U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel rejected the district’s argument that ousting the Houston school board would disenfranchise voters.
Aliyya Swaby
Aliyya Swaby was the public education reporter for The Texas Tribune, where she worked from 2016 to 2021. Previously she worked at the hyperlocal nonprofit New Haven Independent, where she covered education, zoning and transit for two years. After graduating from Yale University in 2013, she spent a year freelance reporting in Panama on social issues affecting black Panamanian communities. She was an Education Writers Association finalist in 2017 for beat reporting and a Livingston Awards finalist in 2019 for a series on school desegregation.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Students face felony charges, expulsions as Texas schools ramp up fight against vaping
Caught off guard by the increase in teen vaping, schools are grasping every tool at hand, including expulsions and suspensions. In some districts, students can face harsh discipline and jail time for having a vape pen in their backpack.
Posted in
Public Education
Houston school district asks federal judge to put the brakes on likely state takeover
Houston ISD lawyers told a federal judge the education commissioner is exceeding his authority and asked for a preliminary injunction stopping him from booting out the elected school board of the state’s largest district.
Posted in
Public Education
State-ordered study finds STAAR not too hard for young readers
Questions about the reading and writing tests arose after some education advocates pointed to studies showing passages were written above elementary and middle schoolers’ grade levels.
Posted in
Public Education
Feds order Texas Education Agency to pay fired special education director more than $200,000
The U.S. Department of Education found that Laurie Kash’s disclosures about how the TEA awarded a contract were “contributing factors” in her termination.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas education officials face local resistance to Houston ISD board takeover
Houston ISD parents and residents made it clear Thursday night that they don’t want the state to replace their elected school board.
Posted in
Public Education
Texas education board likely to approve African American studies course in 2020
“We will be passing this,” said Pat Hardy, a Republican on the Texas State Board of Education.
Posted in
Public Education
After state takeover news, Houston ISD clams up, leaving parents and teachers scrambling for insight
The state’s announcement that it will seize control of its largest school system has been met with notable silence from Houston ISD administrators and local elected officials.
Posted inState Government
State to take over Houston ISD by replacing school board and superintendent
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath informed Houston ISD of those plans in a letter Wednesday. He also sent letters saying the state would take over Shepherd and Snyder ISDs.
Posted in
Dis-Integration
This school district has been at risk of state takeover for years. Some blame white flight.
In a 2003 lawsuit, Hearne Independent School District officials said the state’s failure to stop white students from transferring to a nearby district contributed to their academic struggles.
