Texas state officials are planning to transfer control of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) from democratically elected leaders to a commission appointed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Officials will transfer management of the district — the largest in the state and the eighth-largest in the nation — to the commission starting on June 1. HISD previously blocked TEA efforts to take over its operations in 2019, but a state Supreme Court ruling earlier this year lifted the injunction that had been in place.
TEA had sought a district takeover in 2019 ostensibly due to the performance of a single school in the district. That school, Wheatley High School, received seven straight years of poor ratings. However, the school has improved its ratings since 2019, and is no longer deemed failing by the state’s standards.
Nevertheless, state Education Commissioner Mike Morath, an appointee of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, claims the improvements seen at Wheatley don’t “abrogate [his] prior legal requirement to intervene,” in spite of Houston schools receiving a “B” rating overall — much better than other districts throughout the state that have not been threatened with takeovers by TEA administrators.
A takeover by the state agency could last indefinitely, as a district or school must have at least two consecutive years of passing grades, by state standards, in order for the TEA to begin determining a time frame and process for restoring power to local leaders.
Education advocates have condemned the planned takeover as racist, noting that TEA is targeting a majority Brown and Black school district that is by every current measure abiding by state standards.
“The state takeover of HISD is not about public education — it’s about political control of a 90 percent Black and brown student body in one of the country’s most diverse cities,” said the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. “And it’s not what our students and teachers need.”
The TEA takeover “will remove the democratically elected school board and its superintendent. This decision is a betrayal of parents’ rights to elect their governing board,” Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) said in a tweet.
State Rep. Gene Wu (D), who represents the district where HISD is located, said in a statement that, although many students in his community are “overwhelmingly economically disadvantaged” and come from “non-English speaking and immigrant backgrounds,” the schools are receiving passing grades, with most of them receiving “A” or “B” ratings. The decision to move forward with the takeover is “an incredibly blatant and shameful political attack by Governor Abbott and Commissioner Morath on Houston parents, educators, and all supporters of public education,” Wu said.
“There are 154 other Texas school districts that are rated C or below, yet the TEA has targeted HISD for a takeover. This is big government at its worse,” public education advocate Lauren Rocco Dougherty said.
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $150,000 in one-time donations and to add 1,500 new monthly donors.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy