WaPo: “In a controversial and aggressive move, the Texas Education Agency will take over management of the Houston Independent School District, the state’s largest, following poor ratings for at least 50 schools in the system and a four-year legal battle.
Agency Commissioner Mike Morath wrote a letter to the Houston district’s board of trustees Wednesday morning announcing the takeover, which will include the appointment of a new superintendent and a board of managers to replace current trustees, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Washington Post. The appointments will not take effect until June 1, per the letter.
“Ultimately, what caused Houston to come across this threshold was [that] they operate a number of campuses that for years have lacked the necessary structural support from the district such that they see chronic low performance,” Morath said in an interview Wednesday. “A board of managers of Houstonians is being appointed to serve students as effectively as possible and to be laser focused on meeting the needs of kids.””