Parents and students protest state takeover of Houston ISD with 'sickout'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston ISD classrooms could be pretty empty if parents opt into a "sickout" protest on Wednesday morning.

Community Voices for Public Education organized the protest because they're upset with Superintendent Mike Miles and some of the district's policies since the state takeover.

Parents and students gathered at HISD's Wharton Dual Language Academy at 8 a.m. to voice their concerns about some district policies.

They urged parents across the district to keep their kids home on Wednesday and call out sick to get the attention of administrators.

ABC13 cameras captured the crowd of parents and students on Wednesday morning. They held signs with phrases like "teach how to think, not what," "a happy school is a better school," "stop the toxic environment," "culture destroyer Mike Miles," "children are more than test scores," "education, not oppression," and "frequent liar Miles" -- to name a few.

Parents with Community Voices for Public Education are upset over some of the policies coming from Miles.

They claim teachers are under so much pressure to perform well on state standardized tests and that there is no support for teachers or students.

"We simply, as HISD parents and the constituents of this school system, have an extreme distrust. I think that was proven through the vote down of the bond," said parent Noel Rushin, who is keeping his student home on Wednesday. "I hope that HISD understands our children are not monetized dollars. It's not a matter of our children being a point to get funding. HISD's job is to provide the highest level of education it can to all of the individual students of HISD. It's there to make sure we prepare Texans for tomorrow, not just to pass a test just to get a score."

Some parents are also concerned over the possibility of ICE raids happening on district campuses. Schools had previously been considered a "safe space" for undocumented children, but that changed under President Donald Trump.

HISD responded to the protest with a statement posted to social media, saying it will only hurt the students.

"It is entirely irresponsible for CVPE to cynically exploit people's legitimate concerns about federal immigration policy to push their own political agenda about the state intervention," the statement read, in part.

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