Struggling to find teachers close to home, some Texas schools are looking overseas for help
Public schools got little help from lawmakers this year to address the stateโs chronic teacher shortage, so theyโve turned to other creative solutions โ like leaning on cultural exchange programs to recruit international teachers.
Gov. Abbott directs Texas schools to resources for teaching about Israel-Hamas war
As tensions have flared in the escalating conflict and protests have spread across Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the Texas Education Agency would provide resources to schools to counter misinformation and antisemitism.
Voucher proposal spurs mix of excitement, wariness in Texas home schooling community
Parents of Texasโ growing population of home-schooled students are split over whether education savings accounts would give them much-needed financial help or represent an unwanted government involvement in their kidsโ educations.
Support for Houston ISDโs Spanish speakers has dwindled under state-appointed leader, parents say
For one reading class, Superintendent Mike Miles said instruction would focus on English, even if it meant risking state funding for dual-language programs. Parents say it goes further than that, adding that their kids are receiving no assistance in Spanish at all.
Texas Education Agency delays release of annual school ratings
TEA said it needs to make adjustments to account for changes in studentsโ academic performance after the pandemic. The delay comes after several school districts sued to stop the agency from releasing school rankings produced under a new rating system.
School safety, tutoring and hair: These are some of the new education laws that go into effect this year
Lawmakers failed to pass legislation on school vouchers or teacher raises this year, but they approved other education-related laws like an $800 million investment in high-quality instructional materials and new rules for students found vaping or using marijuana.
Booksellers sue over Texas law requiring them to rate books for appropriateness
Two Texas bookstores and three national bookseller associations file suit over House Bill 900, which requires private booksellers to rate books on appropriateness, and bans โsexually explicitโ material from libraries.
New school safety laws seek to add armed guards, chaplains and mental health training. Hereโs what you need to know.
Experts say many of the changes will bolster school safety but some requirements may be challenging for public schools to implement by the upcoming school year with limited funding and staffing constraints.
No teacher raises. A failed school voucher push. Armed guards. Hereโs what changed for public education this legislative session.
Lawmakers sacrificed school funding to block school vouchers, but the issue could be debated again in a special session. Districts will get new funds for school safety, though Uvalde families were ultimately left disappointed with inaction on gun restrictions.
Texas House votes to require panic buttons in every classroom and armed guards in every school
Lawmakers have said school safety is a priority this session, but it is still unclear whether theyโll listen to Uvalde families who want to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21.
At schools across Houston, students and parents protest Texas Education Agencyโs takeover of stateโs largest district
At one elementary school, protesters chanted as the school day was about to begin. Parents sought petition signatures at a high school. The demonstrations are planned throughout the day.
Houston ISD families blast the stateโs takeover of the district as an intervention that wonโt improve student learning
Parents and students of the Houston Independent School District decried the stateโs decision to take control of the school system. Despite the news, many questions remain about how it would affect them.
Texas Families would get $8,000 in tax dollars to send students to private school in sweeping โparental rightsโ bill backed by Lt. Gov.
The bill, which has the blessing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, will create new rules on how gender and sexual orientation is taught. It will face a tougher test in the House.
In audio, high-ranking TEA official admits public school funds could drop with voucher-like programs
โSchool districts, what they have to do if they lose a student, [is] be smart about how they allocate their resources and maybe thatโs one less fourth grade teacher,โ Steve Lecholop, a TEA deputy commissioner, said in a call with a parent that was secretly recorded.
Texas senators seem open to major change in stateโs public education funding formula
Senators in the finance committee asked questions Monday about the pros and cons of basing the amount of money that schools get per student on enrollment instead of attendance. Districts say the change could mean millions in additional funding.
Canyon Lake HS warns parents another teacher may have had โinappropriate communicationโ with a student
Principal Mark Oberholtzer told parents in a letter on Tuesday that he had learned the day before about allegations of a teacher, Orlando Naumann, having engaged in โinappropriate communicationโ with a student. Naumann resigned in the face of an investigation, but has not been charged or arrested.
Texas greenlighted a felon to train school board members. Now education officials are examining their rules.
Records show James Dunn was convicted twice for defrauding federal government agencies. He registered his school board training, which he described as an alternative to โwokeโ programs, with the Texas Education Agency this fall.
Texas Supreme Court weighs whether to allow stateโs education agency to oust Houston school board
Among other issues, the court will consider whether a law that updated the education code last year has any bearing on TEA Commissioner Mike Morathโs attempt to replace HISDโs board members over low academic scores.
High-poverty schools struggle to earn Texasโ highest rating. Some in the Rio Grande Valley break that trend.
The Texas Education Agency has dismissed the notion that the accountability ratings are a poverty rating. As evidence, they point to districts like those in the Rio Grande Valley, which have achieved high marks while serving a high number of economically disadvantaged students.
Texas school ratings show improvement compared to 2019, but those in poorer neighborhoods still lag
This yearโs TEA ratings were done differently than in previous years. Instead of the usual A-F ratings, which were last given in 2019, the agency gave only A-C ratings. Districts and schools that would have received a D or F instead received a โNot Ratedโ label this year.
โItโs truly just voter intimidationโ: NISD pressured staff, tracked votes during bond election, records show
Employees at multiple Northside Independent School District campuses have told the KSAT 12 Defenders in recent weeks that administrators relentlessly pressured them to vote on a May bond measure, tracked whether they had cast a ballot and in one instance threatened discipline if they failed to do so.
Districts not applying for extra funds to help protect students who walk to school in high violence areas, TEA says
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.
San Antonio school districts lay out COVID-19 policies as cases continue to surge
Seven of the cityโs 16 school districts, including three of the cityโs largest, have laid out the COVID-19 policies each has in effect as students, teachers, and staff whoโd fallen ill prepare to return to campus.
Power struggle continues among South San ISD top leaders
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.
Texas schools can again set their own face mask rules after federal judge overrules Gov. Greg Abbottโs ban
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbottโs executive order prohibiting mask mandates in schools violates the Americans with Disabilities Act โ freeing local officials to again create their own rules.
Gov. Greg Abbott tells state agencies to develop standards to block books with "overtly sexual" content in schools
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.
Community oversight could play a role in solution as South San ISD board members, superintendent at odds
Dysfunctional school boards could impact district leadership in the future if the community and voters donโt take action to be involved and pay attention to who represents them on their local board.
Classroom Confessionals: Parents at odds over whether to quarantine after exposure
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.