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In June, Mike Morath, the Texas Commissioner of Education, initiated the most significant school takeover in recent memory by dismissing the governing board and superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. This decision was prompted by the failure of one of its over 270 schools to meet state educational standards for seven consecutive years.
Despite receiving a passing score from the state in its last rating, Houston’s Wheatley High School was not exempt from action. Morath, acknowledging his legal obligation, decided to either shutter the campus or replace the board. Opting for the latter, he moved forward with his decision.
According to him, the reason for the drastic intervention at Houston ISD was not only due to chronic low performance but also because the state consistently appointed a conservator to oversee troubled districts and ensure academic progress.
Morath has been more lenient when it comes to charter school networks that fail to meet academic standards.
Morath, who has been in office for over seven years, has consistently granted charters the ability to expand, disregarding their lack of academic achievement. An examination of state records by ProPublica and Texas Tribune reveals that Morath has waived expansion requirements for charter networks with numerous failing campuses on at least 17 occasions. Additionally, Morath has approved five other waivers for charters that had a mix of failing schools and campuses exempt from ratings due to their focus on high-risk populations or young students ineligible for testing.
According to the Texas Education Agency, prior to Morath, only three performance waivers had been granted. Morath declined to comment on numerous requests, and all three waivers were issued by his immediate predecessor.
Eastex-Jensen Neighborhood School, located six miles north of Wheatley High School, was able to open thanks to a waiver from Morath. Despite opening in 2019, the school did not receive any grades for its first two years due to the state’s decision to pause all school ratings in light of the pandemic’s negative effects. However, when the state scored schools in 2022, Eastex was assigned a failing grade of 48 out of 100 according to the state’s accountability system. Fortunately, the state chose not to penalize campuses with low grades for their performance that year.
Kevin Welner, an education policy professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, expressed his astonishment at the overwhelming hypocrisy. He pointed out that the education commissioner, who used the outdated academic ratings of a single school as a justification to assume control of the entire Houston school district, is now displaying inconsistency in his actions.
In 1995, the Texas Legislature granted authorization to publicly funded charter schools, exempting them from certain state regulations that apply to traditional public schools. This exemption was provided with the expectation that charter schools would introduce innovative approaches aimed at achieving excellent academic results.
In addition to the flexibility granted, there are now stringent measures in place to ensure accountability. As per state regulations, charters are mandated to shut down if they fail to meet academic standards for three consecutive years. To facilitate the growth of a charter network, state rules dictate that at least 90% of its campuses must achieve passing grades in the latest academic year. A previous regulation, eliminated in 2017, also stated that charter networks could not expand if any of their campuses received the lowest rating from the state.
The rules, however, can be waived by the commissioner, and Morath has consistently done so in the instance of Texas College Preparatory Academies, the charter network to which Eastex is affiliated.
Jake Kobersky, spokesperson for the Texas Education Agency, responded to inquiries regarding Morath’s endorsement of waivers for charter schools that failed to meet the state’s academic standards. Kobersky stated that a large majority of charter school expansions do not necessitate waivers. However, for the ones that do, the agency undertakes a comprehensive evaluation that encompasses an assessment of all campuses within the charter network. Additionally, the agency examines the requester’s strategy to resolve any issues at these campuses that prompted the need for a waiver.
According to the statement, a waiver is only the initial stage in the expansion process. Once a charter operator receives a waiver from Morath, they must then seek explicit permission from him to proceed with their expansion plans. Out of the 17 waivers granted by Morath to charters facing multiple failing campuses, 12 resulted in approvals for expansion.
Todd Ziebarth, the senior vice president of state advocacy and support for the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, a nonprofit association advocating for charter growth nationwide, stated that only charter networks with exceptional performance and established success should be permitted to expand.
Ziebarth expressed that ultimately, the key factor is whether or not schools are effectively enhancing and elevating student outcomes for their community. If they fail to do so, they should not be granted the privilege to expand and serve more students. Ziebarth also mentioned that he was unaware of any state ever exempting themselves from their own obligations to expand charter schools.
