Paul Laurence Dunbar High School teacher Edriana Cofer’s biggest fear as Texas takes control of Fort Worth ISD is losing her autonomy to help students. The unknown of what’s next had Dolores Huerta Elementary teacher Angela Andrews thinking about jobs outside FWISD. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has approved the vast majority of Austin ISD's turnaround plans to improve failing schools. Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura sent a letter to parents on Thursday night stating that the TEA approved 22 of the 24 plans. The schools affected by the turnaround plans are: view article

For the first time, the Connally ISD community came face to face with the Texas Education Agency to get answers and more details about a timeline on the future of a TEA takeover. view article

Parents and students spoke out during a Fort Bend ISD school board meeting, raising concerns that the district’s long-range boundary planning could lead to school consolidations and major changes for campuses and the surrounding communities. view article

Faced with a proposed list of almost 300 readings for K-12 students, the State Board of Education delayed a vote until April. view article

Round Rock ISD now has 11 additional educators who have completed the path to become National Board Certified Teachers across our district, with three others working toward certification through the National Board. They join more than 30 National Board Certified teachers throughout the district, collectively bringing decades of experience to Round Rock ISD campuses and classrooms. view article

Low test scores on one campus can trigger a state takeover in Texas, affecting Black, Hispanic and low-income students most  The demographic makeup of the “trigger” schools raises questions about whether Texas' accountability system fairly considers historic inequities tied to race and poverty.The Texas Education Agency last year launched plans to take over four school districts due to low academic performance, confiscating decision-making power from elected leaders based on state-issued F grades at six campuses. view article

Families are opting out of Houston ISD for neighboring districts or even out of public education entirely. view article

Lake Worth school board president Tammy Thomas apologized Tuesday night, her voice cracking as she sniffled and took responsibility for the decisions that led to the district’s state takeover. “The fault that the district is in lies in the hands of this board,” Thomas said. “We were slow, very slow, in appointing a new superintendent.” view article

The state of Texas is proposing a list of literary works, from nursery rhymes and novels to Bible passages, that would become required reading in all English classrooms statewide.  The list, the first of its kind in the country, sets mandatory titles for every grade from kindergarten to high school. The Texas Education Agency, which drafted the list that will be voted on next week, says the goal is to create a standard “literary canon.”  The genres vary, from fairy tales and picture books for younger students to historical speeches and full novels in high school. Ten excerpts from the Old and New Testaments are also included, such as “The Shepherd’s Psalm” for seventh graders and the Eight Beatitudes from the book of Matthew in the eighth grade.  view article

Carvajal Elementary School on the West Side will be shuttered at the end of the 2025-26 school year.  On Tuesday night, the school board for San Antonio Independent School District voted to close the campus, keep Carvajal’s school bond dollars in the community and prioritize students and staff in the transfer process “upon availability.”  Superintendent Jaime Aquino was not present at the meeting due to a previous engagement. SAISD Chief of Staff Toni Thompson took his place but did not comment during discussions. view article

Most teachers at Fort Worth ISD’s newly designated turnaround schools will earn a base salary of $100,000 next year.  Educators, principals and other staff at six of the district’s most struggling schools will receive bigger paychecks than their counterparts at other FWISD schools starting in August. Trustees approved the pay Tuesday as part of overhaul efforts aimed at jump-starting academic gains.  “We’re putting the best teachers at these schools,” Superintendent Karen Molinar told trustees. view article

The Lake Worth school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to not appeal a decision by the Texas Education Agency to take over the struggling district. Board members voted to not fight the TEA takeover and waived the school district’s ability to ask the State Office of Administrative Hearings to review Commissioner of Education Mike Morath’s decision to remove Superintendent Mark Ramirez and all current members of the school board.  Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article314393904.html#storylink=cpy view article

Houston ISD delays state requirement that would limit uncertified teachers   The Houston ISD state-appointed board of managers voted Thursday night to delay new state requirements that would have banned uncertified educators from teaching core subjects, including English language arts and reading, math, science and social studies, in public schools by the 2027-2028 school year.  Last summer, the Texas legislature passed House Bill two, which put limitations on uncertified teachers in core classrooms. Specifically, it requires reading and math teachers for kindergarten through fifth grade to be certified by this fall, and by the next school year, districts can't have any uncertified teachers for English, math, science and social studies across any grade level.  A recent study from the University of Houston reported uncertified teachers make up nearly 20% of the teacher workforce in Houston ISD. Uncertified teachers made up just .3% of teachers in the district seven years ago. view article

