HOUSTON — TEA is facing more backlash in its takeover attempt of Houston ISD.
The ACLU, NAACP and other community groups have filed a voting and civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice against the state agency, seeking to stop the takeover.
This is different from the discrimination complaint the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice filed with the Department of Education more than two weeks ago.
The TEA takeover will remove current HISD trustees and replace them with an unelected body. That’s part of why the groups believe the takeover is unlawful.
“We have an underfunded school district that’s overperforming with a B+ average and the state says, but we gotta take you over,” Houston NAACP President Bishop James Dixon said. “This is a chilling reality, to think that in 2023, what we should be striving for is a more perfect democracy. This is now an action of autocracy."
More coverage on TEA takeover of HISD:
The ACLU said it's asking the DOJ to investigate the TEA’s actions for potential violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
“Which prevents voters from having their right to vote either denied or abridged, which we believe is happening here because their elected officials are being removed,” ACLU lawyer Ashely Harris said.
The group is also asking the DOJ to investigate the TEA for intentional discrimination under the 14th and 15th amendments.
“Because they’re specifically targeting HISD, which is majority students of color and Houstonians who are majority voters of color,” Harris said.
The ACLU said since it’s not “mandatory” for TEA Commissioner Mike Morath to take over HISD, they want the agency to drop its takeover stance or face federal consequences.
HISD would be the largest school district the TEA has taken over since 2000.
The TEA did not respond to a request for a statement.