David DeMatthews, a professor and education policy researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, expressed concerns as lawmakers reconvened in Austin for a special session of the Legislature. He highlighted the potential issues associated with granting waivers to charter networks that have an excess of failing schools. Additionally, the session aims to address the possibility of using state funds to assist Texas parents in covering private school tuition.
The creation of a school voucher-like program has become a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott, who appointed Morath. The governor discussed the importance of parental choice during a campaign event last year at a charter campus run by Texas College Preparatory Academies, which is managed by Responsive Education Solutions. The Texas-based charter management organization has made headlines for teaching creationism and for its involvement in a failed effort to create a statewide private school voucher program in partnership with a small public school district in Central Texas.
Written questions were sent to both Abbott and Responsive Education, the latter of which claimed to handle media inquiries for Texas College Preparatory Academies. However, neither party provided a response. Similarly, officials at Eastex did not respond to the request for comment.
DeMatthews suggested that lawmakers should take into account the state’s inadequate ability to oversee charter schools academically and financially before deciding whether taxpayer funds should be allocated to private schools.
DeMatthews expressed his concern, stating, “When considering charters as a possible indicator of how vouchers would be implemented in Texas, it becomes quite worrisome. Vouchers would further diminish transparency.”
“Incredibly hypocritical”
In June 2021, Morath emphasized the consequences for underperforming charter schools while advocating for the approval of a new round. Due to the freedom granted to charters from various state regulations, they are required to meet rigorous academic benchmarks. Failure to meet these standards results in closure or prevents their expansion. Morath expressed that charters must either excel academically or pursue alternative career paths, such as banking.
According to Morath, charter organizations must meet a four-part test mandated by the state in order to expand and accommodate more students. This test evaluates their academic, financial, and operational performance, and only if they pass all four criteria will they be granted permission to expand, as stated by Morath during the State Board of Education meeting.
Some members of the board are concerned about Morath’s decision to constantly disregard those rules. The board has no authority to determine whether charters can expand, even though the expansion of current networks is the main factor driving charter growth in the state. Last year, over 7% of the state’s 5.5 million schoolchildren were enrolled in charter schools authorized by the state.
Pat Hardy, a long-standing Republican board member with over 20 years of service, expressed his belief that providing waivers to charter networks, even if they have just one failing school, contradicts the original purpose of the law that established them.
Hardy expressed his disbelief during an interview with ProPublica and the Tribune, stating, “The notion of repeating a system that has proven to be ineffective is simply absurd.”
In defense of Morath, Brian Whitley, a representative of the Texas Public Charter Schools Association, asserted that the commissioner should possess the authority to grant exemptions for the regulations dictating the minimum number of campuses a charter must succeed in order to expand. Whitley contended that these regulations, established by Morath’s agency, exceed the legal requirements in their stringency.
Katrina Bulkley, an education professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey, who has been studying charter schools since 1995, stated that there are valid reasons behind the existence of these rules. Therefore, the state should either comply with them or consider making necessary changes.
Morath’s waivers led to the establishment of 11 schools, out of which three initially received an “unacceptable” rating within two years. However, all of these schools have shown improvement since then. In the most recent year, two campuses, including Eastex, achieved scores that would typically classify them as low performing. However, due to the pandemic, the state did not assign ratings to such schools during that year.
Eastex, a member of Texas College Preparatory Academies, has successfully opened the highest number of schools due to the waivers granted. Despite having a significant number of failing campuses, the network managed to obtain two waivers from Morath. Additionally, they were granted waivers when the combined count of underperforming and not rated schools placed them below the required passing threshold.
By approving Morath’s latest waiver, the 42-campus charter network has made significant progress towards the establishment of three new schools and the expansion of approximately 20 existing ones within the next two years.
In addition, charters associated with KIPP Public Schools have individually obtained multiple waivers, even including one that was advised against by state education agency officials.