The Texas Education Agency will meet with the Lake Worth community Wednesday as the school district braces for a state takeover. The meeting is an opportunity for parents, teachers and the community to ask questions and learn more about the takeover. Marilyn Miller Language Academy is the campus that is triggering this state takeover. They have been rated an 'F' for five years. Under Texas state law, that rating allows the TEA to intervene. view article

Lake Worth families and residents can hear directly from Texas education officials about what state control of the 3,200-student district means for them at a community meeting Wednesday.  Texas Education Agency officials will outline steps for replacing the locally elected board; detail how those interested can apply for the board of managers; and answer questions about the intervention process. The meeting is 6-7 p.m. at the Lake Worth High School auditorium, 4210 Boat Club Road.  The meeting comes about a week after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed Andrew Kim as conservator of the district. view article

POLLOK – Central ISD director of student services Bodavid Williford gave a report to the school board on the district’s 2024-25 Texas Academic Performance Report Monday evening. CISD received an overall accountability score of “C,” and its special education departments were determined to have met requirements. view article

Something clicked as I listened to former Louisiana state schools superintendent John White talk about how he built support for his controversial education reforms a decade ago.  It wasn’t just that he had taken the time to visit every parish to meet with teachers who were skeptical of the youngish outsider pushing tectonic shifts in rigor, quality and accountability.  It wasn’t how he gathered their input, enlisted them to review curriculum or helped assemble thousands for a state conference that still empowers teachers as leaders and evangelists for high quality in their own communities.   view article

The Texas Education Agency has denied Beaumont Independent School District’s appeal and will move forward with a state takeover of the district, with Andrew Kim appointed as the new conservator. Kim said his focus will be on strengthening the district in partnership with local leadership. “I have spent my entire career focused on strengthening public schools and supporting the incredible educators who teach our kids every day,” Kim said. “As I step into this role, I am committed to working closely with district leadership and the community to establish strong systems that work for the students, staff and families of Beaumont ISD.” view article

A former El Paso ISD board of managers talks expectations and scrutiny ahead of the TEA takeover of Connally ISD following some campuses not meeting state testing standards in recent years. view article

Another North Texas school district is considering campus closures, this time in Arlington ISD, where Blanton Elementary School could close as soon as the end of this school year. District leaders say additional closures may follow. Blanton’s campus along South Collins Street on the city's east side is nearly 70 years old, and Arlington ISD officials said Thursday the cost of keeping the building operational continues to climb. view article

Faculty at Texas A&M University were told this week that roughly 200 courses in the College of Arts and Sciences could be affected by a new system policy restricting classroom discussions of race and gender, the implementation of which has already led administrators to direct a philosophy professor to remove Plato readings from a core course.  The changes are being made days before the semester begins and after some students have registered to attend.  The Texas Tribune obtained emails sent by college administrators showing the policy has already led to courses being cancelled or renumbered to remove them from core curriculum credit, with professors directed to alter course content or teach different classes. view article

Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath has appointed a conservator to oversee the Lake Worth ISD after saying in December that the district suffered from a ‘chronic inability to support students.' The TEA said on Thursday that Andrew Kim, a former superintendent now serving as a co-conservator for the Socorro ISD in El Paso, has been appointed conservator to oversee the Lake Worth ISD's board of trustees, superintendent, and school administrators. Kim is expected to hold the position for approximately two years, during which time the district will be under the control of the Texas Education Agency. view article

Rabbi Gideon Estes vividly remembers the weird looks he got at his California public school when he skipped “See You at the Pole,” a student-led Christian prayer rally held on campuses nationwide.  The pressure to participate in a Christian, student-led event at a taxpayer-funded school is one reason why he joined a coalition of more than 160 Texas faith leaders who sent a letter to public school board members and superintendents opposing Senate Bill 11. view article

During the first of several planned community information sessions, parents challenged the district’s reliance on labor market data and warned of consequences for students and neighborhood schools. view article

A spokesperson with Connally ISD told 25 News on Tuesday the district will not be appealing the Texas Education Agency (TEA) decision to oversee the district following several district campuses not meeting state standards in recent years. Officials with the TEA also updating 25 News on Tuesday and said there is now new information at this time regarding future steps for the takeover. view article

Pearland ISD received the highest average Scholastic Assessment Score, or SAT, in the Houston area, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. The district outperformed all 24 school districts in Region IV, TEA’s service region that includes the Houston metro, across all SAT subjects, surpassing state and national averages. The district’s average score increased slightly from 1147 in 2023 to 1158 in 2024. 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

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

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