The Texas Education Agency (TEA) last year moved to take over four school districts after six campuses received failing grades for five consecutive years, triggering a state mandate that allows the education commissioner to close schools or replace locally elected leadership.
The six campuses share striking similarities. Between 80% and 97% of students come from low-income households, far above the state average. Black and Hispanic students make up nearly all enrolled children, and large portions of students are considered at high risk of dropping out.
District interventions
Under a 2015 accountability law, Education Commissioner Mike Morath must intervene when a school earns five straight F ratings. Since taking office in 2016, Morath has ordered two campus closures and seven district takeovers, arguing that persistent failure reflects ineffective governance that denies students a quality education.
Morath announced plans to replace school boards and appoint new leadership in Fort Worth, Beaumont, Connally, and Lake Worth. Beaumont and Connally each had two campuses that met the takeover threshold. Morath said the districts failed to make effective changes and showed widespread academic underperformance beyond the trigger schools.
Critics cite poverty, inequality
Critics argue the accountability system disproportionately targets districts serving low-income Black and Hispanic students while overlooking deeper inequities tied to poverty, segregation, and limited resources. Connally ISD Superintendent Jill Bottelberghe said many students face housing instability, transportation barriers, or must care for themselves at home.
“Not everybody gets a hot breakfast and mom taking them to school,” said Bottelberghe.
Additionally, students of color face disciplinary attacks on their natural hairstyles. Most have endured lessons that downplay or ignore their history. Many have reported incidents of overt racism.
“What good is it to have moderately improved reading levels that come from a state takeover when the children are being called the N-word every day and cannot have a peaceful environment in which they
Andrew Hairston, director of Texas Appleseed’s Education Justice Project
learn and seek to grow?”
“What good is it to have moderately improved reading levels that come from a state takeover when the children are being called the N-word every day and cannot have a peaceful environment in which they learn and seek to grow?” said Andrew Hairston, director of Texas Appleseed’s Education Justice Project.
Differing conclusions
TEA officials maintain that the A–F system fairly measures academic outcomes. An F rating means at least 65% of tested students scored below grade level. While social factors matter, agency leaders say chronic academic failure requires intervention.
Houston ISD, taken over in 2023, is cited by TEA as proof that state control can raise test scores.
Critics counter that teacher turnover, community distrust, and sustainability concerns remain unresolved. National research shows that takeovers most often affect high-poverty districts, with mixed academic results.