When then-state Rep. Steve Allison sat down with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath for the first time in 2019, he didn\u2019t ease into the conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The San Antonio Republican delivered a blunt critique of the state\u2019s standardized testing system, taking aim at the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness tests and the A-F accountability ratings, which <\/a>Morath had championed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, center, walks with Milken Educator Awards Vice President Jennifer Fuller, left, ahead of an assembly at Howard Norman Elementary School in Hutto on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n \u201cI took off and really hammered my opposition to the STAAR test and to the A-F accountability system\u00a0\u2014 I think it\u2019s truly unfair and wasn\u2019t a true measurement\u00a0\u2014 and hit pretty hard, forgetting at the time that those are his babies,\u201d recalled Allison, a former school board president from Alamo Heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morath listened and smiled. But Allison could tell the education commissioner was set on the accountability system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, Morath charmed the legislator. That exchange set the tone for a relationship that illustrates Morath\u2019s political staying power. The data-driven education chief has become one of the most influential and polarizing figures in Texas, earning the trust of Republican leaders who rely on him as an authority on education policy.<\/p>\n State Rep. Steve Allison, R-San Antonio, state Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, and state Rep. Ken King, R-Pampa, listen to testimony from Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath during the Texas House Committee on Public Education with an update about House Bill 3 at the Texas Capitol, Monday, Oct., 28, 2019. [Stephen Spillman for Statesman]<\/p>\n Stephen Spillman\/for Statesman<\/p>\n Appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December 2015<\/a>, Morath has served longer than any other education commissioner in 50 years, overseeing a system that educates more than 5 million students. His tenure has spanned a period of upheaval for Texas schools: Hurricane Harvey<\/a>, the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> and two of the deadliest school shootings in state history in Santa Fe<\/a> and Uvalde<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Those who know Morath says he feels called to the work of improving public schools. He often casts public education in spiritual terms, describing students as \u201csouls\u201d and teachers as an \u201carmy of angels.\u201d The rhetoric has become a defining feature of his leadership, mirroring Texas conservatives’ efforts to bring Christian values more explicitly into public schools.<\/p>\n In his decade at the Texas Education Agency, Morath has drawn criticism for expanding the agency\u2019s reach into local school systems,<\/a> often in ways that have intensified debates over who should control public education. The agency has grown under his leadership from about 800 employees in 2016 to 1,450 this year, and the legislature has broadened TEA\u2019s authority over state assessments, instructional materials and what teachers can do in their classrooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n The result is a public school system where local leaders must navigate a complex web of state mandates, incentives and oversight.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n After years of political battles, the 48-year-old commissioner is resolute that his most hotly debated decisions were necessary to improve student learning and expand opportunities for children.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work is sometimes difficult and often takes years to unfold, especially in order to have a sizeable impact on the roughly 5.5 million public school students around the state,\u201d said\u00a0Morath, who declined to be interviewed but answered questions via email.<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: Q&A: Mike Morath reflects on 10 years as education commissioner<\/a><\/p>\n Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, Mike Morath, gives input during a roundtable discussion about safety in Texas schools at the Texas State Capitol on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, in Austin, Texas. (Ana Ramirez\/Austin American-Statesman\/TNS)<\/p>\n Ana Ramirez\/TNS<\/p>\n An unlikely education commissioner<\/p>\n Morath followed a nontraditional path to become Texas\u2019 public schools chief. He built and sold a software company, briefly taught high school computer science and served less than five years on the Dallas Independent School District board before Abbott tapped him as commissioner.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Although Morath wasn\u2019t the first commissioner without extensive experience in the classroom or as a superintendent, his appointment was greeted with skepticism by educators who had hoped to see a veteran school leader in the role.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA man that spent one semester teaching a computer science course is running everything,\u201d said Ruth Kravetz, co-founder of Houston-based advocacy group Community Voices for Public Education. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like making me head plumber of the state of Texas because I\u2019ve seen plumbing.