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 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

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

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