Overview:

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) took over Fort Worth ISD, the second major urban district to fall under state control after Houston, citing low academic performance. However, critics argue that the TEA should have intervened earlier with support, not punishment, and that the state is pushing more charters because voucher students are funded at nearly $10,000 per pupil, while public schools only get about $6,600. The state takeover has also sparked fears of privatization and a cultural turn in social studies curricula. Meanwhile, literacy rates in districts like Fort Worth ISD and Houston ISD remain low, and advocates question how literacy outcomes will fare under centralized control.

A Shift in Power: When Oversight Becomes Overreach

In May 2025, while the Texas Legislature finalized a wave of new education bills, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) quietly announced its takeover of Fort Worth ISD — the second major urban district to fall under state control after Houston.

The move stunned parents, teachers, and even members of the State Board of Education (SBOE), including District 13 representative Dr. Tiffany Clark.

Dr. Clark disclosed to Dallas Weekly that Commissioner Morath did not previously inform her of what his decision was going to be. “I found out through reporters.”

The tension between the elected State Board of Education and the appointed Texas Education Agency underscores a deeper inequity in how Texas schools are governed — and who gets to decide what’s best for children.

TEA vs. SBOE: Understanding the Divide

While both agencies carry “education” in their titles, their authority is distinct. The State Board of Education (SBOE) sets curriculum standards, approves textbooks, and decides which charter schools can operate. The Texas Education Agency (TEA), led by Commissioner Mike Morath (appointed by the governor), enforces those policies and increasingly, steps into district management.

“The Board doesn’t control TEA,” Dr. Clark clarified. “We don’t vote on legislation. We just try to make sure schools are informed about the laws that get passed.”

Given recent events, it is becoming apparent that TEA is now making the calls, literally and figuratively.

The result of recent ISD takeovers is a growing misalignment between an elected body that reflects the public and an appointed one that often operates behind closed doors.

Fort Worth ISD Takeover: Equity at Risk

The state cited low academic performance as justification for the takeover, pointing to a “D” rating on the district’s 2022 report card. Fort Worth was actually given a “C” rating for the two previous years. But according to Dr. Clark, the rating process itself was misleading.

Clark argues that the TEA could have intervened earlier with support, not punishment. “[They] could have sent in resources, conservators, or region staff to work side by side with teachers.”

Instead, TEA waited nine years, then swooped in to take over Fort Worth.

Many educators and equity advocates see these takeovers as precursors to privatization, particularly given that new legislation (SB 2) expands Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), allowing public funds to flow into private or charter school options.

Dr. Clark’s words encourage one to follow the money. If the state is pushing more charters, it may be because voucher students are funded at nearly $10,000 per pupil, while public schools only get about $6,600. That gap says a lot.

The 2025 Education Session: Faith, Funding, and Fear

Among the Texas Legislature’s 2025 education-related bills were several that could reshape classroom experiences and have since sparked several constitutional debates:

RELATED: The Cost of Compliance: Texas Students Caught in the Fallout of SB 12

For some educators, the push can feel more religious and political than educational.

This religious framing, combined with efforts to reduce DEI initiatives, disproportionately impacts students of color. Clark points out that Fort Worth ISD, now under state control, is 65% Hispanic and 20% Black.

As was evident in SB 12’s effectiveness at Dallas’s own Booker T Washington High School, inclusivity is losing ground in Texas classrooms across many avenues. Eventually, these disproportionately affected students become ones being told that their cultures are not part of the curriculum anymore. And lawmakers aren’t new to this new process of silencing the stories of culturally and ethnically diverse students, either.

New Bills of The Texas Lege Offer Promise

The 2025 Texas Legislature’s funding package (HB 2) adds $8.5 billion in education funding, but advocates warn the increase is unlikely to reach the schools most in need. Meanwhile, SB 568 makes changes to special education funding, and HB 20 introduces an Applied Sciences Pathway program intended to expand vocational opportunities.

While those sound promising, experts question whether schools under takeover- where local boards are dissolved and state-appointed managers take over- will actually benefit.

“It’s a question of equity and trust,” Clark said. “If the people closest to the students aren’t at the table, how are we building anything sustainable?”

Restorative, Not Punitive

Despite political distractions, some local schools are moving toward restorative practices. Instead of suspensions, “at-risk” students are engaging in restorative circles. These circles are essentially structured conversations that encourage accountability and community support.

“The counselor in me loves that approach,” Clark said. “You bring in mentors, parents, community partners. You teach kids to reflect, not disappear. That’s what equity looks like.”

Will these programs be undermined by policy changes focused on discipline over dialogue? Or by a takeover culture that sidelines local educators?

Looking Ahead: The Literacy Connection

Texas’s education inequities are no longer theoretical — they’re visible in funding gaps, cultural erasures, and who controls the narrative of public schools.

But beneath every policy fight lies another, quieter crisis: literacy.

RELATED: The New Digital Divide: How Literacy and AI Are Colliding in Texas Schools

In districts like Fort Worth ISD and Houston ISD, reading scores have long mirrored resource gaps. With state takeovers and privatization on the rise, advocates now question how literacy outcomes will fare under centralized control.

In the companion article to this, Dallas Weekly will examine how recent legislation — and the erosion of equity offices — are shaping literacy rates across Texas classrooms, and what that means for the next generation of readers.