Texas judge agrees school employees must be consulted before charter takeover

A victory by the Texas State Teachers Association in court confirms that employees at struggling public school campuses must be consulted before their school district turns over control to a charter school chain.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath violated state law by creating a rule that didn’t require consultation with teachers and other campus workers before a district gives control to a charter chain, the Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) reported.

The ruling by state District Judge Jan Soifer of Travis County didn’t reverse the 2018 takeover of Stewart Elementary School in San Antonio Independent School District (ISD) by New York-based Democracy Prep.

A summary judgment by Soifer agreed with the TSTA’s argument that SB1882 requires employees be consulted during the process, TSTA reported.

A suit was brought against Morath and the Texas Education Agency in 2018 by TSTA and the Texas American Federation of Teachers after the commissioner approved the takeover of Stewart Elementary School. It alleged that school employees were not consulted, and they had their contract rights with the San Antonio ISD in jeopardy, TSTA reported.

Morath claimed the employees didn’t need to be consulted because Democracy Prep is a non-profit. The judge agreed with TSTA that the law requires consultation no matter how a charter organization or other partner is organized.

Teacher contract rights are supposed to be protected by the law also.

“We applaud the court for upholding the law,” TSTA President Noel Candelaria told the organization. “Like everyone else, the education commissioner is not above the law, and this law was designed to ensure the best interests of students and teachers are protected before a neighborhood school is turned over to a charter operator... The commissioner is supposed to be the state’s regulator of charter schools, not a charter cheerleader who cuts corners for charter operators."