Rep. Sylvia Garcia’s Statement on the TEA Commissioner’s Announcement that the State of Texas will take over Houston ISD

HOUSTON, TX — Yesterday, Mike Morath, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Commissioner, informed the Houston ISD that the state of Texas will be taking over the school district by replacing the board of trustees and superintendent. The potential state takeover has been looming over students, parents, and teachers in the Houston ISD for more than two years. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia issued the following statement on the matter:

"The TEA Commissioner's announcement that the state is taking over the Houston Independent School District (HISD) is an affront to our democratic process and ignores the people of Houston who voted for our board of trustees. I have many concerns about the process to replace the democratically elected board of trustees and how this will affect our students today and in the future. This is about local control and how this decision is taking power away from the taxpayers of Houston. Instead of taking over the school district, the state should be working with our educators to continue improving the quality of our public school system in Houston."

Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2018, becoming the first Latina ever to represent Texas 29th Congressional district.