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It looks like Houston ISD was just the first of many. The Texas Education Agency has announced that it will be taking over the Connelly, Lake Worth, and Beaumont Independent School Districts after schools in those districts received multiple failing grades under the state’s rating system.
Current state law allows the TEA to intervene in districts where one or more schools receive five consecutive failing grades. According to reports, the TEA plans to completely replace each district’s school board with a state-appointed board of managers.
The decision is now being praised by local officials, including State Representative and congressional candidate Briscoe Cain, who said: “I’m happy—it’s a good thing. Texans shouldn’t have to settle for mediocrity in the classroom. Texas families want schools that work, not mediocrity from educrats.”
He went on to say that while the ideal situation is more local control over schools, state takeover is a necessary last resort in cases like this. “The education and future of our children is a matter of statewide importance,” he said. “So when local government actors have a pattern of failing families, the state has a duty to step in.”
Cain also pointed to the failings of these districts as another example of why school choice is so important. He says that these districts haven’t faced much competition, so they’ve become complacent. He—along with many other supporters of school choice—believes the new program will fix that.
