Allyson Ackerman is the News Editor at Chron. She previously was the Deputy News Editor at the New York Post, where she also served as the Deputy Business Editor. She left the Big Apple for Houston and can now often be found in a car driving her two kids around town.

Houston ISD parents voiced frustrations over prioritized standardized test scores, district spending, and the district's response to potential ICE raids.

Local activist group Community Voices for Public Education planned both the sick-out and protest, targeted against the state-appointed board of managers and Superintendent Mike Miles. It estimates that nearly 3,

"HISD's job is to provide the highest level of education it can," One parent participating in the sickout said. "It's there to make sure we prepare Texans for tomorrow, not just to pass a test just to get a score.

Community Voices for Public Education is organizing a protest planned for Wednesday. The group says the idea is to express ongoing discontent with the state's takeover of the school district.