Austin ISD and the state: what happens next

Last checked: October 16, 2026. This page collects what has been reported about state intervention in the Austin Independent School District (AISD). It describes options and deadlines, not a prediction. Nothing here has been decided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Why is the state stepping in?

Webb and Burnet middle schools each received five consecutive F ratings in the state accountability system, which triggers a law requiring TEA to intervene in some way. AISD has appealed the schools' 2025-26 ratings. Austin Current reports that if the ratings are finalized in December, Education Commissioner Mike Morath can act. Austin Current, October 12 · Austin Current, October 9

What can the commissioner do?

Close the two schools.
Take over the district. TEA would remove the superintendent, choose a new one and negotiate the salary, and replace the elected school board with an appointed board of managers.
Appoint a conservator and leave district leadership in place, as Morath did in Wichita Falls.
Combine interventions. Experts told Austin Current a parent-requested closure would not rule out an appointed board or conservator.

The parent petition: filed October 15, not yet verified

A 2011 state law lets parents petition the commissioner to close their own school. Each petition needed signatures from parents representing more than half of enrolled students at that school, one parent per student, by October 15. The only recent use of the law, in Snyder, kept the state from taking over that whole district. Austin Current, October 9

What happened. The Austin Council of Parent Teacher Associations (ACPTA) led the drive and turned the signatures in to district officials before 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, October 15. The district confirmed it received them. ACPTA president Crystal Brothwell Hernandez said she was "100% confident" the group exceeded its goals of 299 signatures for Burnet and 174 for Webb. She also said the result is not known until the district processes every petition. KUT, October 16

What has not happened. No official count has been published. AISD will validate the petitions after its enrollment snapshot is final: student names and numbers must match state records as of October 30. The district will send its results to TEA by December 1. KUT, October 16

If the commissioner accepts them. The superintendent must submit a closure plan by January 30, 2027. The campuses could not be used for academic purposes next school year, and when they reopen they could not serve the same grades or would need significantly different academic programs. The commissioner could still add a monitor, a conservator or a board of managers. KUT, October 16

Concerns parents raised. Some parents told KUT that volunteers pressured them with phone calls, home visits and a presence outside Webb, and that some forms students brought home already had names, phone numbers and addresses filled in. Brothwell Hernandez said ACPTA did not send pre-filled petitions. More than 70% of Burnet and Webb families speak a language other than English at home. Webb parent Karen Peraza said she plans to look into withdrawing her signature. KUT asked AISD and TEA how a parent can withdraw one and had no answer at publication. KUT, October 16

Who pays?

The district does. TEA gives districts no additional money for intervention costs; spokesperson Jake Kobersky said the state "works with district leadership to identify additional revenue sources." AISD ended last year with a $105 million deficit, closed 11 schools, and holds about half the reserves its board policy calls for. It is borrowing $140 million to cover payroll through November until property tax payments arrive. Austin Current, October 12

What other districts paid, as reported by Austin Current:

Fort Worth (full takeover in March): at least $412,000 to part ways with its former superintendent, plus a conservator at $250 an hour and travel.
Houston (taken over in 2023): nearly $450 million from reserves in the first two years. Its appointed superintendent was hired at $380,000 and now earns $462,000.
Beaumont: $245,000 to its previous superintendent to serve as an adviser until January 2027, on top of the state-appointed leader's salary.

Segura's base pay is $362,000. His contract does not say what he would be paid if the state took over.

Dates to watch

October 15 (passed): Petitions filed with the district.
October 30: Enrollment snapshot that petition names must match.
December 1: AISD sends its petition results to TEA.
December: The ratings appeal could be final.
January 30, 2027: Closure plan due, if the commissioner accepts the petitions.

Bulletin coverage

Every edition that has covered Webb, Burnet or state intervention, newest first: