TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY

Firefighters are looking to the skies for much-needed rain this week as crews continue battling wildfires across the state.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The vote follows concerns that a hot mic may have picked up the superintendent cutting a deal to hire the board president's brother as a consultant.

For the first time since the pandemic, Texas schools will again be rated based on standardized tests. But for one year only, schools that receive a D or F will get a “not rated” label.

The district's state-appointed monitor said in a report that the board's failure to meet for almost two months "created monumental problems."

Two states have dropped the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment, and three others passed on it or want it gone.

The Arc contains UV-C, an invisible light that has special properties capable of attacking microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, viruses and mold.

School districts are not required to adopt the agency’s recommendations but can use them as guidance as they develop new procedures or alter their policies for selecting or removing library books.

The state's 13th-largest school district is recruiting teachers from outside the U.S. to fill bilingual positions.

Before a gymnasium full of cheering students, teachers, staff and district administrators, Putegnat Elementary Principal Aidee Vasquez acknowledged her school’s latest accomplishment Tuesday morning, the Distinguished Performance Award given by the Texas Education Agency. The Elementary and Secondary Education Association, or ESEA, designated Putegnat for the award at its national conferene in February in New Orleans. “What we’ve always known about Putegnat has been reognized once again, that we are a distinguished school amongst very few. You can now call yourselves a Blue Ribbon, Distinguished Honor Roll campus,” Vasquez told her students. “We reward students.

K-3 teachers in Texas have until 2023 to complete a 60-hour Reading Academies course to keep the job. It’s taking some 120 hours on their own time to finish.

Local school leaders welcomed the state's announcement Tuesday but said attendance problems will continue to impact budgets.

The La Joya ISD Board of Trustees heard a report Wednesday on corrective action spurred by two administrators and two trustees pleading guilty this year in an ongoing corruption investigation in Western Hidalgo County.

Paxton equated the week of LGBTQ-inclusive activities with sex education in a letter to the district. Austin ISD says it’s about acceptance.

In its first full meeting in two months, trustees traded barbs and accusations of wrongdoing before installing new leadership.

An Eastland County sheriff’s deputy died Thursday as wildfires swept through several small Texas communities west of Dallas, destroying at least 50 homes and charring more than 54,000 acres as of Sund[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

A state education board member said this week that the Texas Education Agency is exploring its options regarding possibly intervening at La Joya ISD as the district faces criticism over preparing to appoint, rather than hold an election, two trustees to seats vacated by previous board members convicted of federal charges.

A state education board member said this week that the Texas Education Agency is exploring its options regarding possibly intervening at La Joya ISD as the district faces criticism over preparing to appoint, rather than hold an election, two trustees to seats vacated by previous board members convicted of federal charges.

The Texas Education Agency announced the creation of the Teacher Vacancy Task Force to...

Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Education Agency to create a task force to examine the state’s teacher shortage problem. In a letter to TEA Commissioner Mike Morath on Monday, Abbott said the task force should investigate why these shortages exist, recommend policy changes to the state education agency and consider more flexibility in […]

Comal ISD Superintendent Andrew Kim and East Central ISD Superintendent Roland Toscano and will be part of the 28-member panel.

The task force will meet monthly for one year to discuss potential solutions for the statewide teacher staffing shortages.

The interim superintendent authorized a transfer of money to cover a payment that was due Tuesday, which is the trustees' duty.

Governor Greg Abbott has sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency requesting a task force be created to address teacher shortages in Texas schools. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a shortage of teachers around Texas. Several school districts in the Rio Grande Valley increased substitute teacher pay to get individuals in the classroom. In October 2021, the Brownsville Independent School District held a job fair to help fill some of those teacher shortages. Abbott writes “this task force should work diligently to ensure the best practices and resources of recruitment and retention are provided to districts to ensure the learning environment of Texas students is not interrupted by the absence of a qualified teacher.”

Teaching demands during the pandemic have exacerbated the nation’s teacher shortage. Abbott wants a task force to investigate.

The task force will investigate the challenges teacher shortages create for schools and find solutions to fill the increasing vacancies.

The Texas Education Agency says no school districts in the state have applied for available funds that would help with protecting students in high crime areas who walk to and from school.

The new requirement applies to charter schools set to open in August. The agency did not elaborate why this one law needed a separate assurance.

Local school districts reported more than five times as many COVID-19 cases the week of Jan. 23 than during the delta peak in August.

Texas State University students participating in the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) approved teacher residency program at Lockhart ISD were surprised with $20,000 annual stipends awarded during a special event on Jan. 18 at Clear Fork Elementary.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

School district leaders are desperately trying to fill vacant roles to stay open and some say they have no choice but to close.

Seven of the city’s 16 school districts, including three of the city’s largest, have laid out the COVID-19 policies each has in effect as students, teachers, and staff who’d fallen ill prepare to return to campus.

Many schools are pushing through with plans for in-person classes despite a surge in COVID-19 cases as they try to reassure parents and students they are prepared to open safely this week.

The district appears to be the first one to be investigated since Republicans started raising questions in October about content in public school libraries.

