Texas Education Agency Will Take Over Houston ISD

The largest school district in Texas is set to be taken over by the Texas Education Agency. It was noted that they have the authority to replace the elected school board members. This is not the first time that the state has tried to take control of the district. In 2019, they made an attempt but it was not successful due to a decision being overruled by an appellate court’s decision. “We hold that the District failed to demonstrate that the Commissioner and his conservator’s planned conduct violates the law,” the decision read. “Thus, the District is not entitled to injunctive relief. We remand the case to the trial court, however, to permit the parties to fully develop the record in light of intervening legal and factual changes. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals’ judgment, vacate the temporary injunction, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

Millard House II, Superintendent of HISD said the decision is “under review by HISD’s Legal team.” In a statement, Superintendent House II said, “When I first came into this role, I was clear eyed about the challenges that faced us as a district,” he continued. “As Superintendent for the last 18 months, my team has been laser-focused on giving each one of our students the academic experience they deserve … There is still much more work to be done, but we are excited about the progress we have made as a district and are looking forward to the work ahead.”