in the fall, I suspect we will see an uptick in applications.”

While she admits Carnegie may not have the rockiest transition under the new HISD leadership, Oliva is still skeptical of the takeover.

“I don’t think they change Carnegie too much because I feel like the government wouldn’t really mess with a system that’s been working,” Oliva said. “But it’s our education and we hope to have some more autonomy over it.”