As critical race theory and mask mandate debates heat up, Texas GOP takes aim at local school board and municipal races

The school district that serves about 45,000 students had temporarily paused the mask mandate while it evaluated a federal court ruling.

The GOP of Texas has launched a Local Government Committee to work with county parties on backing candidates for nonpartisan local offices.

The Republican Party of Texas announced Monday it had launched a new Local Government Committee to work with county parties on backing candidates for nonpartisan local offices.

A conversation caught on a live microphone between Superintendent Marc Puig and a trustee about hiring a consultant led to the action.

South San ISD leaders held a special meeting Monday to discuss the possibility of placing the school Superintendent Marc Puig on paid administrative leave and asking the Texas Education Agency for a monitor, citing a conflict of interest with the recently placed monitor.

The so-called “critical race theory” law prohibits teachers from discussing “a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.”

The school district was previously investigated months ago.

Gaps in student learning because of pandemic disruptions could impact students in the long term.

For the second time in two years, the South San iSD board is under investigation by the state for interfering with the superintendent's job.

Students at Harmony Science Academy are learning how to 3D print objects they create in a Maker Space classroom made possible by Texas Education Agency grants and $46,000 in shared funding from the Elon Musk Foundation.

United ISD’s Cherish Center recently hosted visitors from Rio Grande City Grulla ISD,...

The Texas Education Agency is accepting applications for Texas COVID Learning Acceleration Supports, a program that helps provide tutoring to students who have fallen behind due to due COVID-19.

After a federal judged overruled Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order banning COVID-19 mask mandates, Texas schools can now set their own rules.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Gov.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has released two previous letters this month decrying the availability of "pornography" in school libraries.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates in schools violates the Americans with Disabilities Act — freeing local officials to again create their own rules.

Gov. Greg Abbott ramped up pressure on public schools Wednesday morning after ordering the Texas Education Agency to investigate “pornographic books” and “obscene content” in Texas public schools.

It’s unclear why the governor tasked the state's education agency, which does not employ law enforcement officers, to perform the investigation.

Abbott targeted two books that have been removed by schools recently that center on LGBTQ characters. One of the books includes a graphic illustration and the other includes depictions of sex.

HARLINGEN — The San Benito school district has “strictly” denied allegations presented to the Texas Education Agency claiming four school board members violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Texas House committee to investigate school districts’ books on race and sexuality

A state lawmaker has notified the Texas Education Agency that he is investigating what type of books Texas school districts have.

State Rep. Matt Krause, a candidate for state attorney general, asked school superintendents to confirm whether any books on a list of 850 titles are in their libraries and classrooms.

Families of students in special education programs who have been affected by school closures due to COVID-19 can apply for a $1,500 grant from the Texas Education Agency.

Nearly three months into this school year, the number of reported coronavirus cases among students has surpassed the total from the entire 2020-21 school year. Every Friday, the Texas Education Agency releases COVID-19 case counts for students and staff, as reported by the state’s school districts. Here is the latest situation for the week ending Sunday, Oct. 17:State data on school cases is incomplete and likely an undercount. Last year, school districts were permitted to require masks. Instead, school districts either used federal relief dollars or dug deep into their budgets to provide remote programming for families.

Students in Texas public schools are facing another year upturned by COVID-19 as the highly contagious delta variant spreads, mask mandates are inconsistent and children under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated against the virus.

Plaintiffs say the governor’s order denies children with disabilities, who are at a high risk of illness and death from the coronavirus, access to public education.

Former Superintendent Abe Saavedra will serve as South San ISD's monitor, following TEA's investigation into the district.

Dysfunctional school boards could impact district leadership in the future if the community and voters don’t take action to be involved and pay attention to who represents them on their local board.

Cardona spoke about how students, teachers, schools and districts have fared during the pandemic — and what happens now.

After it was announced that the federal government would start an investigation over the...

The U.S. Department of Education announced the inquiry after the TEA quietly updated its guidance to say school districts can’t require masks.

The federal government is investigating whether the Texas Education Agency is preventing schools from serving students with disabilities by prohibiting districts from having mask mandates,...

The U.S. Department of Education announced the inquiry days after the Texas Education Agency quietly updated its guidance to say school districts can’t require masks.

Student and staff COVID-19 cases declined after districts reported their highest levels in January since the pandemic began. But the data is incomplete and likely an undercount.

Amid the several controversial new laws enacted this year by the Texas legislature were some good bills that deserved, and got, bipartisan support. One especially welcome law that took effect Sept. 1, and originated in the Rio Grande Valley, expands school athletic programs to include adaptive sports for special-needs students.

The Project SAFE grant would go to school districts and local education agencies that had funding withheld for enacting mask mandates.

A monitor from the Texas Education Agency is being appointed to the South San Antonio Independent School District to “address material deficiencies in the district” between the board of trustees and the superintendent.

The state is not funding virtual learning this school year, but that could change if Texas lawmakers pass a bill to fund remote instruction.

The Texas Education Agency released its final report into South San ISD on Tuesday, finding trustees acted outside their authority.

The bill would pay for virtual learning until September 2023, but won't fund it for students who have failed their STAAR exams.

