More than three years after the Texas Education Agency took control of Houston ISD, a commission comprising elected officials and academics says the takeover has weakened the district’s finances, driven educators out of classrooms, strained relationships with families, and stripped local communities of a voice in their schools.
In an 81-page report, the Commission on the HISD Takeover stated that the state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles and his sweeping New Education System reforms “diminished, degraded, and destroyed” the school district.
Drawing on a year of public hearings and testimony from teachers (both current and former district employees and parents, the commission pointed to issues HISD is facing, exacerbated by an erosion of local oversight. It also called for legislative changes that would make state takeovers more difficult to initiate and give communities greater authority over when they end.
What did the report find?
The report focused on five findings, mainly:
- The state takeover “diminished” the curriculum: Per the report, HISD focused on test preparation over learning time, failed to make appropriate accommodations for special education students, and limited students’ access to libraries and books.
- A dismantling of relationships: The report claimed that HISD “severed bonds” among students, educators, and families. “This, in turn, eroded the relationships that sustain healthy school communities, which provoked profound grief and loss over schools that became unrecognizable,” the report reads.
- Demeaning educators: Referring to “intensive surveillance in classrooms,” the report claimed that teachers were subjected to degradation by HISD management and to an environment characterized by “fear and disrespect”.
- Destruction of democratic governance: The authors of the report observed that by installing a state-appointed superintendent and board of managers, the takeover removed local representation and, in turn, “meaningful opportunities for community engagement and constrained families’ influence over decisions affecting their children’s schools.”
- Degradation of HISD finances: Per the commission, the takeover led to “weakened financial controls”, including wasteful spending and unmonitored conflicts of interest.
“Schools have been closed, experienced teachers and administrators have been pushed out and unfairly fired, and the enrollment continues to drop,” said state rep. Lauren Ashley Simmons, who is also a co-chair within the commission, during a press conference on Oct. 8. “This takeover was never meant to cater to our kids.”…