April 28, 2025 — In a 114 page Memorandum Opinion and Order, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake found and declared that the Spring Branch Independent School District’s current at-large system of electing school board trustees violates the Voting Rights Act. Judge Lake enjoined SBISD from conducting trustee elections under its current electoral system at any time after the election to be held on May 3, 2025.
The Court further ordered “that within twenty (20) days from the date of this Memorandum Opinion and Order the SBISD shall file with the court a single member district plan providing for the election of school board trustees, with sufficient supporting expert analysis establishing that it complies with Section 2 of the VRA. SBISD’s remedial plan may be either a seven district single-member system or a system with five single-member districts and two at-large trustee positions, so long as that system complies with § 2 of the VRA. See Tex. Educ. Code §11.052(a) (allowing for both 7-0 and 5-2 systems). SBISD’s remedial plan must (a) contain one or more geographically-compact single member districts in which the HCVAP constitutes a majority; (b) comply with the one person-one vote requirement; and (c) respect existing communities of interest, including but not limited to the integrity of areas of minority population concentrations. Along with these materials, the SBISD may include a memorandum of law of not more than 10 pages.”
The Court further ordered “that within twenty (20) days after SBISD files its remedial plan, Plaintiff may file objections to that plan, and, if desired, an alternative plan with supporting expert analysis. Plaintiff’s objections shall be no more than 10 pages. The SBISD may file a reply, not exceeding five (5) pages, within ten (10) days of Plaintiff’s response to SBISD’s proposed plan.”
