Student Walkouts, School Discipline, and Legal Guidance: “Please protest, but be smart about it," by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Student Walkouts, School Discipline, and Legal Guidance: 

“Please protest, but be smart about it," 

by 

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Wish permission to share, I am on a discussion thread with colleagues, including attorneys like Baldo Garza, in Houston addressing students' right to protest in light of recently-released state-level guidance provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). I was happy to see that in my hometown of San Angelo, another student protest occurred today. Hence, all the more reason to post this message.

San Angelo Central High Student Walkout

Specifically, as student-led walkouts continue across Texas in response to ICE enforcement, schools, districts, and the state have responded with a familiar set of tools: discipline policies, attendance rules, and warnings about legal consequences. 

What we are witnessing is not simply a debate about protest logistics, but a broader contest over who gets to define the boundaries of civic participation for young people—and under what conditions.

Below, I share three documents that are circulating right now: legal guidance from a practicing Texas attorney, a principal’s letter to families, and formal guidance issued by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). I present them here without alteration, because it is important that students, parents, and educators see exactly how the law and institutions are framing student protest.

Before sharing them, however, it’s worth naming the pattern that connects all three: The law consistently prioritizes order, attendance, and institutional control over student voice—especially when that voice challenges state power.

That does not mean students should not protest. It does mean that they must understand the terrain.

1. Legal Guidance: “Please protest, but be smart about it.”

The following guidance comes from Baldomero "Baldo" J. Garza, a practicing attorney based in Houston, Texas. His advice is direct, pragmatic, and grounded in an understanding of how school discipline and state power operate.

Highlighting in blue the principal's notice (see complete notice below):

"no form of protest that interferes with the educational environment will be allowed on campus"

1. Looking at the map of the school, students can protest outside the fence on Scott Street after school.

"impairs school operations and/or impinges on the rights of other students will face disciplinary consequences"

 2. Do the protest after school on the sidewalk.

"students who leave class without permission"

 3. Have the protest after school.

Please protest, but be smart about it.

The law will always want to quiet you. Be smarter than the law.

Baldo

This guidance captures a hard truth: the law does not exist to protect dissent—it exists to regulate it. Knowing that reality allows students to make informed decisions rather than symbolic sacrifices that carry long-term consequences.

2. The School’s Position: Discipline, Attendance, and Control of Time

Below is the full letter sent to families by the principal of the High School for Law & Justice Early College. It reflects how schools are being instructed—formally and informally—to respond.

Student Protest

Dear HSLJEC Community,

As the principal of the High School for Law & Justice Early College, it is my job to ensure that our school is conducive to learning. To that end, it is incumbent upon me to ensure that disruptions remain outside of the school day. I have learned that students plan to protest during the school day on Wednesday, February 11th during 8th period regarding ICE. While we welcome healthy debate in appropriate settings, I write to remind parents and students that no form of protest that interferes with the educational environment will be allowed on campus.

Students who engage in speech/expression that impairs school operations and/or impinges on the rights of other students will face disciplinary consequences as set forth in the Student Code of Conduct. Also, students who leave class without permission as a result of participation in a walkout/protest, will be marked absent (unexcused) and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including but not limited to an assigned Saturday detention. Per our Student Handbook, students who do not attend their assigned detention are subject to in-school suspension.

At HSLJEC, our primary goals remain to provide a quality education and a safe environment for all our students. Please contact Dr. Shetzer or Mrs. Reed if you have any questions or concerns about how the campus will operate on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.

Sincerely,
Dr. Steven Shetzer, Principal

This letter is notable not for its tone—it is measured and professional—but for the assumptions embedded within it. Learning is framed as incompatible with protest, as though civic engagement necessarily undermines education rather than deepens it. Discipline, in turn, is presented as a neutral administrative response, stripped of context, rather than what it often is in moments like these: a political choice about whose voices are permitted, when, and under what conditions.

3. The State’s Position: Enforcement, Sanctions, and Surveillance

Finally, here is the TEA’s official guidance, issued February 3, 2026, following the Governor’s directive to investigate student walkouts.

TEA Releases Guidance for School Systems Outlining Consequences Regarding Student Walkouts, Absences and Educator and District Responsibilities

February 3, 2026

AUSTIN, Texas – February 3, 2026 – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) today released guidance regarding student walkouts, absences and actions related to political activism in response to Governor Greg Abbott’s directive to investigate instances of inappropriate political activism deliberately disrupting the learning environment in Texas public schools.

