A federal judge on Wednesday denied Houston ISD’s request for a preliminary injunction and dismissed its lawsuit aimed at stopping the Texas Education Agency from replacing the district’s elected board, delivering a temporary victory to state officials.

However, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that HISD could still argue parts of the lawsuit in state court and did not reject a Voting Rights Act violation claim brought by the district’s largest teachers union, keeping the possibility of legal intervention alive.

In a 13-page ruling issued late Wednesday, Yeakel found that HISD officials could not legally bring federal due process and voting rights claims against the Texas Education Agency, and that allegations of First Amendment rights violations by the agency did not warrant issuing a preliminary injunction.

For now, Yeakel’s ruling means TEA officials can continue moving ahead with their plans to temporarily strip power from elected trustees in the state’s largest district and appoint a new governance team, the result of chronically low performance at Wheatley High School and multiple findings of misconduct by HISD board members.

Yet the ruling does not definitively clear the way for TEA to oust the district’s school board.

Yeakel, based in Austin, said claims that Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath exceeded his authority on multiple occasions prior to deciding to replace HISD trustees could be heard in a Travis County court, where he remanded the case.

Lawyers for HISD have argued Morath misinterpreted a state law mandating sanctions against HISD tied to Wheatley receiving its seventh consecutive failing grade in August. They also have claimed Morath engaged in a biased, incomplete investigation of allegations that multiple trustees improperly interfered with district business and violated the Texas Open Meetings Act last year before voting to replace Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan, who was quickly reinstated.

A TEA spokesman said the agency would not comment on Yeakel’s ruling. HISD Board President Diana Dávila deferred an interview request to the trustees’ outside counsel, Kevin O’Hanlon, who said in a text message that he was not immediately available to speak Wednesday night.

Yeakel also ruled that earlier this month he mistakenly allowed the Houston Federation of Teachers to join the lawsuit, concluding that the union and school district have different claims that could “confuse and blur” the litigation. Yeakel declared that the HFT must file a separate legal action.

Members of the union allege Morath is violating the federal Voting Rights Act by disenfranchising voters in HISD, where the strong majority of residents are black or Hispanic. In an similar case involving the TEA’s decision to replace North Forest ISD’s elected school board, a federal judge ruled the move does not violate the Voting Rights Act because all residents, regardless of race or ethnicity, are equally impacted.

HFT President Zeph Capo said the union plans to file its own lawsuit after Yeakel’s ruling.

“We’ve got an argument put forward, so we might as well put it in front of a judge,” Capo said.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com