Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Consider
TEA’s Quest to Take Over Houston ISD
The Texas Supreme Court (TSC) announced (Oct. 2) that it has agreed to consider the TEA’s appeal that seeks to dissolve prior judicial orders by lower courts that have kept the agency from enforcing the education commissioner’s decision to take over Houston ISD.
The TSC set oral arguments, likely via videoconference, to start at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27 — with attorneys for HISD and the state afforded 20 minutes each to present their arguments.
- Note: The TSC makes video webcasts of oral arguments available for on-demand archived viewing, and livestreams oral arguments in selected cases (info here).
A state judge last January granted HISD’s motion to issue a temporary injunction blocking the enforcement of Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s order — announced in November 2019 — to replace HISD’s elected board with an appointed board and to appoint a superintendent to the district.
The TEA — in a move vigorously opposed by HISD — is specifically asking the TSC to dissolve an order issued last April by an Austin appeals court that prevented the takeover by the TEA of HISD pending the outcome of the TEA’s appeal to that court on various pre-trial matters.
The final ruling by the nine-member TSC will likely come in the form of a written opinion to be issued at a later date.
(Access the case history documents here.)