The bill, which would provide funding through September 2023, will head back to the Senate before reaching Gov. Greg Abbott's desk.

There have been 20,256 reported cases among students across the state since the school year began.

A mother whose daughter is immunocompromised says protecting children's health should come before anyone's right to be unmasked in public.

PRESIDIO COUNTY –– Late last week, the Texas Education Agency decided to temporarily stop enforcing Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order that bans school districts from implementing a mask mandate. Prior to the TEA’s aboutface, Texas school districts, in this most recent school year, could not mandate their staff and students wear masks, merely recommend they do so.

As students have returned to in-classroom learning this fall in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, parents are facing a dilemma on whether or not they should quarantine their potentially exposed children and when.

Freer and San Diego ISDs join other South Texas school districts in creating mask mandates. Others include Alice, Kingsville and West Oso ISDs.

Nearly 1,200 positive COVID cases have been reported in various school districts, including those from Aransas County and Corpus Christi.

This is a reversal of the Texas Education Agency’s previous guidance, which didn’t explicitly require school districts to notify parents of a close contact with the virus.

Biden said he will use the U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights enforcement authority to deter states from blocking mask mandates in classrooms.

Disability Rights Texas filed the lawsuit on behalf of 14 child plaintiffs saying the ban violates federal anti-discrimination law under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

For the second straight year, schools must worry about keeping their staff and their children safe and ensure that they’re providing the best possible education during a pandemic that has killed more than 50,000 Texans.

Dallas ISD and Austin ISD announced Monday they will require masking, while Houston ISD will vote on a mandate this week. A nonprofit group has also sued to block Abbott’s order.

The new guidance will allow for remote learning for up to 20 days for students who are sick with COVID-19 or have been exposed to it.

The TEA released new health guidelines for schools more than a week after legislators sent a letter to Gov. Abbott and Commissioner Morath, urging them to reconsider mask mandates in schools and funding for virtual learning due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Public health experts and medical professionals are sounding the alarm over the highly transmissible delta variant of COVID-19. The governor has stood firm on his ban against masking mandates in schools.

The Texas Education Agency cited COVID-19’s disproportionate effect on communities of color as reason for lower engagement and attendance rates among students of color.

Texas educators say they’re concerned they won’t be able to have open conversations about what’s happening in the world if the Texas Legislature approves a bill that restricts how teachers can discuss current events in the classroom.

A new incentive program will increase pay for teachers facing some of the greatest challenges in helping students catch up from the pandemic. It relies on more than standardized test scores to measure performance.

Olivia Weisinger and her growing band of parents have battled the board not just about safety but even more about accountability for the seven-member board.

AdIn New Braunfels ISD, which serves more low-income and Latino students, the school board opted to survey parents, resulting in a vote to keep the school mask mandate. One Comal ISD board member, Marty Bartlett, cited the arguments of well-known conspiracy theorists and vaccine skeptics who say masks are government overreach, not sound science. His margins were widest in the rural areas in Comal ISD and smaller in New Braunfels ISD. The two districts, both headquartered in New Braunfels, the largest city in the county, have subtle but important differences: New Braunfels ISD is majority students of color (54%) to Comal ISD’s 48%; 38% of New Braunfels ISD students qualify for free and reduced lunch, while 30% qualify in Comal ISD. His comment — and the feedback from Hennessee’s and York’s districts — suggests the tension between conservative and ultraconservative viewpoints exists not just between New Braunfels ISD and Comal ISD, but within Comal ISD as well.

Teachers from Rawlinson Middle School in San Antonio go door to door to find students who have stopped logging in for class during the COVID-19 pandemic. They knock until someone answers, and talk to sleepy kids and overwhelmed parents about how to stay engaged during remote learning. (The 74)Since the beginning of the school year, a squad of Rawlinson teachers have visited around 100 homes. Two teachers volunteer, they set a date, and the school hires substitute teachers. The Rawlinson visits combine visits with a tool the study labeled “strong”: reminders to parents about the importance of attendance, consequences of absenteeism, and how many days the student has missed.

Hello parents, teachers and students! Are you ready for spring break? I know I am, and I bet you all will be excited when that bell rings later today. You’ve all earned some well-deserved time off.

Now, the Texas Education Agency has issued new guidance in response to Executive Order GA-34 . AdTEA officials said the governor’s order does not take away the agency’s authority to implement operational requirements for public schools. Under the new guidance, schools should continue to require masks for anyone over the age of 10, but local school boards have the authority to modify or eliminate the policy. TEA officials also responded to the news that educators and school support staff are eligible for vaccines effective immediately. AdTeachers will not be required to get the vaccine at this point and school districts cannot mandate that employees get vaccinated, TEA officials said.

Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas TribuneMasks are still required in Texas public schools unless local school boards decide to make them optional, the Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday. The guidance follows an announcement from the Texas Department of State Health Services that school and child care staff are now eligible for vaccines, effective immediately. Some of the state’s largest urban and suburban school districts, including Dallas Independent School District and Northside ISD, said they would keep the mandate in place. About 56% of Texas public school students are attending classes in-person, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told state lawmakers this week. Some school districts now face challenging decisions, with their communities deeply divided over how school officials should be responding to the pandemic.