\u201d<\/p>\n In a January 2025 episode of The Strategerist, a podcast<\/a> produced by the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Morath described his career trajectory as shaped by a broader sense of purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fascinating, because you don\u2019t know why the Lord has you on the meandering path that you have,\u201d Morath said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morath grew up in Garland, northeast of Dallas, after his family moved there from a coal-mining town in Virginia. Before the move, his mother contacted the TEA for help finding a \u201cgreat school,\u201d he told Texas senators during his 2017 confirmation hearing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n After some prodding, someone at TEA pointed his mother to Garland\u00a0ISD, then a 42,000-student district with six high schools, where nearly 40% of students were Hispanic or Black and 30% were low income.<\/p>\n Morath attended Garland High School, where he analyzed data for the football team. He studied finance at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he joined the historically Black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha and helped establish volunteer programs at Anacostia Middle School in a predominantly Black neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n After earning his degree in 2\u00bd years, he returned to Garland in 1997 and launched an unsuccessful tech company. He later joined\u00a0Minute Menu Systems, a software management company, as a partner. He sold his share in 2011 and started Morath Investments,\u00a0 a small investment portfolio of real estate, oil and gas holdings.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n His only teaching experience was a months-long stint teaching an advanced computer science class at Garland High School, where he was recruited as a last-minute replacement after a teacher abruptly resigned.<\/p>\n Morath\u2019s view of education was shaped by his experiences as a volunteer. In 2006, he began mentoring students through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. As Morath tells the story, he decided to run for the Dallas school board after his 16-year-old \u201clittle brother\u201d struggled to fill out a job application for\u00a0Braum\u2019s, a local ice cream chain.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can we let this happen? How can I personally let this happen?\u201d Morath said on The Strategerist podcast. \u201cSo, I sold my software company and ran for the school board because I never wanted that to happen to any of my brothers and sisters ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n On the Dallas ISD board, he represented a section of North Dallas surrounding the affluent enclave of Highland Park<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n When he took his seat as a trustee, he\u00a0already had clear ideas about how to fix education. He kept whiteboards in his home office filled with notes from his research on school improvement, said Miguel Solis, who served with Morath on the Dallas ISD board and is now president of the Dallas-based education nonprofit Commit Partnership.\u00a0<\/p>\n Solis described Morath as a problem solver who immerses himself in research and data. His 2011 Dallas ISD campaign website listed seven education policy books \u201cfor the policy wonk, or insomniac.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe does not like knowing that there are kids out there who aren\u2019t getting the best experience and education that they could get,\u201d Solis said. \u201cHe has been true to that from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, center, walks with Milken Educator Awards Vice President Jennifer Fuller, right, ahead of an assembly at Howard Norman Elementary School in Hutto on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n A moral mission\u00a0\u2014 and a governing philosophy<\/p>\n Morath had long felt called to serve children. In 2007, he traveled to southeast India with the Addison Rotary Club, bringing supplies and helping set up clean water systems for schools serving orphans and students with special needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In a blog <\/a>documenting the trip, Morath praised the schools for providing housing and education to children he said would otherwise be homeless. They could have served more children if they had the funds, he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEach of these facilities does nothing short of God\u2019s work, every day,\u201d Morath wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Morath would come to view education not just as public policy but as a moral obligation.\u00a0<\/p>\n He met his wife-to-be on a mission trip to Mexico, where both volunteered to provide medical care to orphaned children. They now have two sons and two daughters.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n As head of the TEA, Morath still frequently invokes religion to describe his work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe all have a stake in this,\u201d he said during the 2023 summit of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative Austin-based think tank. \u201cThis is the future of our country, and we have a moral obligation to meet the needs of these wonderful little creatures.