On October 27, 2022, Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Phelan, House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committee Chairs announced $400 million in funding to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to assist school districts in replacing or upgrading doors, windows, fencing, communications, and other safety measures.   (10) view article

On October 27, 2022, Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, Speaker Phelan, House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committee Chairs announced $400 million in funding to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to assist school districts in replacing or upgrading doors, windows, fencing, communications, and other safety measures.   view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has moved the location of the March 29 community meeting regarding the state's takeover of Houston ISD. Instead of taking place at the Hattie Mae Educational Support Center, it will now be held Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Delmar Stadium on Magnum road. view article

A clearer picture of how Fort Worth ISD will look under Superintendent Angélica Ramsey is emerging. Administration is expected to be leaner, cheaper and sharper. Trustees on March 28 are scheduled to consider formally backing Ramsey’s most public reshuffling of the district. The proposed resolution directly names divisions and positions that could be eliminated or consolidated. The move is intended to deal with Fort Worth ISD’s declining enrollment and increasingly fraught financial situation. view article

The state’s takeover of Houston ISD is unfortunate but not surprising, and personally, I know how difficult it must have been to arrive at that decision. I’m honored to have served Texans in many ways. And while each of my elections and appointments brought with them great responsibility, it was my role as the commissioner of education that felt the most consequential and the most critical to the well-being of our citizens and the future of our great state. view article

Community members were irate Tuesday night as state education officials tried to explain the process of taking over the Houston Independent School District. State officials did not take questions about the effects such a move could have on the district, which is the largest in Texas, but did try to recruit community members to replace the existing school board. About seven minutes into the Texas Education Agency’s PowerPoint presentation on the impending HISD takeover, parents and community members erupted in shouts directed at TEA deputy commissioner Alejandro Delgado. view article

The Texas Education Agency on Tuesday will host their first in a series of community meetings since announcing a state takeover of Houston ISD. Last week, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told FOX 26 a board of managers would be selected over the next few months to govern the district. view article

The Texas Education Agency's takeover of Houston ISD now has the attention of the White House. view article

Two months after the majority of trustees in the South San Antonio Independent School District adamantly rejected a proposal to close four schools, trustees voted 5-2 to close three of those schools Wednesday evening. Athens Elementary, Kindred Elementary and Kazen Middle School will close at the end of the school year, and their staff will be reassigned to other schools. view article

Donnie Walker, U.S. history teacher at Wheatley High School in the Houston Independent School District (HISD), has a family legacy at the school. His grandparents went to Wheatley. His great-aunt graduated from the same class as Barbara Jordan, the first southern Black woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. His father and mother met at Wheatley. Since Walker joined Wheatley’s teaching staff in 2019, the school has been at the center of a political power play by the state that resulted in an announcement by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) last week that they are seizing control of the largest school district in Texas. view article

The announcement that Texas state officials are taking over leadership of Houston Independent School District later this year is drawing concerns from some community members and educators about state government overreach and the decision's impact on schools. Some experts are calling the move a major "blow" to Texas' largest public school district, marking a turning point in education policy that follows years of controversial decisions in the state, including legislation on race, parental rights and gender-affirming care. view article

Houston Independent School District trustees voted Thursday to end litigation aimed at preventing the Texas Education Agency from seizing control of the district. The more than three-year-long court battle reached the Texas Supreme Court in late 2022. The nine Republican justices ruled in January that the TEA could replace Houston ISD's elected school board members with state-appointed managers while the litigation proceeded in a lower court. view article

The announcement comes almost four years after the agency first moved to take over the district. After a prolonged legal battle and weeks of speculation, the Texas Education Agency on Wednesday confirmed it’s removing Houston Independent School District’s democratically elected school board and superintendent, effectively putting the state in charge of its largest school district. Houston ISD, with 276 schools and an enrollment of nearly 200,000 students, will now be the largest district the agency has taken over since 2000, when it first intervened in a struggling school district. view article

By next school year, the Houston Independent School District will have new leaders, but little is known yet about what exactly this will mean for students, staff and parents in the district. State Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Wednesday that he will appoint a board of managers to temporarily replace the locally elected Houston ISD board of trustees. This comes after years of scrutiny of the district by the Texas Education Agency because of repeated low student performance at Phillis Wheatley High School and allegations of misconduct by previous trustees. view article

The Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday morning plans to install state-appointed managers in place of the Houston Independent School District's elected school board. Over the past week, local and state lawmakers warned that a takeover was imminent. "This action places a board of Houstonians — who have a firm belief that all children can learn and can achieve at high levels when properly supported — this action places that kind of board in charge of the district," Education Commissioner Mike Morath told Houston Public Media. "I think it’s actually important for families to know that this decision is not a reflection of the incredible students in Houston ISD, nor is it a reflection of the hard working teachers and staff of Houston ISD. There are many students in Houston that are truly flourishing, but there are also a large number of students in Houston who have not been given the supports necessary to succeed." view article

State Representative Ron Reynolds exclusively stated to FOX 26’s Isiah Carey, that he had a conversation with Commissioner Mike Morath, and within that conversation, Morath stated that he will be meeting next week with legislators from the Houston-area to let them know that the takeover is ‘imminent.' view article

Beaumont Independent School District's school board members are hoping a new partnership will help boost their Texas Education Agency ratings. School board members are partnering with Third Future Schools to help bring their scores up, but before they do this they're cutting ties with Phalen Leadership Academies. This program was being used at Jones-Clark Elementary and Smith Middle School, which both received an F rating. view article