Consequences for students, teachers and school districts can include but are not limited to the following:Students must be marked as absent and schools risk losing daily attendance funding if they allow or encourage students to walk out of class. 

Teachers that facilitate walk outs will be subject to investigation and sanction including licensure revocation.

School systems that facilitate walkouts will be subject to investigation and sanction, including either the appointment of a monitor, conservator or board of managers.

Today, in classrooms across Texas, tomorrow’s leaders are learning the foundational, critical thinking skills and knowledge necessary for lifelong learning, serving as the bedrock for the future success of our state and nation. It is in this spirit that school systems have been reminded of their duty and obligation to ensure that their students are both safe and that they attend school, with consequences for students for unexcused absences.

State law prohibits school systems from supporting or opposing any forms of political activism that disrupts learning during the school day, including facilitation of political activism through the use of taxpayer-funded district resources. If a school system is found to be in violation of state law, the agency will investigate and take appropriate action, which can include the appointment of a monitor, conservator or board of managers.

State law also prohibits certified educators from encouraging or facilitating student departures from a class or school activity to engage in any form of political activism. Educators are also subject to all requirements in the Educator Code of Ethics and local employment guidelines. If findings related to violations of law by certified educators are made, such fundings will be referred to SBEC Enforcement, which will pursue enforcement actions with the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to seek sanctions as warranted.

Individuals with any concerns not addressed in their school’s local grievance process should submit a complaint with the agency through the Online Complaints Form. The agency thoroughly investigates each complaint received. If violations of law are found, the agency will take appropriate action to ensure that state law is upheld.

View the agency’s guidance issued to school systems: District Attendance Policies, Complaints and Educator Responsibilities

###

This guidance makes explicit what is often implicit: the state views student protest primarily as a compliance problem, and not a civic one. The emphasis is on funding loss, licensure revocation, investigations, and state takeover—not on student well-being, democratic engagement, or moral development.

A Final Word

Students have always been told to wait, to be patient, to stay in line. Yet history tells us that some of the most important democratic shifts in this country were initiated by young people who refused to stay silent. Protests against ICE-related violence are not acts of defiance for their own sake—they are acts of civic conscience. They arise not from a desire to disrupt, but from a refusal to normalize harm. We should all be deeply troubled by the brazen—at times seemingly gratuitous—violence directed at communities like theirs. 

When young people see their families living under threat, when they witness policies that destabilize the very households that make learning possible, their response is not rebellion. It is moral clarity. Expressed differently, they have a stake in the outcome. Their futures, their families, and their sense of safety are bound up in the policies being debated. To expect silence under those conditions is to misunderstand both democracy and youth.

That said, if students choose to protest, I agree with Baldo Garza. They should do so with eyes wide open—informed about the consequences, strategic about location and timing, and supported by adults who understand both the law and the long arc of justice.

The law may want to quiet them.

That does not mean they are wrong to speak—especially on matters that are so deeply meaningful to them. 

I sure hope this is helpful. Thanks to Baldo, Johnny Mata, and our Houston colleagues for leading on these matters.

Austin’s Children Deserve More Than A Test Score, by María del Carmen Unda & Raul Longoria

Congratulations to Dr. María del Carmen Unda and Raul Longoria for this powerful and timely piece in the Texas Observer. You’ve spoken a truth we have long known: test scores measure poverty far more reliably than they measure learning. 

So why punish the very children and communities already carrying the heaviest burdens—other than to continue filing the deep, bottomless pockets of the testing industrial complex?

Thank you for lifting up the voices of Austin’s students, families, and educators, and for reminding us that partnership—not punishment—is the path to real educational justice.

-Angela Valenzuela

Austin’s Children Deserve More Than A Test Score: The city's “F” schools overwhelmingly serve mostly low-income African-American and Hispanic children 

by María del Carmen Unda & Raul Longoria | September 24, 2025 | Texas Observer

Earlier this month, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that 12 Austin-area schools with an “F” rating could be closed. For many families, this isn’t just a policy decision—it’s a direct threat to thousands of children’s educational stability and their communities’ future. 

The affected schools, all part of Austin Independent School District (AISD) received three consecutive failing grades under the state’s accountability system tied to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam. TEA ordered the campuses to submit improvement plans by mid-November, which could involve major staffing changes or closures. The schools include Winn Montessori, Barrington, Dawson, Linder, Oak Springs, Pecan Springs, Sanchez, Widen, Wooldridge, Bedichek, Martin, and Paredes. As education researchers and community advocates, we know that school ratings often reveal more about poverty than about student learning. Decades of research show that standardized tests don’t measure intellect, creativity, or resilience. They measure zip codes. Numerous studies also highlight the direct ties between the testing industry and the prison industrial complex.

The problem is clear: Austin’s “F” schools overwhelmingly serve mostly low-income African-American and Hispanic children. Closing them on the basis of a flawed metric sends one message: Your community does not matter. 

SCHOOL BUSES IN AUSTIN (SHUTTERSTOCK)

More specifically, data from the Texas Academic Performance Report outlines that the twelve Austin ISD campuses at risk of closure or major intervention serve predominantly low-income African-American and Hispanic student populations (see a full chart here): At these campuses, between 78 percent and 97 percent of students are classified as economically disadvantaged, with most schools exceeding 90 percent. This strongly suggests that socioeconomic status, not instructional quality, is the most consistent predictor of school ratings. Research has long demonstrated that poverty shapes educational outcomes through limited access to resources, higher mobility rates, and increased exposure to stressors outside of school. The racial and ethnic composition of these same schools is between 57 percent and 91 percent Hispanic, while African-American enrollment ranges from 1.9 percent to nearly 39 percent. The clustering of F-rated schools in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods highlights the racialized nature of standardized testing outcomes, aligning with scholarship that critiques accountability systems as mechanisms that reproduce racial and class stratification. 

TEA’s accountability system disproportionately penalizes schools that serve economically disadvantaged students of color. All twelve schools identified for improvement or closure received failing (“F”) ratings, yet their student demographics highlight structural inequities rather than deficiencies in teaching or learning. 

Parents and teachers have long known what research confirms: Standardized testing is a poor predictor of success. It rewards test-taking strategies, not curiosity. It privileges students with resources, tutors, and stability at home, while penalizing those navigating poverty, language barriers, or trauma. 

Standardized testing has become a billion-dollar business. In 2013, TEA awarded Pearson a $462 million contract, followed by a $280 million contract with Education Testing Services. Nationally, 45 states spend a combined $669 million annually on testing contracts. These corporations reap massive profits, yet there is no evidence that more standardized testing improves student learning or narrows achievement gaps. What these tests do measure—reliably—is the ability of corporations to siphon resources away from Texas students, teachers, and communities.

Instead of doubling down on testing, TEA should reduce the number of exams and provide real support. Before closing schools, the agency must engage communities in honest conversations about what children need to thrive—whether it’s more bilingual staff, smaller classes, or after-school programs. 

Austin’s children deserve more than a test score. Closing schools will not build stronger communities. Listening to them will. TEA must choose partnership over punishment. 

A growing body of scholarship urges states to move beyond single test scores and adopt multiple measures of accountability. Such systems better capture the breadth of student learning by incorporating graduation rates, college and career readiness, access to qualified teachers, and school climate. Authentic assessments—such as project- and portfolio-based evaluations—offer viable alternatives that measure higher-order thinking and student creativity while remaining compliant with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which explicitly authorizes states to integrate portfolios, extended performance tasks, and adaptive assessments into their accountability systems. Despite this flexibility, Texas continues to rely almost exclusively on high-stakes standardized tests, ignoring well-established recommendations for more equitable, comprehensive approaches to evaluating student learning and school quality. 

At the state policy level, Texas must fundamentally rethink accountability. Policymakers, TEA, and school leaders should establish school-based teams to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, ensuring that decisions are grounded in the realities of students, families, and educators. 

These efforts must prioritize schools with the greatest needs and the fewest resources, offering sustained support rather than punitive closures. Specifically, TEA should end costly assessment contracts with for-profit corporations and redirect those funds into classrooms, counseling services, culturally relevant curricula, and community engagement initiatives that actually strengthen schools. 

Dr. MARÍA DEL CARMEN UNDA is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas. Her research examines education policymaking and access in K–12 schools, with a focus on the experiences of students of color.