In a March 2017 memorandum, the head of TEA’s charter school division recommended that Morath deny a waiver request from KIPP Dallas-Fort Worth because only one of its three campuses had met academic standards. Less than two weeks after the recommendation, TEA notified KIPP D-FW that it had been approved for the waiver, making the charter eligible to increase its student enrollment.
KIPP merged its four Texas charter networks in 2018. The subsequent year, KIPP encountered a mix of underperforming and unrated campuses, prompting the need for another expansion waiver. Morath, once more, approved the waiver.
KIPP Texas spokesperson Cat Thorne stated in a written statement that the network has consistently adhered to the TEA’s guidance when contemplating school expansions. Thorne mentioned that due to the merger, the network lacks access to records predating it, which resulted in their unawareness of the agency staff’s prior recommendation against granting a waiver.
The statement affirmed that all expansions we sought and obtained fully adhered to TEA regulations. It emphasized that our objective for growth is driven by our commitment to the well-being of our students and the communities we serve.
Shay Green’s son attended pre-K at KIPP Legacy Preparatory in Houston last year, which is classified as low-performing according to state standards with a latest grade of 69 out of 100.
According to Green, she originally enrolled her son in the school based on her mother’s recommendation. Her mother had researched various campuses in the area and believed it would be a suitable choice. However, Green later discovered that her cousin’s children, who attended a public school, were already learning to write letters and their names. This realization led her to withdraw her son from the school after just one year, as she felt that the educational standards were subpar.
Green expressed in a text message to the news organizations, “I taught my son how to spell his name. However, I had higher expectations for his knowledge compared to public school kids of his age. It seems they are not being taught nearly as much.”
A comment request was ignored by the school, and KIPP Texas chose not to address any queries regarding the campus.
According to Green, her son is currently enrolled in a magnet charter school which she believes offers a superior education.
Little oversight
The authority over whether to allow charters to expand used to belong to the 15-member elected State Board of Education. But the Legislature transferred that power to the state’s education commissioner in 2001. More recently, it repealed a provision in state law that appeared to conflict with that earlier change.
The board has in recent years unsuccessfully asked the Legislature to restore its authority over charter growth.
“In my opinion, many of my colleagues would be more inclined to initially approve or refrain from vetoing charters if they were assured of having a say in their future expansions. Currently, once we grant approval, we are no longer involved in the process,” stated Keven Ellis, the Republican chair of the state education board, during an interview. “Having greater authority at a later stage would provide us with a sense of reassurance.”
Over time, instead of bolstering the board’s authority, the Legislature has increasingly delegated more power to the education commissioner.
Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston, who filed unsuccessful legislation that would have removed the board’s veto power over new charters in the state, doesn’t believe the elected body should have authority over expansions because members aren’t paid and have large districts to represent and other responsibilities like approving textbooks.
Bettencourt, a member of the Senate Education Committee, admitted to having some knowledge about Morath’s waiver of academic performance requirements for expansions. However, he refrained from expressing his support for this practice. Bettencourt emphasized the importance of monitoring the performance of charter schools that have received these waivers before making a definitive judgment.
He asked, “Why not, if there is no improvement over time?”
Currently, Bettencourt and his colleagues are directing their attention towards the upcoming frontier of “school choice,” which entails providing taxpayer funds to parents for covering private school expenses.
Earlier this year during the regular session, despite the backing of Abbott, the efforts to establish a program like this were unsuccessful. Several bills, including one co-authored by Bettencourt and eight other senators, faced opposition in the Texas House. The main issue of disagreement revolved around how the state would guarantee improved student outcomes through this program, which is funded by taxpayers.
Last month, Abbott participated in a tele-town hall with religious leaders and made a commitment to hold lawmakers accountable if they opposed the establishment of a voucher-like program. He hinted that their votes would be taken into consideration during the upcoming Republican primary election, potentially resulting in political consequences.
Abbott stated that there are two approaches to accomplishing the task. “Legislators can opt for the easy way by supporting school choice in the upcoming special session. However, if they choose the hard way, we are also willing to take that route.”
Disclosure: Texas Public Charter Schools Association and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.