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Morath\u2019s tenure as commissioner has coincided with a push by conservative Texas legislators to embed Christian values in public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The state-backed Bluebonnet reading curriculum for elementary schools has drawn sharp criticism for including Bible stories<\/a>. The curriculum is optional but cash-strapped districts can receive additional funding for adopting it<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the 2023 TPPF summit, Morath reminded attendees that \u201cwe are a fallen people. This is part of our story over the last 5,000 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That philosophy also shapes how he views a teacher\u2019s responsibility to students. Even when students face hardship at home, he says, schools must maintain rigor.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot let human compassion lead you down the road of perdition, which is unfortunately quite easy,\u201d Morath said at the\u00a0TPPF summit. \u201cWhen you hear about some challenge that a child has at home and you say, \u2018You don\u2019t need to do the classwork today anymore,\u2019 that is not the right answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath congratulates Somerset ISD staff during a convocation at the Performing Arts Center, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jerry Lara\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n \u2018Proven education reformer\u2019<\/p>\n When Abbott appointed Morath, the governor called him a \u201cproven education reformer.\u201d But rank-and-file educators worried he\u00a0wouldn\u2019t be able to connect major policy decisions to their everyday experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n Performance-based pay for teachers<\/a>, required reading lists<\/a>, standardized curriculum and school board policies tied to student test scores were hallmarks of\u00a0Morath\u2019s time at Dallas\u00a0ISD. In the decade since Morath became commissioner, those ideas have become ingrained in state education policy.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Last year, lawmakers directed $481 million to the Teacher Incentive Allotment program<\/a> to boost pay for high-performing teachers. They have also created financial incentives for districts that adopt state-approved curricula<\/a>.<\/p>\n Charter schools\u00a0\u2014 a centerpiece of\u00a0Morath\u2019s education philosophy\u00a0\u2014 have grown rapidly during his tenure, from 629 campuses to nearly 1,000. In Texas, the education commissioner decides which charter applicants advance to the elected 15-member State Board of Education for final approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe traditional public school experience serves many students well,\u201d Morath wrote. \u201cBut Texas has a huge variety of students, and many are better served in different kinds of instructional environments.\u201d<\/p>\n First approved by Texas lawmakers in 1995, charter schools receive state funding, but are exempt from parts of the education code, including requirements to admit students with disciplinary problems<\/a>. They were originally intended to foster innovation, but critics say they now duplicate services offered by traditional school districts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got multiple seats for every kid,\u201d said Monty Exter, the governmental relations director at the Association of Texas Professional Educators. \u201cNeither system, in the way that we finance kids, is running efficiently. State leadership has certainly ignored that issue.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The expansive authority lawmakers have granted\u00a0Morath on charters and other areas has \u201cbig implications\u201d for public education, said Rep.\u00a0Aicha Davis, D-Dallas, a former teacher who served six years on the State Board of Education.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of my colleagues aren\u2019t even aware that that\u2019s happening,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lynn Davenport, a conservative activist and skeptic of education reforms, said she gave Morath the benefit of the doubt when he was first appointed commissioner. Davenport sought a meeting with Morath when he attended a Dallas Regional Chamber luncheon in 2016.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morath listened as Davenport presented a study on Reasoning Mind, a math learning software used in Texas that drew criticism for its ties to the oil industry. She worried the software wasn\u2019t improving math learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Davenport wondered whether Morath understood the challenges screens pose for teens. She walked away feeling he didn\u2019t really grasp her concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe was really kind of in an ivory tower, and his philosophical view of education was all these reforms can come in and transform education,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Left, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath speaks during a Houston press conference in 2022. Top right, Mike Morath, speaks with\u00a0Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, right, in 2019 at a San Antonio school. Bottom right, Mike Morath and SAISD Superintendent Jaime\u00a0Aquino, left, dance as they walk the halls of Brackenridge High School in 2023.<\/p>\n File\/Hearst Texas Media<\/p>\n \u2018Vision into reality\u2019<\/p>\n Even as public schools have changed over the past decade, the commissioner\u2019s role remains largely the same, Morath said by email.