Houston ISD's Board of Trustees voted to end its lawsuit Thursday to stop the Texas Education Agency from possibly taking over the district. Board members were emotional about the decision, saying it was a hard one to make. “I came here to be a voice for children and always put them first in every decision, not just when it’s easy, but even when it’s hard," said Sue Deigaard. "Tonight was one of the hard ones.” view article

While Houston Independent School District awaits a decision from the Texas Education Agency regarding a potential takeover of district management, state lawmakers from the Houston area have filed legislation to discourage intervention. view article

The Seguin ISD is now one of 250 Texas school districts and education organizations who are asking the Texas Education Agency to pause its planned “refresh” of the A-F Accountability System that would “retroactively increase the bar for College, Career and Military Readiness by 47 percent. The CCMR is one of the elements that helps to determine a school or district’s overall rating. Together the school districts submitted a letter to the state including to Texas Governor Greg Abbot. view article

Iam a parent and teacher with Community Voices for Public Education, a Houston-based nonprofit rooted in the belief that our community schools are a public good, not a commodity to be sold off to the highest bidder. That is why we, along with many other Houstonians, have protested the attempted state takeover of Houston ISD for years—a dramatic assault on local control that may take place this week. At a February protest, HISD student Elizabeth Rodriguez stated, ”Instead of punishing us with a takeover, our schools should be better funded to make sure students have all the support we need and the facilities we deserve. We are not just test scores.” view article

Ever since news broke that the Texas Education Agency could potentially take over Houston ISD as early as this week, there's been no shortage of comments from educators, school administrators, and city leaders. On Saturday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo weighed in with an official statement on the controversial issue, calling the possible takeover "outrageous at best and a thinly-veiled threat to democracy at worst." view article

On the eve of an impending takeover of the Houston Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency, little was said on the topic Friday at the HISD State of the Schools luncheon in downtown Houston. Superintendent Millard House II said "uncertainty looms" regarding the state takeover, but he focused on celebrating recent improvements at Texas' largest school district - one with an enrollment of nearly 200,000 students. In the last 19 months, HISD has made academic strides reducing the number of its campuses with a D or F rating from 50 to 10. view article

At Discovery Green on Friday afternoon Houston leaders gathered to update the public on the looming potential takeover of Houston ISD and lambaste state officials' intervention in the district as drastic and ill-communicated. view article

On the eve of an impending takeover of the Houston Independent School District by the Texas Education Agency, little was said on the topic Friday at the HISD State of the Schools luncheon in downtown Houston. Superintendent Millard House II said “uncertainty looms” regarding the state takeover, but he focused on celebrating recent improvements at Texas’ largest school district — one with an enrollment of nearly 200,000 students. In the last 19 months, HISD has made academic strides reducing the number of its campuses with a D or F rating from 50 to 10. view article

The leadership of South Texas ISD cannot understand why the school district is coming in for criticism this year. The complaints have centered on the funding STISD receives, with some of the smaller public schools in the Rio Grande Valley leading the way. But, officials with the magnet school district point out that their funding model has been the same for years. view article

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath testified before the Texas House Committee on Public Education for 3 hours to address a series of issues, including teacher shortages, the STAAR test and the impact that school vouchers could have on schools in the state. view article

It's test prep season across Texas, and public school teachers are even more stressed than normal as they prepare students for the first fully online standardized tests this spring. Some of the questions look familiar. From the 5th grade science practice exam: "How many planets in the solar system are farther from the Sun than Jupiter?" view article

The Texas Education Agency tells ABC13 there are two active cases of the state taking over a school district as rumors continue to swirl that Houston Independent School District will be the third such example. Those include Shepherd and Marlin independent school districts, and Mayor Sylvester Turner has said that the TEA plans on replacing HISD's entire board, as well as Superintendent Millard House II, in the coming days with appointees of their choosing. view article

The Texas Education Agency's long-threatened takeover of HISD was not on Wednesday's Houston City Council meeting agenda, but it took up most of the discussion. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the TEA could take over Houston ISD as early as next week, according to his sources with the state legislature. view article

Mayor Sylvester Turner sounded alarms at the City Council meeting Wednesday, saying he has heard the state intends to take over Houston ISD as early as next week, the most official signal yet that the Texas Education Agency plans to seize control of the state's largest school district. “I’m talking to legislators, and what they’re saying to me is that the state intends to takeover the district, replacing the entire board, replacing the superintendent ... And they intend to do it next week," said Turner, who spent three decades as a state representative. view article

During a city council meeting Tuesday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he heard the Texas Education Agency plans to take over Houston Independent School District as soon as next week. Meanwhile, TEA officials and the head of the agency said no final decision has been made. view article

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday morning that he has been told that the Texas Education Agency plans to take over the Houston Independent School District as early as next week. The biggest school district in Texas and the agency that oversees it have been locked in a legal fight for years, with the TEA raising concerns over Houston ISD’s school board management and low scores in one high school. view article

From the Texas Capitol to the Houston City Council, policymakers are saying that the Texas Education Agency will take over the Houston Independent School District in a matter of days. Those rumors remain unconfirmed. On Tuesday, TEA head Mike Morath spoke to the House Public Education Committee. He was asked about the timeline for a potential takeover. view article

New projections from Fort Worth ISD show a drop in the percentage of third-graders meeting grade level on the upcoming state standardized reading test. Administrators told the school board Feb. 28 that 19% of third-grade students would meet grade level on the reading exam of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR. In the fall, officials estimated 25% of third-graders would meet grade level. view article