Teachers union seeks to join suit
Dueling motions filed to stop the ouster of HISD school board
Houston Independent School District’s largest teachers union and three educators filed a motion Tuesday to join a lawsuit brought by HISD’s school board, uniting with trustees who are fighting in court to stop the Texas Education Agency from stripping power from the district’s elected representatives.
The move by the Houston Federation of Teachers, a union representing about 6,500 district employees, came on the same day state officials filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing HISD’s school board “seeks a judicial escape route” from severe sanctions that “simply does not exist.”
The dueling motions mark the latest legal machinations in the battle between HISD leaders and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who announced earlier this month he plans to oust the district’s elected trustees following a state investigation into allegations of trustee misconduct and chronically poor academic scores at Wheatley High School.
Lawyers for HISD trustees argue Morath is exceeding his legal authority and violating the federal Voting Rights Act by removing power from HISD’s elected school board and appointing a replacement governance team.
They said state officials are discriminating against minority voters by only replacing elected school boards in districts with predominantly African-American and Hispanic populations, citing several recent actions by the Texas Education Agency.
“This takeover is an intentional dismantling of our school system, and it amounts to illegal disenfranchisement,” said Maxie Hollingsworth, a teacher at Red Elementary School and one of the three educator plaintiffs.
State officials argue HISD has no legal grounds for stopping Morath’s intervention, noting Texas lawmakers delegate final authority over administrative decisions to the education commissioner.
They have denied discriminating in their use of sanctions, claiming the TEA only intervenes when serious wrongdoing demands action to protect students and taxpayers.
State law mandates Morath temporarily replace HISD’s school board or close Wheatley after the campus received its seventh consecutive failing grade in August. Morath has discretion over ousting the board due to the misconduct allegations, which involve violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act and interference with vendor contracts.
The TEA’s lawyers also suggest the Voting Rights Act argument will fail because a federal judge previously ruled the Texas Education Agency’s appointment of a replacement board in
North Forest ISD did not violate the law. The 2009 ruling noted that school board ousters impact all voters in a district equally, regardless of race or ethnicity. The North Forest district since has been dissolved and absorbed into HISD.
“Despite HISD’s multifaced and creative complaint, it has failed to plead any viable legal grounds for this court to interfere with the commissioner’s discretionary oversight,” lawyers from the Texas attorney general’s office wrote.
By joining the lawsuit, the Houston Federation of Teachers and three of its members would provide the voters that likely are necessary to bring a Voting Rights Act claim. HISD, as an entity, likely can’t argue the violation because it lacks “standing,” a legal requirement that an individual be harmed by an action before filing a lawsuit.
HFT leaders argue state officials improperly are seizing power from AfricanAmerican and Hispanic voters in HISD, who are a strong majority of residents in the district.
In their motion, the union’s lawyers also claim TEA officials are retaliating against the district because HISD leaders refused to implement the agency’s preferred policies and “the decision to reject this privatization initiative was made by people of color and their elected leaders.” The lawyers said they believe the North Forest ruling will not apply in this case because HISD has single-member voting districts, while North Forest’s entire board was elected to at-large positions.
A hearing on HISD’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop state action is set for Dec. 5. State officials have not formalized their plans to remove the elected school board — a final review process is ongoing — though Morath is not expected to change course.
A replacement board likely would not take power until March 2020 at the earliest. TEA officials are soliciting applications for HISD residents interested in joining the board, with an initial deadline of Dec. 6.