When Texas chose a company to roll out the state’s $1 billion private school voucher program, it passed over more established vendors in favor of a four-year-old tech startup that said it could do it for almost half the cost.   Now, Odyssey must execute on its promises to meet an aggressive timeline while avoiding missteps that have dogged other program launches.  The New York-based company has rapidly expanded in recent years, launching programs in eight states that subsidize students’ private education costs with taxpayer dollars.  view article

The North Texas district is the 11th since 2000 to be taken over by the state and the second largest after Houston ISD. view article

Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District parents packed a board meeting Monday night to push back against potential elementary school closures.  The district recently shared seven proposals with families, each involving closing one or two campuses. Schools named in the scenarios include Dove, Colleyville, Bear Creek, Bransford and Glen Hope.  Many parents said they felt blindsided. view article

As Fort Worth ISD prepares to possibly lose local control of its schools, Houston ISD is in its third year of state oversight. On Wednesday, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter to the Fort Worth ISD board of trustees and Superintendent Karen Molinar informing them of his decision to appoint a board of managers, conservator and superintendent to lead the district. view article

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath says he's ordering the appointment of a conservator and a board of managers to govern the Fort Worth ISD after the school board "failed the students" and didn't implement changes that improved their performance for several consecutive years. view article

After months of anticipation, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has officially announced a state takeover of Fort Worth ISD. “It’s been a long day,” Superintendent Dr. Karen Molinar said. “Focused. I think that’s the right word—really focused right now on making sure our students are kept at the forefront.” view article

Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles could give the district's top-performing high schools more freedom—a move that could mark a significant shift in how the district operates. The initiative, called Level 5 autonomy, targets high schools that have maintained an A rating for at least four years and demonstrated narrow achievement gaps on the STAAR exams. If approved, eligible schools could make more independent decisions about curriculum, staffing, calendars, and operations while remaining part of the HISD system. view article

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath is holding a news conference Thursday morning.  Texas Education Agency officials did not provide details about what Morath will discuss with reporters.  The Fort Worth Report will provide updates following the call.  In a Wednesday evening statement, FWISD officials said they were aware of a possible announcement about the district. view article

It's a similar story to what we've heard in Fort Worth—repeated years of failing at campuses requiring the state to take action. Hanging right on the wall of the library of Lucille Collins Middle School was a chart with clothespins. The pins each had the name of a student, and were clipped next to the words Masters, Meets, Approaches, or Did Not Meet, referring to scores on state tests of academic expectation. The majority of the clothespins were on 'Did Not Meet' in almost every category. view article

One person alone cannot turn around a struggling school district. It takes a team dedicated to change, and former Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa is on Lake Worth’s team now. Hinojosa retired from the state’s second-largest school district in 2022 and launched a consulting firm. He had two stints leading Dallas ISD. Cumulatively, he served for 13 years and is credited with helping Dallas make gains in academically and with accountability. view article

Houston Independent School District (HISD) will hold elections for three school board seats in the upcoming November election, even though the district remains under state control. Trustee positions for Districts 5, 6, and 7 will appear on the November 4 ballot for four-year terms. Districts 1 and 9 saw unopposed candidates, so their names will not appear on the ballot. view article

The Texas Education Agency commissioner says Lake Worth ISD has had chronic academic problems at several campuses, with one school earning a failing grade five years in a row. According to state law, the TEA commissioner must now take drastic action. view article

Frisco ISD’s Staley Middle School will be closed after the 2025-26 school year. District leaders discussed the campus closure during an Oct. 20 board meeting. The board of trustees moved to close the campus in a unanimous vote. “We simply have more students going out of our buildings than coming in,” trustee Sherrie Salas said. “We would prefer [Frisco ISD] be immune to campus closures, but that is not the case. The landscape of public education is changing.” view article

