Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath says he’s ordering the appointment of a conservator and a board of managers to govern the Lake Worth ISD after several consecutive years of failing ratings at the Marilyn Miller Language Academy. When a school in a district fails to meet accountab ility standards for five consecutive years, the TEA is required by state law to intervene in what is commonly called a “state takeover,” where the commissioner must either close the failing school or replace the district’s elected school board with a state-appointed board of managers. The latter is happening now with the Lake Worth Independent School District. Earlier this year, the Marilyn Miller Language Academy earned its fifth consecutive unacceptable accountability rating for the 2024-25 school year. With the most recent rating, the TEA said it has been eight years since Marilyn Miller Language Academy earned an acceptable academic accountability rating. Since the implementation of the state’s current A-F accountability system in 2019, the school has been assigned a final academic accountability rating of Improvement Required for 2018, the lowest rating in the accountability system. The TEA said that, in addition to the academy’s fifth consecutive unacceptable rating, every campus in the district earned either an F or a C, with five earning Fs and one earning a C. The district currently has five of its six campuses rated academically unacceptable for consecutive years. “Lake Worth ISD has demonstrated a chronic inability to support students to learn and achieve at high levels,” the TEA said in its letter to the district. “Across all grades and subjects, only 22% of students in Lake Worth ISD are meeting grade level. This is 28 percentage points below state average.” In his letter, Morath said he notified the district on Sept. 3 that the ratings assigned to the academy were final and that he would be required to take action, either close the school or appoint a board and conservator. Morath said the district did not appeal the performance ratings. “Ultimately, the Lake Worth ISD school board has, collectively, through action and inaction over many years, failed its students,” Morath said. “The inability of the district to implement effective changes to improve the performance of students in the district or at the campus necessitates the interventions announced by this letter.” “Furthermore, the interventions are in the public interest as the failure of governance is demonstrated by the continual academic deficiencies at the campus and across the district,” Morath said. Lake Worth ISD said Thursday afternoon that the action taken by the TEA does not change their commitment to its mission or its partnership with the community. “We accept the TEA’s decision and view this as an opportunity to accelerate our progress,” saidSuperintendent Dr. Mark Ramirez. “Our focus remains clear: supporting teachers, improvinginstruction and doing what’s best for kids. We are committed to transparency, accountability andpartnership as we work side-by-side with TEA to ensure lasting improvements for our students.” It will take time for Morath to name a board of managers and a conservator. When the TEA announced it was taking over the Fort Worth ISD on Oct. 22, a conservator was not named until Nov. 6. The board of managers will consist of members of the Lake Worth community, and anyone interested in serving on the board can apply on the TEA’s website. Until the TEA transitions the school district to the board of managers and a conservator, a move that will take several months and will occur sometime in 2026, the current superintendent and school board remain in charge. It is unclear whether Morath will also replace Ramirez. In previous takeovers, the commissioner has replaced both school boards and superintendents simultaneously. As in Fort Worth, the current Lake Worth board of trustees will have an opportunity to participate in an informal review of the board of managers’ and the conservator’s appointments on Dec. 19. At that time, the district can present information or supporting documentation for consideration in the decisions of the board of managers and conservator. After the informal review, if the TEA moves forward with assigning a conservator and board of managers, the district can file a petition for review with the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The current school board could return to their elected positions if the state ends its intervention while they are still in office. Trustee elections will continue on schedule, so newly elected trustees may not have decision-making authority if elected during the appointment period. Returning to trustee control can take two years, with one-third of the appointed board of managers replaced by elected trustees every 12 months. The Lake Worth ISD learned of the TEA’s decision on Thursday afternoon and said they will continue implementing a “bold, strategic and comprehensive turnaround plan focused squarely on academic improvement, particularly in foundational literacy and math” and that they’ve already seen improvements due to those strategic approaches. The district said it also appealed TEA’s accountability rating for Lake Worth High School and won, elevating the rating from a 69 to a 79, just one point shy of a B. “This victory underscores the immediate, positive impact of our collective effort,” Ramirez said. TEA ratings Texas Education Agency Dec 9 38 Arlington ISD campuses see higher ratings after automated TEA grading rechecked Fort Worth Nov 19 Fort Worth ISD board votes to appeal state takeover Texas Education Agency Oct 22 TEA takes over Fort Worth ISD, says school board ‘failed the students' ...read more read less