The three interventions come after the state’s education agency announced plans to take over Fort Worth ISD in October.  The Texas Education Agency is replacing the elected school boards of the Beaumont, Connally and Lake Worth school districts, Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Thursday.   State law allows Morath to either close a campus or appoint new leadership if at least one school in the district receives five consecutive failing grades in Texas’ academic accountability system. Each of the districts met that threshold.    Pending appeals, the commissioner plans to replace each district’s school board with a state-selected board of managers.  view article

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

TEA will take over Beaumont ISD, district and board member confirm, as commissioner orders new board of managers   view article

The Texas Education Agency is replacing the elected school boards of the Beaumont, Connally and Lake Worth school districts, Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Thursday. State law allows Morath to either close a campus or appoint new leadership if at least one school in the district receives five consecutive failing grades in Texas’ academic accountability system. Each of the districts met that threshold.  view article

Current 8th-graders need close to a full academic year of additional reading instruction to catch up to their pre-pandemic peers, new research confirms. Here are four potential solutions for district leaders.  Although many districts have adopted early literacy initiatives since the COVID-19 pandemic, the reality is that many students are ill-prepared for the rigors of middle school, particularly in reading, according to a new report from NWEA, a K12 assessment and research organization.  view article

Superintendent Carlos Gonzalez stated that “negative commentary” on social media casts the school in an “unfounded negative light.”  A South Texas school superintendent is asking the public to avoid “speculation” and “negative commentary” after announcing on social media that an employee was accused of misconduct involving a student.  Roma Independent School District Superintendent Carlos Gonzalez posted on Facebook Friday that an unnamed staff member had been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. view article

In April, Arlington ISD trustees were told that a declining birth rate and charter schools are pushing the district’s enrollment to fall under 50,000 students by 2032. Now, the school board members know it may happen as soon as next year. Board President Justin Chapa said that the enrollment drop was a part of a larger issue. view article

After the Austin school district’s consequential decision last month to close 10 campuses, questions remain about the enrollment process, how students will be assisted with transitions and where staff will move. view article

Fort Bend ISD parents are bracing for school closures and rezoning after the district released a new timeline with its long-term boundary planning. On Monday, Fort Bend ISD board members met. The majority of the meeting was focused on the districts long-term boundary plan. view article

Killeen ISD has earned a special recognition for its Career and Technical Education program, the district has announced. The district shared that it has once again been recognized as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) District of Distinction by the Career & Technical Association of Texas. view article

City View ISD has been recognized as a Career and Technical Education District of Distinction by the Career and Technical Association of Texas for 2026. This prestigious award highlights districts that excel in providing high-quality CTE programs, demonstrating leadership, innovation, and a commitment to student success. view article

School districts in the Houston area saw another year of falling SAT scores, mirroring a national slide that has persisted since the pandemic. Newly released data from the Texas Education Agency shows that graduating seniors from public and nonpublic high schools earned an average total SAT score of 971 in 2024, marking at least six straight years of statewide declines. view article

Socorro Independent School District will celebrate their early-college high-school students and P-TECH students who have earned associate degrees with a series of stole ceremonies this week. SISD will celebrate students at six of the district’s early college high schools who have earned an associate degree in the fall 2025 semester. The students will be presented with a stole to represent the milestone achievement and the degree that they have earned through the district’s partnership with El Paso Community College. view article

The Leander ISD board of trustees are continuing long-range planning discussions in light of budget concerns and pushback on potential elementary school closures.   Some context: LISD officials are projecting multimillion dollar budget shortfalls over the next several years. I view article

Mike Morath, the Texas Education commissioner, tours through a classroom following a press conference regarding the updated A-F scores of Dallas and Fort Worth schools at Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy in Dallas on Aug. 15, 2025. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com  Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article312984623.html#storylink=cpy view article

The Austin school board approved 10 school closures, moving most wall-to-wall dual language programs and launching state turnaround plans to curb a $65M deficit. view article

This week, Southwest Independent School District school board members approved the closure of Sky Harbour Elementary School to deal with a budget deficit and shifting enrollment trends.  Sky Harbour currently has 592 students and will close at the end of this school year.  District officials said closing the campus will save SWISD $6.5 million since the school was in need of several construction and maintenance projects and is expected to lose enrollment as population growth moves farther south in Bexar County. view article

The Fort Worth ISD school board voted 7-1 Tuesday night to appeal the state's takeover of the district.   The district was eligible for state intervention because one of its campuses, The Leadership Academy at Forest Oak 6th Grade, received its fifth consecutive "unacceptable" academic rating for the 2022–2023 school year. FWISD has since closed the campus. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath announced on Oct. 23 that the agency is taking over Fort Worth ISD and will replace its locally elected board of trustees with appointed managers view article

Nestled in Dove Springs between a public library, health clinic and city recreation center, Widén Elementary School, open since 1986, is as much a community gathering place as the rest of the buildings that surround it.  view article

The Fort Worth ISD board voted 7-1 Tuesday night to appeal a decision by state educators to assume control over the struggling district, a decision that injects new uncertainty into a takeover that has upended the district. The vote to request the State Office of Administrative Hearings to reconsider the intervention came at the end of a four-hour school board meeting. view article

Families of Sky Harbour Elementary School said they’re feeling frustrated. “What is your biggest concern about the possibility of Sky Harbour closing?” KSAT Reporter Avery Everett asked parents in the pickup line. view article

The Austin Independent School District released its final version of a school consolidation plan Friday. Ten schools are still slated to close before next year, but the district did make changes to programming and student reassignments. The campuses on the list include eight elementary schools — Barrington, Becker, Dawson, Oak Springs, Ridgetop, Sunset Valley, Widén and Winn Montessori — as well as Bedichek and Martin middle schools. view article

The Austin Independent School District has released the final draft of its school consolidation plan Friday afternoon, ahead of a vote by the Board of Trustees next week. For months, district leaders have been fine-tuning their plan to close schools in a bid to reduce a $19.7 million deficit in AISD’s general fund, which is used to pay teacher salaries and cover daily operational expenses. Board members are set to discuss the recommendations and take a final vote at their Nov. 20 meeting. view article

Parents oppose plan to close several schools in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. The district's board of trustees will hear a presentation on the plan tonight. view article

Several low-performing Corpus Christi ISD schools have adopted turnaround and targeted improvement plans. These plans are required for campuses that are rated poorly in the Texas school accountability system. But because school improvement is a multi-year process, some of the Corpus Christi Independent School District campuses included are doing better than the designation might imply. view article

After five years of being under direct state oversight, the Texas Education Agency decided to end Harlandale Independent School District’s conservatorship on Tuesday.  The announcement comes three months after the state loosened the reins on the conservatorship, “elevating” Harlandale ISD to observing status, a less intrusive form of oversight.   Now, the district has full local control over its own governance.   “This is a tremendous moment for Harlandale ISD,” said Superintendent Gerardo Soto.  “It represents years of collaboration and dedication from our Board of Trustees, staff and community.”  TEA began investigating Harlandale ISD in 2017 after complaints of alleged nepotism, issues with the district’s procurement process, financial mismanagement and dysfunctional governance. Then-superintendent Rey Madrigal “separated” from the district after the board moved to fire him.  view article

With Austin ISD just days away from releasing its final consolidation plan, families at Blackshear Elementary gathered Wednesday night to share their thoughts about the proposal that could merge two East Austin schools. view article

McKinney ISD is the latest North Texas school district to face school closures as student enrollment dips.  The McKinney school board Wednesday night voted unanimously to “repurpose” Eddins, McNeil, and Wolford elementary schools in order to save money amid a multi-million dollar budget deficit.  Superintendent Shawn Pratt said the district faced a $23 million deficit just two years ago and personnel were laid off in central office reductions. The deficit fell by $15 million, but Pratt, who’s served the district for more than 30 years, said campus inefficiencies persisted, and the only option was to close schools. view article

McKinney ISD has voted to approve "repurposing" three elementary schools ahead of the 2026-2027 school year. The district's board of trustees met on Wednesday, Nov. 5, to vote on the closure, according to the meeting agenda. The three schools up for closure are located in the southwest quadrant of the district, and the buildings will be repurposed. view article

De Zavala Elementary parents see an opportunity through the state takeover of Fort Worth ISD: Possibly saving their school.  Teacher Scott Blanco-Davis and FWISD PTA Council President Lupe Lynch said they will continue pushing for better support for educators and increased parental engagement.   The United Educators Association’s Steven Poole, though, warned of a potential teacher exodus once the state fully assumes control.  Parents, FWISD staff and community members voiced hope and concerns Tuesday during the trustees’ first meeting since the Texas Education Agency launched a takeover of the 67,500-student district. The locally elected school board will soon lose its authority to the state. view article

Despite months of community protests, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced last week that it would begin the process of taking over Fort Worth Independent School District, Texas’ ninth largest school district with 68,000 students. The move marks the second-largest district to be taken over by the state, next to the highly controversial takeover of Houston ISD in 2023, and is part of an increasing trend of state intervention into locally controlled public education systems.   In a letter to district leaders, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said he planned to appoint a superintendent, a conservator, and a new board of managers, thereby deposing the currently elected school board, after the appeal process ends on October 30.  view article

Every family has unique priorities when identifying the best private schools in Houston, but regardless of what’s on your must-have list, your perfect match may be listed here. The Houston K-12 private schools on this list were voted the Houston Chronicle’s Best of the Best Private Schools, giving them locals’ stamp of approval. These impressive schools offer students features like small class sizes, personalized attention and college preparation curricula to ensure higher test scores and post-secondary success. Review each school to find the best match for your young scholar. view article

n a move that's been months in the making, the TEA and Mike Morath will make FWISD their own. view article

Both Republicans and Democrats have said STAAR sets students up for failure, raising questions about basing a state takeover on the test’s results.  The state takeover of the Fort Worth Independent School District is largely based on student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness — a testing system that came under scrutiny this year and led state lawmakers to replace it over concerns that it set students up for failure. view article