Beaumont ISD has approved new school improvement turnaround plans aimed at addressing failing or low-performing campuses. The plans include a needs assessment and student outcome goals. during the meeting some key focuses are on improving reading and math scores for second through fifth grades. The district aims for campuses to score at or above grade level on STAAR performance rates by the 2025-2026 school year. view article

Facing a nearly $20 million budget shortfall and a potential state takeover, the Austin Independent School District has proposed a plan to close several schools and redraw school zone boundaries districtwide, impacting thousands of students and their families. view article

Five local school districts need to implement “turnaround plans” and improve student outcomes at failing campuses to avoid further probing from the state. This comes after the Texas Education Agency released preliminary campus and district ratings for the 2024-25 school year, measuring how effective public schools are at teaching students. view article

The Texas Education Agency is refuting the Lubbock ISD trustee president's claims about a new policy when it comes to investigating educators — specifically the investigation into the district's superintendent for alleged misconduct.  On Tuesday, Lubbock Independent School District Board of Trustees President Ryan Curry stated in a letter to the LISD community and local media outlets that the TEA has "a new policy by which they 'flag' a certificate any time a complaint is filed, regardless of the nature of the complaint."  Original Reporting: Lubbock ISD responds as superintendent's teaching certificate under review by TEA  However, the TEA informed the Avalanche-Journal that "There is no new policy regarding investigatory flags" and "if the agency is simply reviewing a complaint, there is no flag." view article

The accountability measures are mandated by a new state law.  More university systems in Texas are initiating audits of classes and curricula in order to comply with a new state law. This follows Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and the University of Texas-Austin announcing that they were running similar audits.   “Texas Woman’s University System is in the process of establishing a review of academic courses and programs, in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws,” a spokesperson for the Denton-based system told Texas Scorecard on Wednesday.  It was widely reported that on September 29, Michael Williams, the chancellor of TWUS’ neighbor, the University of North Texas System, had ordered a streamlined review of academic curricula and programs, including syllabi, to meet all relevant executive orders, court rulings, and state and federal laws. UNT campuses have a January 1 deadline to comply. The UNT System did not respond to a request for comment. view article

The Texas education commissioner can take over a school district only if a campus fails in the state academic accountability ratings for five straight years.  However, public charter schools face closure after three years of either academic or financial failures.  A-F accountability ratings are determined by results on STAAR, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness.   A takeover involves the commissioner replacing a school district’s elected trustees with a state-appointed board of managers and installing a new superintendent.  The largest takeover in Texas history was in Houston ISD. The commissioner is considering a takeover of Fort Worth and Lake Worth schools.  view article

A sports sociology textbook published by Texas A&M University promotes “critical race theory” and the LGBT agenda. Writers critique “whites” and promote the idea of using sports as a means of “transforming” society.  Texas Scorecard received a copy of the third edition of “Sociology of Sport and Physical Activity” (2019), published by Texas A&M’s Center for Sport Management Research and Education. George B. Cunningham and Marlene A. Dixon of Ohio State University edited it, and included contributions from writers from universities worldwide.  Writers Adam Cohen, of the University of Technology Sydney, and Jon Welty Peachey, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, explain in chapter 8 why these leftwing topics are included in a sports textbook. They explain “the use of sport as a vehicle or platform for transforming the social structure of a social group or society.” view article

Families across Austin mourned the potential closure of or changes to their neighborhood campus over the weekend after the Austin school district released a proposal Friday to shutter 13 campuses, revamp six others as non-zoned special program schools and dramatically redraw attendance boundaries across the entire district. If approved by trustees in November, the plan will significantly shift boundaries for thousands of students only six years after another emotional school closure process. Roughly one-quarter of all district students could be impacted under the sweeping proposal.   view article

