HOUSTON – The Texas Education Agency is recommending that the Houston Independent School District school board be replaced by a state-appointed governing team.
HISD’s school board has been under investigation for months regarding allegations of misconduct and violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
School board officials have until Aug. 15 to respond to the preliminary report put out by the TEA.
DOCUMENT: Read TEA's preliminary report
The alleged violations
The TEA’s investigation centers around alleged violations by some school board members to bring back former Superintendent Abe Saavedra and oust current interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan.
School board response
“The board needs to have its day in court. It needs to have the opportunity to be able to respond to some of the findings," school board president Diana Davila said.
Houston Federation of Teachers response
“It's sad and frustrating for our school district,” HFT president Zeph Capo said. “It's another year ... another August ... we're going to start with more destabilization ... with more unknowns.”
TEA response
“We can confirm TEA has sent a preliminary report to HISD. Because the investigation is still ongoing and to allow HISD time to respond, we cannot comment further.”
Has the state stepped in before?
“This has been done successfully before in El Paso and others places," Sen. Paul Bettencourt said.
What’s next
The HISD School Board has until Aug. 15 to respond to the report. Davila said they will meet with their legal team to figure out how to proceed.
The TEA’s investigation is ongoing, but they are expected to release their final report in the coming weeks.