Appeals court: TEA takeover of Houston ISD trustees must remain on hold

The Texas Third Court of Appeals has ruled that a Travis County District Court was correct to temporarily block the Texas Education Agency's effort to take over Houston ISD.

In the 2-1 decision, the court found that because the agency did not follow its process for seeking to impose a board of managers in place of the board of trustees, the district has a viable case to argue in court.

HISD "has a probable right to the relief sought because Appellants’ proposed actions are not authorized by the Education Code," the court wrote in the Dec. 30 ruling.

The appeals court previously ordered the Travis County court injunction order to remain in place in April while the case underwent the appeals process.

In a statement, the TEA wrote: “While the Agency is disappointed with the split ruling from the 3rd Court of Appeals, this is only a temporary setback. TEA intends to appeal this decision to the Texas Supreme Court. We are confident that the Texas Supreme Court will uphold the Commissioner’s legally-authorized actions to improve the educational outcomes for the 200,000-plus public school students of Houston.”

The TEA is already engaged in a separate appeal to the Texas Supreme Court over related issues in the case. Oral arguments in that case were held in October.