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe Commissioner, working with the State Board of Education, establishes certain guardrails, provides information about performance and serves as a conduit for resources for those local system leaders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But there have been shifts in TEA\u2019s purview and role.\u00a0He pointed to increased agency staffing focused on school safety and $400 million in annual safety grants as examples of major changes since his appointment.<\/p>\n At an April 7 teacher award event in Hutto, Morath said he\u2019s tried to position the TEA to help districts stay focused on student learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHow do we make the agency as supportive as possible to classroom teachers, to principals, to school districts to help them better achieve results for kids?\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morath believes the main challenge facing schools is rooted in the teaching profession.<\/p>\n After unprecedented teacher turnover during the pandemic, schools turned to uncertified educators to fill vacancies. Since 2019, the percentage of first-time teachers without a certificate has increased three-fold, to 50%.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSchools must give those teachers the tools and a structure of support to be successful in the classroom, and school systems must work to retain effective teachers in the classroom for many years,\u201d Morath said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Morath \u201chas certainly shown us that he is very willing to spend both the time and sometimes significant weight of his office and effort\u201d to bring his vision to reality, Exter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morath\u2019s two immediate predecessors, Michael Williams and Robert Scott, led TEA for three and five years, respectively. That\u2019s not enough time to reshape the agency, Exter said. With more than 10 years in office,\u00a0Morath has had greater sway in overhauling staffing and priorities.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re talking about not only just changing out staff and recreating the organization chart in a way that\u2019s supporting the things you want to get done, there\u2019s a lot of logistical weight and force behind that,\u201d Exter said.<\/p>\n Walking a tightrope<\/p>\n J.W. Edgar, the first appointed Texas education commissioner, served from 1950 to 1974. In 1991, appointment power shifted from the State Board of Education to the governor, whose nominees are subject to Senate confirmation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Gov. Rick Perry cycled through five education commissioners during his 14-year tenure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Staying in office requires balancing\u00a0the priorities of the Texas House and Senate, which often fight over education funding and policy. The House has typically favored more flexible funding, while the Senate has pushed spending with strings attached. Until last year,\u00a0the House resisted private school vouchers<\/a>, a long-standing priority of Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Morath has survived in part by choosing his battles carefully.<\/p>\n \u201cMaintaining that job and that role has a lot to do with not creating pushback, not being a problem, making sure to be consistent with particular priorities,\u201d Davis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But Davis said it comes at a cost to public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n She pointed to a 2021 law banning the teaching of critical race theory<\/a>, an academic framework that became a catch-all for teaching about racial inequities.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really hear him defending schools, defending teachers,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI didn\u2019t see it. A lot of things that schools are accused of \u4e00\u00a0 that are just kind of off the wall\u00a0\u2014 I rarely see him stepping in to defend public education.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Public sentiment toward schools has grown increasingly polarized since the pandemic. Conservative lawmakers have accused schools of promoting liberal ideology and failing students. Democrats and teacher groups have accused state leaders of undermining public education by pushing private school vouchers and failing to make inflationary adjustments to school funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Kravetz said Morath isn\u2019t solely responsible for that tension, but he has done little to counter it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s happened under Morath and under his watch,\u201d Kravetz said. \u201cIs he the mastermind of this? No, but he\u2019s a cog in the wheel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As lawmakers have intensified their scrutiny of public schools, they have given Morath more authority over curriculum, charters and district reforms. That influence\u00a0\u2014 combined with Morath\u2019s command of data\u00a0\u2014 has made him a trusted adviser to many Republican lawmakers.<\/p>\n Former GOP state Rep. Dan\u00a0Huberty, who chaired the House Public Education Committee for four years and now serves as CEO of education consulting firm MoakCasey, said he relied on technical guidance from Morath and TEA staff in drafting House Bill 3 in 2019, a school finance overhaul.