Houston ISD asks court to dismiss teachers’ union lawsuit over raises

Houston Chronicle · Nusaiba Mizan · 2026-10-30 23:13 UTC

An attorney for HISD asked Texas' First Court of Appeals to dismiss a teachers' union lawsuit about how state raises should be awarded.

Houston ISD asked justices of the state’s First Court of Appeals this week to dismiss a teachers’ union lawsuit demanding the district give teachers raises by years of service, not performance ratings.

The dispute concerns raises from the state that required districts to pay at least $2,500 to teachers with at least three years of experience. HISD officials wanted to distribute those raises based on evaluation ratings in the 2024-25 school year and pointed to an exception in the law for districts applying for a special status with the Texas Education Agency.

The Houston Federation of Teachers filed the lawsuit more than a year ago, arguing HISD did not meet the law’s exception. In September 2025, a judge ordered HISD not to spend the state funds for the 2025-26 school year in any way outside of the money's purpose.

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