School librarians and media specialists at 28 of Houston Independent School District’s 274 campuses will not be returning to their former jobs this coming school year.
Houston Superintendent Mike Miles, who was appointed in June by the Texas Education Agency as part of a state takeover of the district, authorized the repurposing of former school libraries into “team centers,” where students who misbehave will be sent to watch lessons virtually. That means 28 schools, most of them serving student populations that are either majority-Black, majority-Hispanic/Latino or economically disadvantaged, will not have school libraries in the coming school year.