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of times, you\u2019ll see a complete disconnect between what the House and Senate wants to do,\u201d Huberty said. Morath is able to navigate that divide, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Solis said Morath can \u201cpull together the right research and data and insights and narrative that help policymakers sort of understand the lay of the land.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Expanding state control<\/p>\n Perhaps the most controversial change during Morath\u2019s tenure has been the rise in state takeovers of school districts.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n When the state imposes its harshest consequence, it replaces elected school boards with state appointees and installs a new superintendent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before a 2015 law expanded the state\u2019s authority to take over districts<\/a>, Texas had assumed control of just three districts. Since 2016, it has taken over 11 school districts, citing academic, leadership or financial failures.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis kind of failure can occur in terms of minimum academic standards, leading to large numbers of students who remain below grade level and continue to struggle in math and reading,\u201d Morath wrote. \u201cI believe there is a moral obligation to the students and a fiduciary obligation to the taxpayers for the state to temporarily intervene and correct those problems when they are truly acute.\u201d<\/p>\n Jose Arzola expresses his frustrations in a crowded room of parents and educators from Edgewood Independent School District as they gather to hear from Education Commissioner Mike\u00a0Morath and then Rep. Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, regarding the state takeover of\u00a0Edgewood ISD at Memorial High School on Tuesday, Apr. 5, 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kin Man Hui\/San Antonio Express-News Education Commissioner Mike Morath took questions from the media about the possible takeover of the Fort Worth ISD during a visit to William James Middle School in Fort Worth , August 28, 2025. TEA eventually announced a state takeover of the district.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Morath\u00a0has long believed that public schools\u2019 failures stem from the adults in charge. As a Dallas ISD trustee, he became the public face of a controversial \u201chome rule\u201d movement<\/a> that sought a city council-appointed school board and ways to remove trustees who failed to improve student learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThis could help keep trustees focused on improving outcomes for our kids rather than focusing on how adults are affected,\u201d he said at the time<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although the home rule movement failed, Morath now has authority as commissioner to remove local school board members he views as problematic.<\/p>\n In Houston, Beaumont and Fort Worth, state takeovers have triggered intense backlash. The state-installed leadership in Houston ISD, Texas\u2019 largest public school district, has made sweeping changes, introducing standardized curriculum, timed lessons and performance pay for teachers<\/a>. Houston\u2019s superintendent is Mike Miles, who led Dallas ISD when Morath was a trustee.<\/p>\n Student scores on state STAAR tests<\/a> improved significantly during the takeover, but residents have disputed the data, accusing district leaders of gaming the system to achieve desired results. Critics say the model has led to higher teacher turnover and an overemphasis on testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Without an elected board, families have limited recourse if they disagree with district decisions, Kravetz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the fox is guarding the hen house, it\u2019s the kids that ultimately suffer,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Morath didn\u2019t create Texas\u2019 obsession with data-driven accountability but he has expanded it. In the 1990s, new tracking systems exposed stark learning disparities, which persist today. While 64% of white third graders met grade standards on state tests last year, only 44% of Black or Hispanic third graders did.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many on both sides of the aisle worry the state now places too much weight on testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 2023, about 100 districts sued the TEA and Morath to block the release of A-F accountability ratings<\/a>. A smaller group filed a\u00a0lawsuit that temporarily blocked the 2024 scores<\/a>.The delayed release of scores was \u201cnot all that helpful for a family trying to make a decision,\u201d Morath said in 2025<\/a>. \u201cUnfortunately, parents have been denied access to this benefit for a long time now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Allison, the former lawmaker, worries the state may be drifting toward a one-size-fits-all approach. This would be a \u201chorrible mistake,\u201d since Texas districts range from the 170,000-student Houston\u00a0ISD to tiny rural school systems, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems like there\u2019s kind of a control mentality,\u201d he said. \u201cTEA has just grown too much and too fast and too many directions that I don\u2019t think is good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morath takes the criticism in stride.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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