Houston, Texas – Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is calling on the federal government to intervene to stop the Texas Education Agency takeover of the Houston Independent School District.
She release a statement that read, in part, “As the State of Texas continues its onslaught of attacks on public school institutions, I am particularly outraged by the actions taken by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to take over the Houston Independent School District (HISD). The plight of schools and the educational future in Houston, as well as throughout the entire State of Texas, is particularly dire and in need of federal oversight and intervention.”
Recommended Videos
In 2019, Texas started moving to take over HISD following allegations of misconduct by school trustees, including inappropriate influencing of vendor contracts, and chronically low academic scores at Wheatley High.
The district sued to stop the intervention, and after years of court action, in January, the Supreme Court of Texas issued a mandate and reversed a lower court’s ruling that blocked the takeover and gave the TEA the green light to move forward under the authority currently offered by state law.
Also, under current state law, the TEA commissioner, who is appointed by the governor, has to take action when a campus has five consecutive years of unacceptable ratings. The law allows only two remedies: closing a campus or appointing a board of managers.
Congresswoman Lee, along with 26 other members of Congress, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and the secretary of the Department of Education to ask for a federal intervention on the basis that the takeover is a violation of the civil rights of the students of HISD, a news release from the congresswoman stated.
“It is imperative that there be some form of federal intervention immediately to prevent a takeover of HISD because of the detrimental impact on a predominantly minority school district that is a recipient of major federal funding. The Biden Administration has a commitment to protecting and growing a strong public school system in America. I believe this is impacting that commitment and undermining the public-school education of America’s children. We need help in Texas,” Lee’s statement said.