Texas officials take over Houston school district, sparking backlash 

Texas officials on Wednesday announced that the state was taking over a more than 200,000-student public school district in Houston.

The takeover of the country’s eighth-largest public school district would mean one of the largest school takeovers in the history of the country.

According to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, the board has failed to improve student outcomes and provide proper special education services for students with disabilities, violating state and federal laws. Additionally, it has been plagued by “chaotic board meetings marred by infighting.”

"The governing body of a school system bears ultimate responsibility for the outcomes of all students. While the current Board of Trustees has made progress, systemic problems in Houston ISD continue to impact district students," Morath wrote in his six-page letter.

The Texas Education Agency will replace Superintendent Millard House II and the current board of trustees with a new superintendent and board of managers from the district by June 1, Morath wrote in a letter to the Houston Independent School District.

“All of us Texans have an obligation and should come together to reinvent HISD in a way that will ensure that we’re going to be providing the best quality education for those kids,” Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said on Wednesday.

The move was criticized by the Texas State Teachers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. 

“We acknowledge that there’s been underperformance in the past, mainly due to that severe underfunding in our public schools,” state Rep. Armando Walle, who represents parts of north Houston, said.

The Texas Education Agency “has lost at this point all space to judge or to be a model that any of the rest of us should follow,” Texas American Federation of Teachers President Zeph Capo said at a news conference.

“The state and its officials will now be responsible for more than 180,000 students, and 25,000 school employees,” Capo added. “For their sake, I have no choice at this point but to wish them well and hope that they succeed. But make no mistake, we will watch every move.”