Members of the Houston ISD board of trustees opted to table the first reading of a proposed revision to board policy at an Aug. 18 special meeting that was related to charter school partnerships. The item was tabled following an outcry from some parents and the district's largest teacher's union.
The proposed change would give parents at an HISD campus the ability to launch a "community-initiated plan" with the support of at least one parent of at least 60% of students enrolled at the school, creating an avenue for a charter school to take over operation of the school.
Charter school contract applications must receive approval by the board. The proposed change would give parents the authority to initiate those partnerships and require them to be implemented if the 60% threshold is reached and the charter meets other requirements related to student performance. Parents would also get the ability to veto partnerships that are proposed by the district.
The Houston Federation of Teachers hosted a news conference Aug. 15 to lay out concerns, including that it would incentivize charter schools to target district schools in low-income communities of color, removing power from district leaders to guide those schools.
