{"id":2025483,"date":"2023-09-08T05:27:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T09:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-is-the-abbott-administration-closing-libraries-as-part-of-its-houston-public-school-revamp\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T05:30:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T09:30:23","slug":"fact-check-is-the-abbott-administration-closing-libraries-as-part-of-its-houston-public-school-revamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-is-the-abbott-administration-closing-libraries-as-part-of-its-houston-public-school-revamp\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: No, the Abbott Administration is not closing libraries as part of its Houston Public School revamp."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-is-the-abbott-administration-closing-libraries-as-part-of-its-houston-public-school-revamp%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2025483&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Claim:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Texas \u200dRepublican governor Greg Abbott&#8217;s administration is \u2063closing libraries and\u2062 turning them into disciplinary\u2064 centers\u200d as\u200c part of a state intervention into Houston&#8217;s chronically underperforming public\u2062 school system.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Who said\u200c it:<\/h3>\n<p>A slew of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/nbcblk\/houston-school-libraries-will-become-disciplinary-spaces-rcna97394\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">left-wing<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/jul\/29\/houston-school-district-libraries-book\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media outlets<\/a>, including the <em>New York Times<\/em>. In an Aug. 13 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/13\/us\/texas-houston-schools-libraries-takeover.html?partner=slack&#038;smid=sl-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">piece<\/a> \u200bheadlined &#8220;Texas Revamps \u2064Houston Schools, Closing Libraries and Angering Parents,&#8221; the\u2062 <em>Times<\/em> wrote that Abbott&#8217;s administration fired librarians and &#8220;effectively close[d] libraries \u2063in some of the city&#8217;s poorest schools,&#8221; \u200da\u2063 move \u2062the paper suggested would\u200c hurt minority students and families.<\/p>\n<h3>Why it\u2062 matters:<\/h3>\n<p>Houston&#8217;s public schools are <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonlanding.org\/houston-isd-staar-scores-reading-down-math-flat-as-district-faces-c-rating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lagging far \u200dbehind those in the rest \u200cof the state<\/a> in reading and math scores. The state&#8217;s intervention aims to reverse that trend, and if the effort \u2064is successful, it will provide a blueprint for struggling schools in\u2062 Texas and elsewhere.<\/p>\n<h3>Context:<\/h3>\n<p>Texas in 2015 passed \u2063a law by \u2062Rep. Harold Dutton Jr.\u2014a black Democrat who has represented \u2062Houston in the State Legislature for nearly four decades\u2014that requires\u200d the state&#8217;s education agency to intervene in failing school districts. If a\u200d public school receives \u2064a failing grade on its academic \u200dperformance for five consecutive years, the Texas Education Agency must appoint a new board of managers for the school district.<\/p>\n<p>Houston-based\u200c Wheatley High School \u200breceived failing grades from 2010 to 2019, triggering an intervention under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox26houston.com\/news\/what-rep-harold-dutton-who-wrote-the-takeover-bill-is-saying-about-the-state-taking-control-of-hisd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dutton-written\u200b law<\/a>. Texas education \u200bcommissioner \u2063Mike Morath \u200csubsequently appointed a new Houston Independent \u2062School \u200cDistrict board in June. That board,\u2062 along with state-appointed superintendent \u200cMike Miles, is tasked with implementing a revamped education plan\u2062 to improve reading and math scores\u2063 in the 28 elementary and middle schools that \u2063feed into Wheatley High School and other struggling schools.<\/p>\n<h3>Analysis:<\/h3>\n<p>Central to Miles&#8217;s \u2062plan to improve academic\u200b performance are so-called team \u2062centers, which the superintendent <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/NES-and-NESA-Team-Centers-Overview-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">describes<\/a> as spaces &#8220;for\u200b an individual learning \u200denvironment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At &#8220;team centers&#8221;\u2014located in libraries and large classrooms not used for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-is-the-abbott-administration-closing-libraries-as-part-of-its-houston-public-school-revamp\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: No, the Abbott Administration is not closing libraries as part of its Houston Public School revamp.