A search warrant was issued after a 13-year-old student told police the teacher touched her.  A Houston charter school teacher is under investigation after a 13-year-old female student accused the now-former educator of inappropriate touching and sending her lewd social media messages.  According to a search warrant reviewed by ABC 13, the 28-year-old teacher—whose name has been withheld since he has not been criminally charged—previously worked at IDEA Hardy, part of the IDEA Public Schools charter network.  view article

Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year signed a law authorizing a $1 billion private school voucher program, tapping the state comptroller’s office as the entity responsible for its creation.   The law grants Texas’ chief financial officer tremendous authority to build the infrastructure around education savings accounts, a type of voucher program that will allow families to receive taxpayer money to cover their children’s private school or home-schooling costs.   The agency’s responsibilities include choosing the companies that will receive millions of dollars to help administer the program, creating the rules that participating families must follow and producing annual reports on the program’s outcomes.    view article

Texas families interested in school vouchers will be able to apply beginning in February, according to newly obtained documents outlining the rollout of the landmark $1 billion program.  The window for families to sign their children up is set to run from Feb. 4 to March 20. Decisions about awarded vouchers will be finalized by May 1, with the money accessible in digital wallets beginning July 1.  The timeline, detailed in contracting documents obtained by Hearst Newspapers via a public records request, is the most specific plan seen so far for the new Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, which will provide state dollars to pay a wide variety of educational expenses, including private school tuition and homeschool costs. Families had previously been told to expect applications to open in “early 2026.” view article

Three charter school superintendents who are among the highest paid in Texas are overseeing some of the lowest-performing districts in the state, newly released records show. One of them is at risk of closure by school year’s end. view article

Kendra Howard-Horn dropped out of high school in the late 1990s but always knew she wanted a diploma.  The 42-year-old Fort Worth resident tried different paths over the years, including GED classes, but they never fit her learning style, she said. She needed accountability. She needed structure.  Now Howard-Horn is one of hundreds of adult learners at New Heights High School, a Fort Worth-based charter that’s the first in the state to offer adults a pathway to earn a diploma. Soon, New Heights will expand, moving into a former school building owned by Fort Worth ISD.   The charter’s new home will be at the former Rosemont Sixth Grade — and Applied Learning Academy — campus on McCart Avenue. The school plans to open Oct. 20, doubling its capacity across two sites.  view article

An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public. view article

Former Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has withdrawn her nomination to serve in the No. 2 spot in the Trump Education Department after cultural conservatives mounted a campaign opposing her.  The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that Schwinn would serve instead as a senior adviser and chief strategist, roles that do not require Senate confirmation.  Schwinn enjoyed a good reputation among national conservative education advocates for her work in Tennessee to boost reading proficiency and target pandemic relief dollars toward academic recovery. Schwinn was the second name President Donald Trump announced to lead his Education Department, after Secretary Linda McMahon, even before he was sworn into office. view article

Many families are scrambling to find solutions after a charter school shut down just five days before the first day of the school year. Bexar County Academy announced Wednesday it would not reopen for the 2025–2026 academic year. Classes were supposed to begin Monday. The decision caught parents like Regina Vogelsberg off guard, who has been preparing for her daughter to return to school. view article

Arizona, with a marketplace of school options, offers a window into the GOP vision for K-12 education  The party at John R. Davis Elementary School was in full swing, but at the snow cone station, the school’s librarian was in tears.  In the cafeteria, alumni marveled at old photographs on display and shook their heads. On a wall of the library, visitors posted sticky notes to describe their feelings: “Angry,” read a purple square. “Anxious,” said a pink one. “Annoyed.” “Heart broken.” “Bummed.” And more than any other word: “Sad.” view article