Today I Learned there is such a thing as a “home rule school district”, and some HISD parents want to form one.
A small West Houston group wants to create its own charter-governed district within the state’s largest school district, Houston ISD, as a way to return autonomy to the community.
The idea, spearheaded by about 20 people, would take advantage of a state law that allows for a “home-rule school district.” The group believes it would allow HISD’s Westside High School feeder pattern in the Energy Corridor to choose curriculum and learning methods outside of state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles’ mandates. They also said it would help area schools keep qualified teachers through “alternative, locally determined methods,” according to a June 8 statement from the West Houston Independence Movement.
The idea arises amid stringent reforms and classroom teaching methods enforced by Houston ISD’s state-appointed leadership. Such methods include the heavy use of timers in classrooms and district-determined curriculum with material generated by artificial intelligence. The district’s more than 270 schools have varying levels of autonomy to choose how instruction occurs.
Parents at West Briar Middle School, in the Westside feeder pattern, previously signed a petition to protest staff departures and culture at the school. That petition was followed by a protest in April.
Anna Heinzelmann, a Westside High School parent, said a home-rule school district would give the area more autonomy. They do not want to break away from HISD or change its boundaries, she said.
“Because we are pretty far from literally any other facilities in HISD. The next Sunrise Center (district-backed resource center) is about 20 to 30 minutes, depending where you are in the westside panhandle,” she said. “And we want more local control over staffing, funding, programming, facilities, so that maybe we can actually improve the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems and have that on during the day when most of them are breaking.”
State law indicates home-rule school districts have the powers of school districts and boards of trustees, including taxing authority.
The trustees would appoint a charter commission to frame a home-rule school district charter. This happens if the board receives a petition requesting the appointment of a charter commission signed by at least 5% of the registered voters of the district, or if at least two-thirds of the board adopt a resolution ordering that a charter commission be appointed. Fifteen residents would serve on the commission.
The proposed charter would be submitted to the Secretary of State, who will determine whether the proposed charter has a change in governance of the school district. If it does, the board of trustees will be notified, and the board will submit the proposed change to the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Following submission of the charter to the state education commissioner, the district’s board will order an election on the charter.
It is not clear how and if a home-rule school district charter could apply to a portion of the district and its potential effects on board representation and governance.
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The home-rule school district law draws concerns even among takeover-opponents seeking more autonomy for schools.
Ruth Kravetz, with Community Voices for Public Education and a vocal opponent of the takeover, said she understands why west Houston parents are “rightfully concerned about the harm that the takeover is doing to the communities they live in.”
“I understand how people think this is an easy solution, but it solves the problem for a moment in time and then creates more problems,” she said. “It solves the problem for the individual, but not for the city as a whole… The takeover is harming kids. If they separate, it will still be harming kids. And all that happens is those who are most negatively impacted by the bad policies… there’ll be no change for them.”
As I said, I’d never heard of this before. The law was passed in 1995, when there was a lot of “education reform” stuff going on. The article doesn’t mention any existing home rule districts, though there has been some talk in the past about it in Dallas. I don’t know what the pros and cons might be, but philosophically I’m aligned with Ruth Kravetz here. I sympathize with the complaint these folks have about the Sunrise Centers – the previous wraparound services model was much better – but I’m getting uncomfortable “suburban flight” vibes from this. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe there’s more to this than meets the eye, but I’d need to be strongly persuaded otherwise. For now, pending significant new information, I’m deeply skeptical.