The Texas Education Agency will extend its takeover of the Houston Independent School District by two years, to June 1, 2027, according to a Monday announcement. The high-profile conservatorship of the state's largest school district began in the summer of 2023.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s decision to continue the takeover comes despite significant school performance improvement reported by the district in the first year of the takeover.
In the 2023-24 school year, HISD students performed better than expected on the state standardized assessment. Preliminary data showed students in grades 3-8 and at the high school level districtwide had “one of the highest years of academic growth the district has ever experienced.”
By summer 2024, 55 district schools had improved from a D or F rating to an A or B — including Wheatley High School, whose poor performance had partly prompted the takeover at its get-go. Wheatley, which Morath had said received "consecutive unacceptable academic accountability ratings” between 2011 and 2019, earned a B in 2024. Districtwide, the number of "A" and "B" rated schools increased by 82%, from 93 in 2023 to 170 in 2024, according to the latest data from HISD.
However, the district still received a "C" grade overall from TEA in 2023, which launched a new accountability rating rubric that school districts in the state say made it harder to meet standards. Over 120 districts joined lawsuits against TEA, which delayed the release of the 2022-23 accountability ratings until this April and still has 2023-24 ratings on hold.
Districts suing TEA argue that Morath has "no legal authority to retroactively issue ratings based on standards adopted after a school year ends, thereby depriving them of an opportunity to improve their grades," per court documents.
Despite HISD's self-reported gains, TEA said in its Monday announcement that while the district improved its special education services, finances and overall operations, "continued efforts are essential to strengthen student support systems, sustain strong academic outcomes and meet the three established exit criteria."
Those criteria include: no school campuses receiving unacceptable grades multiple years in a row, compliance with special education requirements, and a school board that focuses on students.
The takeover has so far included the launch of a New Education System initiative — initially implemented in 85 out of 274 schools targeted for wholesale, systemic reform — rather than incremental changes as sometimes seen in state school system takeovers.
In the 2024-25 school year, 130 schools were designated as NES schools.
“With the changes made in the last two years, Houston ISD is well on its way to being a district where all of its schools provide students with the educational opportunities that will allow them to access the American Dream,” said Morath in a Tuesday statement. “Ultimately, two years has not been enough time to fix district systems that were broken for decades."
