As early as this month, the Texas Supreme Court might render a verdict in the case of Texas Education Agency v. Houston Independent School District.
Changes to the system that penalizes districts with underperforming schools are one of essential factors to be taken into account. The Texas Education Association (TEA) contends that the legislative amendments strengthen their position and that the agency should be permitted to choose a board of governors in the position of the democratically elected school board.
Houston-based Republican State Senator Paul Bettencourt wrote the legislation that makes that feasible in 2021.
In October, the state supreme court heard oral arguments. A court spokeswoman stated that a decision would be made by June.
In a battle that has lasted for years and may change who runs the largest school district in Texas, Texas Education Agency as well as the Houston Independent School District attorneys, made arguments before the state’s top court on Thursday morning.
In 2019, TEA commissioner Mike Morath attempted to appoint a group of managers to substitute the locally elected school board. He cited poor academic performance at one school in a district with 280 campuses at the time, as well as unethical behavior on the part of the HISD school board, as the main reasons for the takeover. The TEA also attempted to prevent the school board from selecting a new superintendent.
In court on Thursday, state assistant solicitor general Kyle Highful argued on behalf of TEA that “HISD pupils have yet to receive assistance.”
HISD filed a lawsuit to block the takeover, claiming the agency’s methods violated due process and went beyond what was allowed by state law. Additionally, the district asserted that TEA’s inquiry into the section had a predetermined outcome.
“Across Texas, school board members are — as this court knows — the fundamental way people interact with democracy,” David Jay Campbell of O’Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo told justices on behalf of HISD. “That is why the legislature has said that these elected officials, community members, should govern and oversee school districts.”
While the lawsuit is in court, the takeover has been put on hold, and HISD now has a new superintendent and a board of trustees mostly made up of new members.
Duncan Klussman is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Houston’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies School.
“They are the key body that provides the overall leadership to the system and is the public’s voice in running the system,” he said. “The difference is that the elected school board has been chosen by the public that makes up that district. The board of managers is still citizens from within the school system, but the education commissioner appoints it.”
To protect the agency’s authority and stop districts facing takeovers from using delaying strategies, TEA has argued in court documents that the courts should decide in its favor.
“We tried to move this expeditiously,” Campbell argued. “We have not delayed this in any way.”
The TEA has also cited a tumultuous HISD board meeting in 2018, where trustees unexpectedly decided to fire the superintendent. The agency claimed the board was disorganized and failed to serve kids by quoting several trustees.
“The current board is a different board than the one that began in the lawsuit,” HISD board president Judith Cruz said in a written statement.
The day before TEA commissioner Mike Morath disclosed the takeover intentions, she was elected to the board.
“I can’t speculate what the outcome will be after tomorrow’s hearing,” she wrote. “I know the board will continue to do the work we were elected to do. We are focused on student outcomes, and whatever the result of the case is, that is what the focus should always be.”
Bridget Wade, a trustee for HISD for the first time, ousted Anne Sung last year. Wade said that she did not object to TEA’s behavior.
“I think they didn’t have a choice at the time,” she said. “I think it’s maybe time for us to be able to prove ourselves without the oversight of the TEA. But again, I’ll leave that to the courts to decide.”
TEA and other trustees declined to comment on the situation.
Students at Wheatley High School in HISD did not perform at levels judged acceptable by TEA for years before the proposed takeover.
Wheatley earned a passing grade during the period when the takeover was stalled. For the 2021–22 academic year, HISD achieved a B overall from TEA. In court, TEA cited Kashmere High School, another HISD institution that was not given a passing grade the previous academic year.
Assistant solicitor general Highful responded that Wheatley High School’s increased performance “doesn’t have any legal relevance” when Justice Jane Bland questioned whether it was relevant to the case.
The district’s high overall ranking, he continued, is also unimportant.
“The commissioner’s view is that, ‘Yes, HISD is a large school district, and what that means is you have some very wealthy, very high-performing schools up here that are doing great, but you also have schools like Wheatley and Kashmere that struggle year after year,'” High said. “And if you’re a student at one of these low-performing schools, it doesn’t help you to know that elsewhere in the district, there’s a school doing great. And the commissioner believes that every student should have access to quality education.”
Updates to the state education code led to Kashmere High receiving a not-rated mark rather than a failing one. During the 2021 state legislative session, Senate Bill 1365 was approved. It modifies the TEA’s system of accountability for rating schools.
It’s an essential factor the Texas Supreme Court will consider while deciding the case. In court, TEA contended that the revisions would make it more transparent and easier to understand whether the agency’s activities were legal. The new law, according to HISD, makes it more difficult for TEA to defend specific actions.
Zeph Capo said that the education code already permitted “draconian takeovers” that frequently “disrupt” district operations. He is the leader of Texas AFT, the state’s teachers’ organization.
According to a court official, the justices would probably announce their ruling between December and July.
