The Houston Public School District has been taken over by the state of Texas, as announced by Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who was appointed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
This decision was made due to the district's students' poor academic performance.
The Houston Public School District is one of the largest in the United States, serving approximately 200,000 students.
This shift enraged school teachers, administrators, and lawmakers on the Democratic side. Even parents are protesting against the takeover.
Texas takeover of Houston Public School District
CNN reports that one of the largest school takeovers in the United States is underway.
The move deepens the divide between state Republican leaders and Democrats in Houston, the state's largest city.
In a letter to the district, Morath accused the Houston Independent School District of failing to provide appropriate special education services and violating state and federal laws.
The education commissioner also pointed out the chaotic board meetings and board members' infighting, which he claims violated the Open Meetings Act and procurement laws.
The state law allows the state to remove the board of school districts with schools failing to meet specific state standards, which is the basis of the intervention.
Morath's letter also mentioned Wheatley High School's seven-year record of poor academic performance and the unsatisfactory results of other campuses in the district.
According to Morath, the school system's governing body is responsible for all students' outcomes, and despite some progress, systemic problems still impact district students.
According to the Associated Press, the Texas State Teachers Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas have criticized the Houston Independent School District takeover.
State Democratic leaders have also called for increased funding for education and higher teacher pay during a news conference in Austin.
Representative Armando Walle, representing parts of north Houston, acknowledged that underperformance in the district has been due to severe underfunding of public schools.
According to an annual Census Bureau survey of public school funding, Texas spent $10,342 per pupil in the 2020 fiscal year, more than $3,000 less than the national average.
State interventions, according to critics, have yet to improve conditions in underperforming schools significantly.
Texas Education Agency takeover could have more reasons
The Houston School District is set to have its leaders replaced by a new board appointed by the state commissioner of education.
The Texas Education Agency plans to replace the district's superintendent and board of education trustees in the coming months, as stated in the board's statement.
This latest takeover aligns with a trend of Republican and primarily white state officials seeking to gain control over heavy minority and Democrat-led cities.
This includes Mississippi and St. Louis, where the legislature proposes to take over the water system and increase the role of state police and appointed judges.
According to NBC, race is also a significant factor in this issue, as the vast majority of students in Houston schools are Black or Hispanic.
Domingo Morel, a professor of political science and public services at New York University, has studied school takeovers across the United States and says the political dynamics in Texas are comparable to those in other states that have intervened.
Morel also notes that the demographics in Houston are similar to those in other cities where takeovers have occurred.
Morel emphasizes that if lawmakers were focused on taking over underperforming school districts, there would be many more takeovers, but this is not typically the case.
