It was announced today that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has tapped Mike Morath to serve as the state's next commissioner of education. Morath will succeed Commissioner Michael Williams who is stepping down at the end of the year. Morath is a business executive with a background in finance. He has been a member of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) board of trustees since 2011. Morath gained notoriety when he joined reformers in voicing strong support for an effort last year to make DISD the first-ever home rule charter district in Texas. That effort, which was underwritten in large part by the Arnold Foundation, failed, as we reported on Teach the Vote. Morath also serves on the advisory board of Texans for Education Reform (TER). Today's announcement comes just one month after Abbott also selected Morath to chair the new Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability, which the legislature created to recommend changes to our state's student testing and accountability systems. The governor's press release today states that "Morath is a product of Texas public schools" and that he once briefly taught computer science at Garland High School "during a school year when the previous teacher unexpectedly resigned." There has been much speculation lately as to whether the governor would select an education insider or a reformer/business leader to head the Texas Education Agency going forward. Morath's name was not one that was more widely circulated, but his selection sends another signal that Abbott is very interested in the agenda of the education reform and pro-privatization crowd. Morath joins the list of other recent reform-minded appointees we've written about on Teach the Vote, such as newly-minted Pension Review Board chair Josh McGee. As the state's largest educator association, ATPE looks forward to an opportunity to meet with Morath and share our members' input and experiences with him. We anticipate that he will want to pursue innovative approaches to regulations dealing with such issues as charter schools, teacher appraisals, and student testing. We hope that Morath will be the type of commissioner who is receptive to educators' voices in matters of policy and will support local control.