Raul ‘Neto’ Longoria is a candidate for the Texas State Board of Education, District 5. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and he has dedicated his career to Austin ISD as a bilingual special education teacher and parent support specialist.

My Blog Is Ranked Number 5 Among The Top Education Blogs In Texas: Showing "My Flex" on this day of April 17, 2024

 Friends,

As you can view for yourselves here, I am very pleased to announce that my blog is ranked number 5 among the top education blogs in Texas. Glad I checked. When I shared this yesterday with my students, one of them expressed, "You got flex!"

Cool, so "I got flex"—a new expression for me.

This blog got going 20 years ago. Before that, I ran a listserv for 7 years. If you want to know why I blog, I invite you to read this Nov. 10, 2021 message titled, "A Personal Message on Why I Blog and a Word of Thanks by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D."

Although I don't—and have never blogged—for pay or for recognition, I am nevertheless pleased that after 20 years of doing so, I am nevertheless getting recognition for this. I have to admit, I was somewhat shocked to learn that I'm a notch below the Texas Education Agency (Texas' state Department of Education) and above the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Tribune, as well as many other reputable blogs. 

This could also all shift in a heartbeat, so I'm just showing my flex today. That's all. I promise to continue doing my best to put forth credible material and opinions into the blogosphere. This seems even more important as we enter into a world of AI where sources, authenticity, and authoritative perspectives matter more now than ever. 

Moreover, I am fully aware of the global reach my blog has far beyond Austin, Texas, and the United States, to include such places as those highlighted on this day of April 17, 2024, from the past 7 days of page turns noted on this map. Even as I definitely have regular visitors, other places light up differently depending on what I'm posting. It would be amazing to someday regularly reach every corner of the planet. The power of the Internet, no less...

In the meantime, abundant thanks to all my readers. 

Y'all got flex, too! We all got flex! Muchísimas gracias!

Sí se puede! Yes we can!

-Angela Valenzuela

 [en español aqui] 

Friends,

Sharing here the timeline of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Takeover of HISD (2015-2023) authored by Houston Community Voices for Public Education (HCVPE), a group that has taken TEA and the installed Superintendent Mike Miles to task.

How did the HISD state takeover happen? Here you go. As you can see from the photo, HCVPE is a large community-based organization that is fighting the brave and noble fight against the de-democratization of public education. What's playing out in Houston is a travesty, a calculated harm by those that want to seed public displeasure to not only further the privatization agenda, but to also curb the political efficacy of a community, and in so doing, the franchise. Yes, the disenfranchisement of Black and Brown youth and their families and grassroots leaders.

If you see the slides, you'll note that this was a policy ambush, a manufactured, very much contrived "crisis." HCVPE need everybody's support, my friends.

-Angela Valenzuela

How Texas Law was Manipulated to Orchestrate the HISD Takeover

 HoustonCVPE | July 18, 2023

Timeline of Changes since HISD State Takeover

Here's a 10-slide story that summarizes how Texas law and the Texas Education Code were used to take over Houston ISD, the largest school district in Texas. The state takeover of Houston ISD is not really about helping our schoolchildren at all. It is part of a broader attack on public education occurring across the country.

In Texas, the takeover has been orchestrated by the Republican-led Texas state government working hand in hand with individuals on both sides of the aisle. Their harmful reform agenda promotes using teacher and school accountability almost entirely based on high-stakes testing at the expense of our children, teachers and schools.

HISD Takeover: New superintendent Mike Miles put on a play to inspire teachers. Not everyone was amused.

 Friends:

Here is a critical piece by investigative journalist, Josephine Lee, that I encourage you to read. It's rather bizarre to see Mike Miles, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) superintendent himself as one of the actors in the play described below, especially when the students that agreed to do this play weren't aware that he’s their superintendent. As one HISD teacher said, “It reeks of propaganda.” 

Read this in combination with Lee's July 14, 2023 piece titled, “Teachers strong-armed to get on board with Houston schools takeover.” The district is now part of Miles' New Education System as follows:

"In recent weeks, criticisms of Miles’ sweeping reforms—particularly removing school librarians and using libraries as student disciplinary centers—have become national news. Miles has said that the 85 schools taking part in his New Education System program, which he transplanted from his Third Futures charter school network, will expand to 150 schools by 2025."

