The state takeover of Houston ISD should end "relatively soon," Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Friday, signaling that a transition back to a locally elected board could be near.
State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles and a board of managers have led the district since June 2023, after Wheatley High School received years of failing ratings, triggered the intervention. Over the last three years, Miles has made sweeping reforms aimed at improving the district's annual A-F ratings.
Morath previously said he would decide on ending or extending the state takeover in June 2027.
"I would anticipate that that should all be resolved relatively soon and that then we can revert back to local electoral control," Morath said.
To regain local control, HISD must complete three "exit criteria": no schools with two consecutive years of D or F ratings; improved board governance; and special education department in full compliance with state and federal law. Since June 2023, the district's A-F ratings have improved sharply, although four schools were F-rated this year.
Just three HISD schools received back-to-back years D- or F-ratings in 2026 and 2025. Morath said the state agency is more concerned with campuses that receive failing grades for several consecutive years.
A-F RATINGS RELEASE: HISD's academic gains slow. See the latest.
"There will be times where we will stumble and we will fall. Our teams, despite their best efforts, will err," Morath said. "I have every confidence that those four schools will not be multi-year failing schools, because you have a local school system that has fundamentally changed the way that it's organized to no longer allow that kind of long-term neglect to occur."
Morath said special education compliance remains a key benchmark for HISD.
The district is currently under state scrutiny and a federal investigation for its changes to special education services this school year. The district announced it was consolidating some services in May and reassigned about 3,000 students who learn in self-contained classrooms to new campuses.
Morath said the district's special education department had seen improvements since the takeover but that it had "still a little bit of work to go."
"Regardless of how that goes, we want to see special education services improve in Houston," Morath said. "That will be one of the primary goals for them over the course of this school year."
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This article originally published at HISD's state takeover could end 'relatively soon,' education commissioner says.