When the TEA took over Houston ISD in 2023, it did so after a state investigation exposed violations of state law.

FORT WORTH, Texas — As Fort Worth ISD prepares to possibly lose local control of its schools, Houston ISD is in its third year of state oversight. 

On Wednesday, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter to the Fort Worth ISD board of trustees and Superintendent Karen Molinar informing them of his decision to appoint a board of managers, conservator and superintendent to lead the district. 

Following the 2022-2023 school year, a Fort Worth ISD campus received its fifth consecutive unacceptable academic accountability rating, which means the state is required to either take over the district or close the failing campus. Similar circumstances led the state to install a board of managers and a superintendent for Houston ISD. 

Morath has boasted significant improvements to Houston ISD since the state took over, but not everyone agrees with his assessment. 

“This is the largest academic improvement that has happened at this scale in the United States,” Morath told our sister station KHOU after announcing he would keep state oversight in place for another two years. 

“It’s unfortunate that Commissioner Morath isn’t listening to students, staff, and community members who are telling a vastly different story than Mr. Miles,” said Houston Education Association President Michelle Williams.

Could the state takeover of Houston ISD be a window to Fort Worth ISD’s future? If Morath’s letters are any indication, Fort Worth ISD may be on a very different path compared with Houston. We broke down the differences between the two letters. 


Houston ISD: Failing schools, legal trouble

In the letter Morath sent to Houston ISD leaders, he outlines several issues that informed his decision to install a board of managers, superintendent and conservator. 

According to the 2023 letter, in 2019, Wheatley High School received seven consecutive unacceptable academic accountability ratings. Plus, a special accreditation investigation concluded the district violated multiple laws and required an appointed conservator to oversee the district for multiple years. 

Both the consecutive unacceptable ratings and the appointment of a conservator for more than two years triggered mandatory state intervention. The district filed a lawsuit and secured an injunction that prevented the TEA from taking action within the district for several years. 

In that time, a second special accreditation investigation found that the district was not complying with special education requirements. 

In the years leading up to the takeover, Houston ISD was plagued with political and legal drama, according to the letter. 

“In the time since that injunction was imposed, a former Board President, the district’s chief operating officer and four district administrators either pled guilty or were indicted for illegal activity related to a bribery scheme,” Morath wrote. 

Morath also accused Houston ISD trustees of conducting chaotic board meetings and exceeding their authority. 


Fort Worth ISD: Failing campus closed, persistent underperformance

In his letter to Fort Worth ISD leaders, Morath outlined one primary issue that led to the takeover: A consistently failing campus. 

In 2023, the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak sixth-grade campus received five unacceptable ratings in a row, the threshold for triggering state intervention. Much like in Houston ISD, a lawsuit delayed TEA intervention. By the time the scores were released in 2025, the district had closed the failing campus, WFAA previously reported. 

The letter also notes district-wide concerns. During the 2022-2023 school year, 60% of Fort Worth ISD campuses received an F or a D. In the same year, the district had 8 campuses with two or more consecutive years of an unacceptable accountability rating. In 2024-2025, 20 campuses had an unacceptable rating for more than two years, the letter states. 

“Multi-year unacceptable ratings represent a school district’s most fundamental mission failure, an incomplete inability to take necessary action, and the critical steps needed to educate students,” the letter reads. 

Morath also says that just 34% of Fort Worth ISD students meet grade level, while nearly 50% of students at demographically similar Houston and Dallas ISD are on grade level. 


What’s next?

Nothing will change today, Morath said in a press conference. The TEA will post an application to its website to seek out Fort Worth residents interested in serving on the state-appointed board. 

Over the next several months, Morath said the agency will hold community meetings and evaluate applicants. 

“We’re looking for a broad group of people with a wealth of different lived experiences that can represent the district on that governing body,” Morath said. “But that are united in their belief that if we, the adults in their lives, can properly support them, all children can learn and achieve at high levels.”

The state-appointed conservator will start much earlier than the board of managers, Morath said. He will also invite Molinar to interview for the role. 

Next week, Morath will meet with the school board to hear more about the changes the district has made and its plans for the future, he said. What the district leaders say could, or could not, affect Morath’s course of action, he said. 

The state will keep control over the district until there are no more campuses that consistently receive unacceptable academic accountability ratings, Morath said. Currently, the district has 20 campuses that have received an unacceptable rating for two or more years. 

“As soon as that objective is reached, then we can start the process of revolving back to the elected board of trustees overseeing the district,” Morath said.Â