Bianca Seward/Houston Public Media
Samantha Suing, a student at T.H. Rogers Middle School in Houston ISD, holds up a sign during a protest on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
Roughly 20 parents and students gathered early Thursday morning at Houston ISD’s Lantrip Elementary to kick off a day of protest against the ongoing state takeover of the school district.
It’s the second “sickout” orchestrated by the education advocacy group Community Voices for Public Education. The group advertised the event for weeks and asked HISD students to call out sick Thursday to protest the “harmful state takeover.” Parents and students at the Lantrip rally held handmade posters with phrases like, “Our kids are not your experiment,” and “Respect my teachers Mike Miles,” a reference to HISD’s state-appointed superintendent.
Samantha Suing, a student at T.H. Rogers Middle school, held a poster she made that read “D is for Diploma not Depression.”
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The group also used the opportunity to protest against the ramped-up enforcement of federal immigration laws in Houston. Community Voices for Public Education helped coordinate a rally earlier this month at Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center to call for the release of Sam Houston student Mauro Henriquez from detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
RELATED: Texas state leaders target school walkouts as students rally for Houston teen detained by ICE
Organizers say thousands of students participated in last year’s sickout event and they expect a similar turnout this year. Kylie Mavris, a student organizer with the group, reports students from approximately 90 schools pledged to stay home.
Houston ISD did not respond to requests for comment.
Community Voices for Public Education has been a longtime vocal critic of Miles, who was appointed by the Texas Education Agency in 2023, and the instructional reforms he has initiated in schools throughout the district.
While the reforms have led to improved standardized test scores among HISD students, they also have prompted pushback from families and educators while coinciding with widespread staffing turnover at district campuses.
Bianca Seward/Houston Public Media
Signs are displayed during a protest at Houston ISD’s Lantrip Elementary on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
“[The students] want to see a change in leadership,” Mavris said. “They want to see Mike Miles gone and they want to see the [New Education System] curriculum be abandoned because it’s not working for them. A lot of these students need [an] education that’s going to work for them because it’s driving out students that are already at risk for not wanting to go to school.”
They say they hope this protest will bring renewed attention to their cause.
“Whenever [students] go to the school board meetings, because a lot of these students are showing up week after week, they’re not being heard,” Mavris said.
Two Durham Elementary parents at Thursday morning’s rally told Houston Public Media they’re discouraged by the direction their school and the district are headed.
At the start of the school year, Durham Elementary and 16 other schools, including Lantrip, were designated schools of “focus.” The district has since made several changes at Durham including teacher reassignments and curriculum changes.
RELATED: Durham Elementary teachers reassigned to home duty after curriculum changes by Houston ISD
Jocelyn Compton is a mother of two students at Durham and called the recent changes “disheartening.”
Bianca Seward/Houston Public Media
Houston ISD parents hold up signs during a protest at Lantrip Elementary on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.
“Our kids have had multiple teachers since the start of the school year [who] quit,” Compton said. “They’re each on their third teacher in different grade levels. I can’t imagine what it’s like teaching there.”
Neely Stuart says her first-grade daughter at Durham has also had three different teachers lead her classroom this year and says she is now “bored” in her classes. Stuart adds the latest teacher is new to the profession.
“She’s learning how to teach a class,” Stuart said. “And we had a great teacher before and so [my daughter] sees the difference and so she’s not happy because she can tell things are different and things are changing.”
Stuart said she doesn’t believe that Miles is listening to the community, but thinks its message is still spreading.
“Every time we get out here, every time we speak to somebody new, somebody is listening,” Stuart said. “Whether that’s from Houston or from all around the nation. We’re just trying to show Houstonians what is actually happening in their own backyard.”