houstonpublicmedia.org

Last October, the Houston school board opened its regular, monthly meeting with the typical routines — the pledge of allegiance, recognition — and then moved to the district’s business. Except then, the meeting turned raucous, with shouting and racially-charged accusations. What happened has helped trigger a special state investigation into the Houston school board and intensified the already looming threat of a state takeover. But now, administrators at the Texas Education Agency are examining what was behind that surprise motion and split vote. In particular, they are trying to determine if some Houston school board members violated the Texas Open Meetings Act and if there are any other governance issues. Joe Larsen, a Houston attorney who serves on the board of directors for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said Texas has an open meetings law to protect against corruption and require transparency.