It's all so suspect and not the way to be working in good faith with teachers, parents, community, and students. It's experienced as objectifying, getting treated like an object. And this objectification dishonors the teachers and unmasks this raw and shameful taking of power.

Where is the community in this story? The community is positioned in the background in this account.

I hope that the press is alive and well everywhere so that the people can get the information they need directly from the community. This could be in the hands of local bloggers, those with Instagram accounts, or on listservs or Facebook groups of people in the cultural arts. I'm confident that Lee will also continue producing credible accounts, too.

Thanks to journalist Alfredo Santos, he was been my consistent, local news source from his newspaper, La Voz de Austin. This, alongside a truly excellent source for local news on education, The Austin Chronicle.

Tony Diaz and Liana Lopez with Nuestra Palabra have been my go-to people on anything involving community and education in Houston. There are, to be sure, broad overlapping communities with a shared interest in the preservation of our democracy that are coming together—even as others are still needing to join on in defense of all public education—or "P-20 education," as we say in higher education, meaning Pre-K through 20 pointing to how learning is lifelong.

Do read the article below. Folks at the capitol are noticing that Harris County has been on fire with lots of young, progressive, highly diverse, and politically aware students, activists, and most importantly, voters! 

Without a doubt, this harshness of policy animus against HISD is everything about pushing back on the democratic party and the county's otherwise progressive or liberal base. 

Still, all of this sounds like such a hard time right now in HISD. May our teachers and everyone involved find ways to be whole so that all of our children's classrooms become the sanctuaries that they can optimally be.

I'm not amused either. I'm in prayer and meditation. My life is a constant prayer and meditation.  🙏 🙏 🙏

Sí se puede! Yes we can!

-Angela Valenzuela

HOUSTON ISD TAKEOVER, THE MUSICAL
New superintendent Mike Miles put on a play to inspire teachers. Not everyone was amused.

by JOSEPHINE LEE
AUGUST 18, 2023, 10:17 AM, CDT

A single spotlight shined on a student performer in an aisle belting the lyrics to West Side Story’s “Something’s Coming”:

Something’s comin’, something good
If I can wait!
Something’s comin’, I don’t know what it is
But it is
Gonna be great!

The stage lit up to reveal a 1950s diner with red and white checkered tablecloth tables and red rubber stools. In walked new district superintendent Mike Miles, playing “Mr. Duke,” owner of the joint who doubles as a counselor who listens to the teachers’ and students’ grievances. 

Since March, when the Texas Education Agency seized control of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), citing the failure to meet state standards at one high school, Houston’s teachers and parents have seen the battle with the state-appointed school board and superintendent play out in community meetings and in the press. Now, during a week of district-mandated conferences at the NRG Center, teachers were watching the takeover play out on stage. Miles directed the script—an hour-long musical that took six weeks to prepare, depicting how the new superintendent will rekindle the extinguished spirits of burnt-out teachers, give hope to hopeless students, and bestow a visionary plan to save public education. 

“We are lost as a profession,” a teacher said on stage. 

“My dreams are getting smaller and smaller,” a student later echoed. 

“Well, maybe that new guy—you know, super … super …”

“You mean Superintendent Miles?” 

“Maybe Superintendent Miles will make things better for us.”

Maybe.

But teachers who spoke to the Texas Observer said Miles’ performance wasted the district’s time and money and mocked their professional experience and concerns. 

“For him to turn our concerns into satire is really insulting,” HISD teacher Melissa Yarborough said. “It reeks of propaganda.”

“He wasted our time when we could be in our classrooms preparing our lesson plans before school starts,” said Chris, an elementary school teacher who asked only to be identified by his first name. 

Jessica, who has been teaching for 24 years, told the Observer Miles’ musical “was very condescending. The message was that we don’t know what we’re doing. And he’s coming in to show us how to do it right.”

Chris, Jessica, and others we spoke to asked that we use their first or middle names for fear of disciplinary action. A slide from the training states: “HISD expects any employee not to use social media or any communications platform or media, including forwarding, supporting, or ‘liking’ posts or communications to communicate false or misleading information about the school or district, particularly if designed to damage the school or district’s reputation.” 

“THE MESSAGE WAS THAT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING.”

In recent weeks, criticisms of Miles’ sweeping reforms—particularly removing school librarians and using libraries as student disciplinary centers—have become national news. Miles has said that the 85 schools taking part in his New Education System program, which he transplanted from his Third Futures charter school network, will expand to 150 schools by 2025.  

