A state-appointed oversight board can now take control of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. The district says the takeover targets its mostly Black students. On Thursday, October 15, 2026, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw lifted the temporary block he had placed on Tennessee's takeover in late June, Chalkbeat Tennessee reported. That block had lasted more than three months. Now the board can start leading major district decisions while the district's lawsuit goes on.
The board holds a lot of power, according to Chalkbeat. It can override and direct most big decisions. It can adopt the yearly budget and close schools. It can also name a new superintendent and change how teachers teach and what students learn.
The district sees real harm in this. In an amended complaint filed Tuesday, MSCS leaders said the state is "singling out" the district's mostly Black students because of race, Chalkbeat reported. The district also said the takeover will take needed money from schools to pay oversight board salaries. It said the move will remove the community's power to hold board leaders accountable. MSCS made similar claims in a separate lawsuit filed in local chancery court on October 7, Action News 5 reported. Both cases are still open.
The judge saw the evidence differently. At an earlier federal hearing on October 2, Crenshaw said he never meant the board's summer pause to last long, Chalkbeat reported. He also said MSCS had not shown enough proof that the takeover would harm students. The ruling came one day later, on October 15. The day before, on October 14, Judge Melanie Taylor Jefferson stepped away from the case, Action News 5 reported.
The decision came after a court filing by state board Chair Billy Orgel. He said the board was ready to get back to work, after meeting for the first time in months. At that meeting last week, the board quickly approved key policies, Chalkbeat reported. But members argued over one question. Was it legal and ethical to adopt materials made by the outside consulting firm MGT during the summer pause? Orgel said local donors, including the pro-takeover group Seeding Success, paid for the consulting work. He argued that made it legal. Board members did not agree on when or where to meet next. So far they have met only online or in Nashville.
Tennessee Republicans have long said they want to use Houston's takeover as a model for MSCS, according to Chalkbeat. After Houston's takeover began, Texas leaders named a new superintendent there. That superintendent created a new curriculum and made teachers reapply for their jobs. Both Memphis and state leaders will need to show evidence as the Tennessee case goes on.