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Houston ISD parents and trustees urge board to reject certification waiver, warn special‑education plan risks legal, financial harm
Summary
At a May 20 budget workshop, trustees and more than a half‑dozen parents and students urged Houston ISD’s Board of Managers not to waive Superintendent Mike Miles’s certification and warned that proposed special‑education reassignments could trigger Office for Civil Rights action and unbudgeted costs.
Trustee Maria Benson, an elected member of the Houston ISD board, told the May 20 budget workshop that she opposed waiving the superintendent certification and warned the district is already cutting ‘‘to the classroom’’ by allowing uncertified teachers and removing skilled educators: "A fourth of teachers in HISD are uncertified, yet principal of the year winners are let go. Certified beloved educators are fired. That is a cut to the classroom." Benson also criticized roughly $4.5 million in startup funding for a nine‑school Future2/AI pilot and said the district risks long‑term harm if leadership ignores credentials and community concerns.
The public comment period drew parents and students who pressed the board on planned reassignments of students with disabilities. "You are segregating students with special needs and treating them as if they do not deserve a proper education," said Victoria, a student who identified herself during public comment, and warned that the Office for Civil Rights is investigating the district. Several speakers cited prior federal enforcement actions and said the district is not budgeting for potential legal costs, transportation obligations, or the loss of federal special‑education funding.
Elected Trustee Michael McDonald (District 6) highlighted numbers given by the administration and outside speakers, saying the district’s own materials show the proposal could involuntarily move more than 5,000 students and warned that some families who currently do not receive transportation through IEPs could face new burdens. He pressed the administration to clarify how many of the affected students have transportation in their IEPs and questioned whether capping campus budget increases at 4% still results in net losses to some schools.
Multiple public commenters tied those special‑education concerns to broader criticisms of district leadership. Diana Candida, a parent, argued that superintendent certification programs prepare leaders for financial accountability and legal responsibilities and urged the board not to waive the requirement for Mike Miles: "Houston deserves qualified, ethical leadership focused on students, not power or self‑interest." Melissa Arberu, addressing the meeting by Zoom, said the percentage of uncertified classroom teachers has risen since an uncertified superintendent was hired and implored the board to vote no on any waiver.
The administration listened but did not take a public vote on the certification waiver at the workshop. Superintendent Mike Miles opened the budget presentation afterward and said the board will consider budget action at its June 11 meeting; public speakers repeatedly asked the board not to take a certification waiver vote without fully addressing certification standards and the potential impacts on students.
A post‑closed‑session motion later in the meeting approved several personnel actions discussed in closed session, including terminations and nonrenewals; the board announced that motion passed but did not provide a public roll‑call tally.
Why it matters: Speakers warned the board that changing where students with disabilities attend school carries legal and fiscal risk—and that waiving superintendent certification would be interpreted as lowering standards in a district already facing enrollment decline and staff turnover. The board will revisit budget and personnel decisions at its June 11 meeting.