Earlier this week, Miles terminated nearly two dozen special educational and mental health contractors after the Texas Education Agency tasked the new administration to improve special education services as a condition to end the takeover. 

The day before the performance, someone called the fire marshall to address the district’s chaotic and overcrowded training conference at the NRG Center.

“I saw somebody get wheeled out because they had a panic attack. Then this lady asked me to watch the door to keep people from coming in, so I didn’t really get anything from that training,” Chris said. 

In one scene, a teacher rebukes other teachers who waste class time.

“Maybe I should show a movie every now and then and give you free time so you can surf the web and only look at videos and TikToks,” she said on stage.

In another scene, an older teacher admonishes a group of students using pretentious diction. Students respond with slang, saying, “They always treat us like we’re second class, but we’re not.”

Miles’ character Mr. Duke then stepped in to help translate for both parties and bridge their differences, telling the students, “There’s always going to be people like that, but you guys are the underdog, and you’re going to show them how you’re going to change the world.”

Comfort Azagidi, a senior at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, who performed in the show, said that unlike Mr. Duke, during rehearsals Miles “didn’t really talk to us. When he finally came to rehearsals, he never introduced himself or acknowledged us. He just came in and walked past students and teachers.” Comfort said they were misled into participating in the show and found the portrayal of Gen Z students and culture “offensive.”

Teachers also said the musical belittled their concerns about the lack of information and organization they see from the district as they struggle to prepare for a new school year starting in less than two weeks. 

Elizabeth, a teacher with nine years of experience at one school in Miles’ New Education System program, said administrators eliminated the elective class she had taught for years. She is now instructing a course called “The Art of Thinking,” for which she has received only a general curriculum guide and the first three lessons. 

“I don’t know what exactly I’m supposed to accomplish in this class,” Elizabeth said. 

In public meetings, Miles had promised he would not eliminate school electives. He has been under fire for instituting a salary system that pays elective, science, and social studies teachers less than reading and math teachers. 

“I can look at an elective teacher in third grade and say reading is more important to our students right now, and the value that teacher brings is higher than the value a P.E. teacher brings,” Miles told the Houston Chronicle. 

“The musical was a slap in the face to all the fine arts teachers,” Elizabeth added, noting that Miles had to obtain the help of fine arts teachers and students from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and other schools. “All the choreography, technology, and skills behind the musical—these elective teachers had to build up that skill.”

In another scene, Miles took a jab at the press and community members criticizing his decision to eliminate librarians and turn libraries into student detention centers. 

“Why are you getting rid of playgrounds?” students playing reporters asked. 

“I didn’t say I’m getting rid of playgrounds,” said Miles, playing himself. 

“Why do you hate children?” the reporters ask. 

Elizabeth told the Observer, “The musical was a dig at everybody who has criticized him. It wasn’t about what the schools could be. It was just about him.”

When asked to comment about teachers’ criticisms of the musical, Miles said, “Those are anecdotes from one teacher or a handful of teachers dissing the convocation. They didn’t get into the spirit of it. Some people always want to bring down something great.” 

Miles called his critics naysayers and said, “You will always have people who don’t want to change.”

Yarborough disagrees. She said that teachers have been calling for changes for years, including smaller class sizes and more resources and funding for the classroom. She said some of Miles’ reforms, which have not worked in the past, are moving the district backward. 

“I’d agree with Miles that things were not good the way they were,” Yarborough said. “But he is not inventing anything new. Districts have tried scripted curriculum in the past, and it has not fixed our problems. Reconstituting schools is not new. Paying teachers based on their student test scores is not new. I have not seen any evidence that that stuff works.” 

Miles’ musical ended with teachers and students singing, dancing, and laughing freely on stage, which teachers noted was a stark contrast to the sterile classrooms Miles wants in schools. 

“It’s all for show,” Elizabeth said. “Like in the Wizard of Oz, when you look behind the curtain, what’s being presented is not what’s really going on.” 

JOSEPHINE LEE is Texas Observer's 2023 David McHam Investigative Reporting Fellow. She has previously worked as an educator and community organizer. Her reporting on labor, environment, politics, and education has been featured on Salon, Daily Beast, Truthout, and other outlets. She was raised in and lives in Houston.