HISD is shuttering Las Americas Newcomer School after enrollment fell to just 21 students this fall, a collapse officials link to federal immigration crackdowns.   Houston Independent School District announced Thursday it would be moving all the students from Las Americas Newcomer School into Jane Long Academy, an adjacent school. The district cited declining enrollment as the main driver in the school’s closure.  When the Texas Education Agency listed enrollment numbers in October of last year, Las Americas had 111 students, down from October 2023’s 213 students.  Las Americas, according to the school’s webpage, “is a newcomer campus that educates recent immigrant and refugee students who have no or very limited English language proficiency and who often have had a limited formal education in their native countries.”  Throughout its history, the school has acquired students from 37 different countries, including China, Iran, Venezuela, Somalia, and El Salvador, among others. view article

HISD is shuttering Las Americas Newcomer School after enrollment fell to just 21 students this fall, a collapse officials link to federal immigration crackdowns. view article

Austin ISD is looking to close 13 campuses before the 2026-27 school year as part of a sweeping plan to fix its nearly $20 million budget deficit. Officials said the move could save the district more than $25 million. The plan, released Friday, includes closing 10 elementary schools — Barrington, Becker, Bryker Woods, Dawson, Maplewood, Oak Springs, Palm, Ridgetop, Sunset Valley and Widen — along with Bedichek and Martin middle schools and Winn Montessori. view article

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The board meeting will start at 5:30 this evening. view article

The accountability measures are mandated by a new state law.  More university systems in Texas are initiating audits of classes and curricula in order to comply with a new state law. This follows Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and the University of Texas-Austin announcing that they were running similar audits.  “Texas Woman’s University System is in the process of establishing a review of academic courses and programs, in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws,” a spokesperson for the Denton-based system told Texas Scorecard on Wednesday.  It was widely reported that on September 29, Michael Williams, the chancellor of TWUS’ neighbor, the University of North Texas System, had ordered a streamlined review of academic curricula and programs, including syllabi, to meet all relevant executive orders, court rulings, and state and federal laws. UNT campuses have a January 1 deadline to comply. The UNT System did not respond to a request for comment. view article

The Texas Education Agency is investigating North East Independent School District’s (NEISD) cellphone ban policy after receiving a complaint that it does not comply with the new controversial law. The district’s current policy states, “Students are prohibited from using a personal communication device while on school property during the school day, except under the circumstances described in this policy.” view article

After several of their campuses received another failing grade on the state's accountability ratings, four San Antonio school districts now face the possibility of being assigned a state-appointed conservator to help boost student performance.  The Texas Education Agency has ordered Northside, San Antonio, Judson and Edgewood Independent School Districts to submit turnaround plans for their schools that have continued to fall short of state standards. view article

LEANDER, Texas — Parents and staff across Leander ISD are voicing concern as trustees consider closing three elementary schools to address projected budget deficits and declining enrollment view article

ROUND ROCK, Texas — More than 100 Round Rock ISD students have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, including 63 from Westwood High School, the most from any Texas campus. view article

Each year, the Texas Education Agency takes a bird's-eye view of what’s happening across public schools in Texas. Those findings are compiled into a report and inform everyone from legislators to school districts and the families they serve. On Wednesday, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath presented his 2025 State of Education Report to the Dallas Regional Chamber in its annual luncheon focused on education. Here’s what we learned: view article

After preparing for a week, Aquilla ISD welcomed the Texas Education Agency’s Commissioner to their campus early Wednesday morning. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath toured classrooms, meeting teachers and students while learning about the school’s history and plans for future upgrades planned for Fall 2026. Commissioner Morath requested to see the school district after hearing about what they have achieved in the past year. view article

Earlier this month, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that 12 Austin-area schools with an “F” rating could be closed. For many families, this isn’t just a policy decision—it’s a direct threat to thousands of children’s educational stability and their communities’ future. view article

Dr. Molinar’s big proposal involves placing seven campuses on a new resource model, giving her the power to keep only teachers who meet the highest standards. "They are identified as being in the top third of teachers across the state. That is huge based on the ACE model from Dallas ISD and saw several campuses go from F to B in one year," said Bridget Worley, chief impact officer at The Commit Partnership. view article