The state takeover of Houston ISD will continue for two more years before the Texas Education Agency announces the timeline for the transition back to elected board members overseeing the district.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in a letter that HISD has made “tremendous” improvements in student academic performance during the first year of state intervention, as well as gains in finance, operations, special education compliance and school board governance.
However, he said the two-year extension of the state takeover through June 1, 2027, will allow HISD to build on its progress and “achieve lasting success for students” following the eventual transition to elected board oversight.
“If you think about the degree of systemic problems that existed in Houston for more than a decade, it is just proven two years is not quite enough time to see those systems completely turned around,” Morath said in an exclusive interview with the Chronicle.
Morath wrote that he would announce the timeline to transition back to elected board members on or around June 1, 2027. Once the transition back to elected oversight begins, the TEA will replace one-third of the appointed board with elected trustees every year until all nine elected trustees are seated.
State law required Morath to notify the appointed Board of Managers and elected trustees when the state takeover will end by June 1, 2025. It also allows him to extend the intervention for up to two years if he determined that “insufficient progress has been made toward improving the academic or financial performance of the district” after receiving local feedback.
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State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles’ initial contract with the Board of Managers ends Aug. 31, 2026, but he told the Chronicle last month that he plans to stay as the leader of the district throughout the takeover.
I suppose I expected this. If the results hadn’t been as good, that would be proof we need to do what we’ve been doing even harder, in the way that the justifications that used to be proffered for why we always need to spend more money on border enforcement would go: If illegal crossings go up, we need to step up our efforts and do more, while if they go down then what we’re doing is clearly working and we need to press onward. Lather, rinse, repeat. That said, now that we have touted all these gains, I’m just curious what happens if the gains level off. Would that be Mike Miles’ responsibility, or will the conclusion be that Miles has been failed by everyone around him? Have I mentioned lately that I’m happy my youngest kid is graduating this month? All the Dems in the Legislature criticize the move, and the Trib has more.