HISD delays congress decision

Houston ISD trustees delayed a vote Thursday on dissolving the district’s relationship with its Student Congress, urging administrators to attempt a reconciliation with the group following a breakdown in communication over the past few years.

HISD board members voted 8-1 to table the administration’s request to sever ties with the group and form a new student advisory board organized by district leaders. Trustees ordered administrators to come back no later than August with an update on any progress made to resolve issues with the student group.

Multiple trustees expressed unease with shunning student advocates, while also acknowledging the unfortunate strife between HISD administrators and the Congress.

Administrators have said the relationship has been irrevocably damaged after adult alumni exercised undue influence over the group, while Student Congress supporters argued HISD leaders are misleading board members in an attempt to quash their voice. The Student Congress does not have any formal decision-making authority, but it is designed to serve as a leading advocate for the district’s nearly 200,000 students.

“This is just a very, very difficult situation, but I think there is a beautiful learning opportunity to figure out something that wouldn’t involve dissolving a student group,” trustee Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca said.

The back-and-forth illustrated the lack of strong ties between Stu

dent Congress, which has been decimated in recent years by low interest and bouts of in-fighting, and the HISD administration, which has not invested significant time and support in the student group. The Student Congress has not held a strong presence in HISD during the past few years.

Originally formed in 2014, the Student Congress’ membership tumbled in recent years as its initial founders graduated and district leaders did not prioritize the body.

In 2020, a few students said they sought reforms in Student Congress but were

banned from the group by an original founder, who now attends college overseas.

As the banished students worked with administrators to resolve the conflict, the alumni sought to reconstitute Student Congress. About a dozen HISD high schoolers have been meeting in recent weeks, mapping out plans for re-establishing its presence.

“Student Congress has worked to bring an authentic student voice to HISD for years, and it will continue to do so in the coming years,” said Heidi Chapin, a sophomore at the Houston Academy for International Studies.

Administrators, however, said they found the continued

involvement of the alumni “alarming,” requiring action.

“This suppression of student voice has impeded HISD students from engaging and collaborating with district leadership,” district administrators said in a statement prior to Thursday’s meeting. “It is not possible for the district to engage and collaborate with the Student Congress when an adult exerting control over the organization is prohibiting students from doing so.”

District leaders also argued the organization does not represent many HISD high schools, noting that its membership historically featured students from predominantly high-achieving

campuses. Administrators hoped to set up an advisory group with representation from each of the district’s nearly 50 schools, but trustees postponed that effort Thursday.

Trustee Sue Deigaard, who proposed delaying the vote on splitting ties with Student Congress, said she did not understand why the district needed to create a second advisory group before attempting to repair the relationship with Student Congress.

“I just think there is a missed opportunity to find a common ground between the two groups,” Deigaard said.