\">traditional class instruction\u2014students\u200c receive individualized attention<\/a> from tutors and teaching assistants, the Texas \u2063Education Agency told the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em>. A student who mastered a\u2062 reading assignment in English class, for example, might use time in\u2063 a &#8220;team center&#8221; to \u2062read\u2063 more advanced material, while a student struggling with the assignment might work with a tutor to catch up.<\/p>\n<p>Miles&#8217;s &#8220;team centers&#8221; are also used to host students who disrupt class time. Under \u200cthe superintendent&#8217;s plan, students who misbehave in class are sent to their &#8220;team center&#8221; to watch a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-video-emerges-of-suv-running-over-people-during-waukesha-christmas-parade\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Video Emerges of SUV Running Over People During Waukesha Christmas Parade\">live video feed<\/a> of the remainder of\u200b their teacher&#8217;s lesson. As a result, those students still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-signs-law-requiring-students-to-learn-evils-of-communism-real-patriots-who-escaped-it\/\" title=\"DeSantis Signs Law Requiring Students To Learn \u2018Evils Of Communism,\u2019 \u2018Real Patriots\u2019 Who Escaped It\">receive instruction<\/a> without disrupting their classmates.<\/p>\n<p>That is the basis\u200c for \u2063the <em>Times<\/em>&#8216;s\u00a0assertion\u2014and that of other news outlets\u2014that Texas is &#8220;closing libraries&#8221; and turning them into &#8220;multipurpose computer rooms \u2026 used, in part, for discipline.&#8221; But \u2063the libraries are not closed. They&#8217;re still <a href=\"https:\/\/houstonlanding.org\/we-toured-4-overhauled-houston-isd-schools-this-week-heres-a-look-inside\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stocked with \u2062books<\/a> \u2063 that students can\u2064 read while in their &#8220;team center,&#8221; that other students can access even if\u2063 the given library is not home to their &#8220;team center,&#8221; and that students can \u200duse freely before and after \u200cschool.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Times<\/em> piece, which appeared before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/los-angeles-teachers-union-demands-vax-mandate-for-all-eligible-students-report\/\" title=\"Los Angeles Teachers Union Demands Vax Mandate For All Eligible Students: Report\">school year began<\/a>, acknowledged\u2063 some of\u200c this nuance, though its headline was misleading. \u2062&#8221;Mr. Miles has said that\u2062 given limited space \u200cand resources, the decision was a trade-off and \u200bthat students in schools where libraries have \u2064been converted \u2063into team rooms would still be\u2063 able to borrow books before or after\u200d school,&#8221; reported the paper, \u2063which did not\u200d return a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Since the start of\u2062 the school year, both parents and students in the\u2062 Houston Independent School District have praised the new approach.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our kids will be better (under these reforms),&#8221; a second-grade parent, Melody-Ford Williams, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/news\/houston-texas\/education\/article\/houston-isd-new-education-system-classes-start-18336283.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told \u2064the \u200d <em>Houston Chronicle<\/em><\/a>. &#8220;We\u2062 just can&#8217;t give them the bare minimum. We got to give them something harder that they can do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For the Texas Education Agency, the positive response from Houston \u200dparents and students &#8220;exposes how flawed&#8221; the coverage of Miles&#8217;s plan has \u2063been.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The books are still there, and\u200b the \u200dkids go to the libraries every day,&#8221; the \u2062agency told the \u2064 <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;The library discussion \u2026\u2063 is occupying national media attention because it\u200b seems to be fraught with controversy, \u2062even though all of the stories related to it are false.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>No, Abbott \u200cis not closing\u2064 libraries and \u2063turning them into disciplinary centers. The situation is a little\u2062 more \u200ccomplicated than the <em>Times<\/em> headline\u200b would have\u200d led you to believe.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span>Verdict:<\/span> <span>We rate this claim 4 Clintons.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas Governor Greg Abbott&#8217;s administration is allegedly converting libraries into disciplinary centers in an effort to address Houston&#8217;s struggling public school system. This claim has been made by various left-leaning media outlets, such as the New York Times, in an article published on August 13 titled &#8220;Texas Revamps Houston Schools, Closing Libraries.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2088,"featured_media":2025484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2088"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}