(The Center Square) – Texas’ largest school district, Houston ISD, has lost more than 13,000 students in two years after it was taken over by the state.
Despite this, district academics have improved by historic margins across the board.
Houston ISD has been plagued for years by corruption, mismanagement of public funds, teachers charged with gang crimes and a major certification cheating theft scheme, and former board members and officials convicted of bribery, extortion and kickbacks. Simultaneously, the district increased taxes every year with no accountability to taxpayers for misused funds. A recent attempt to increase taxes by $11 billion failed.
In 2019, a Texas Education Agency special investigation identified Houston ISD school board misconduct and schools with consecutive years of failing grades. It sought to take it over and replace its board, which the district fought in court and lost. The TEA took it over in 2023 and appointed a new superintendent, Mike Miles.
A new report by the University of Houston evaluates student enrollment demographics and teacher population and certification data prior to and after 2023.
It states that prior to the takeover, Houston ISD enrollment decreased 12.1%, from 216,098 students in the 2016–2017 school year to 189,901 students in the 2022–2023 school year. Prior to the takeover, on average, Houston ISD student enrollment decreased 2% each year.
Since the takeover, Houston ISD enrollment has decreased by an average 3.5% per year. In the first year of the takeover, student enrollment decreased by 5,827; in the second year, it decreased by 7,381. This was the largest one-year decrease since the district lost 13,171 students during the COVID-lockdown era (2019–2020 to 2020–2021), the report notes.
“Though the student enrollment of Houston ISD was in a decline prior to the takeover, the decrease in student enrollment since the takeover has increased both in magnitude and as a proportion of the prior year student enrollment,” the report states. The report does not take into account how many families have moved out of the district.
After the first year of the takeover, more teachers left and 500 administrators were let go. Former Houston ISD teachers began teaching in a neighboring ISD or charter school, left teaching for a non-teaching role, or left public education altogether, the report notes.
Prior to the takeover, the number of Houston ISD teachers decreased each school year between 2017 and 2023, totaling 995, with an average yearly decline of 1.4%. Since the takeover, the number of teachers increased by 36, or 0.3%.
Prior to the takeover, a small number of teachers were uncertified. By the 2023-2024 school year, 9.5% were, by the 2024-2025 school year, nearly 20% were. This is consistent with statewide data, including more than 50% of new hires being uncertified statewide, The Center Square reported.
Notably, the report excludes student outcomes prior to and after the takeover.
Under Miles, Houston ISD students have improved academic metrics by historic margins.
For the first time since state ratings began, no Houston ISD campus received an F rating and students at all campuses improved their grades, The Center Square reported. Prior to the takeover, 40% of Houston ISD schools were failing; high school graduation rates were also low.
Under Miles, the number of schools that received A and B grades tripled in two years.
In the 2022-2023 school year, HISD had 56 D- and F-rated campuses and 93 A- and B-rated campuses. In the 2024-2025 school year, HISD had zero F-rated campuses and 197 A- and B-rated campuses, according to the latest TEA data, The Center Square reported.
Prior to Miles, only 35% of HISD students were attending A- and B-rated schools, now 75% are. Two years ago, 45% were attending D- and F-rated schools, now only 7% are attending D-rated schools, according to TEA data.
Several of the top public schools in the country are in Houston ISD. The top two are Carnegie Vanguard High School and DeBakey High School for Health Professions, both magnet schools, The Center Square reported.
Parents have also expressed overwhelming support of the district turnaround.
A newly published HISD Winter 2025 Family Sentiment Survey found a “strong overall satisfaction among families across the district. Over 90% of respondents reported a favorable perception of their experience with HISD across divisions, campus types, and demographic groups.”
The report claims that public schools are losing funding due to declining enrollment. Last year, the state legislature allocated a record $8.5 billion for public schools and $4 billion for teacher and staff raises.
It also created Texas’ first school choice Education Savings Account program, Texas’ first Teacher Bill of Rights and Parental Bill of Rights, The Center Square reported.
