WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks.  The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions -- including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers -- to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.  The Republican president blamed the situation on Democrats and suggested voters shouldn't reward the party during next year's midterm elections. 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

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. 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

When Lesley Guilmart's cellphone rang Wednesday afternoon, she almost didn't answer the unknown number. "I’ve been getting interesting calls from folks since last week’s win," said Guilmart, who on Nov. 4 was elected to the Cy-Fair ISD Board of Trustees. "And so I was like, ‘Oh, why not? Let me answer this.' " None of the calls were as interesting as Wednesday's. On the other line was former Vice President Kamala Harris. view article

A summary of the November 11, 2025 NISD Board Meeting Dr. John Craft reported to the Board:      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

Austin school district leadership launched an internal investigation into key staff in part over concerns about noncompliance with a directive to evaluate all community feedback on a comprehensive plan to close schools and redraw attendance boundaries, Superintendent Matias Segura told the American-Statesman’s Editorial Board on Tuesday. view article

The legislative panels were created after Republican leaders criticized students mocking or celebrating Kirk’s death. They come amid a push to tighten rules around campus expression.  Texas lawmakers on Thursday will hold their first hearing to review speech on public universities after some reactions on campuses celebrating or mocking the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk drew ire from Republican leaders.   Kirk was killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at a college in Utah. State leaders announced the formation of bipartisan committees to discuss campus speech and related policies two days later. The Senate and House Select Committee on Civil Discourse and Freedom of Speech in Higher Education will convene jointly Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in Austin and take invited testimony only.  view article

Texas is now in control of Fort Worth ISD.  But what does that mean for FWISD’s 65,700 students, their families and 10,000 district employees?   Here are answers to a few questions parents and community members have about Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s decision to take over Fort Worth schools. view article

Kate Rogers, the former president of the Alamo Trust, joins the TribCast this week to talk about her decision to step down from running the Texas’ most beloved historic site amid political pressure from Republican state leaders.Rogers walks Eleanor and guest host Alejandro Serrano through the unexpected controversy over a social media post celebrating Indigenous People’s Day, and her surprise when state leaders started sharing excerpts of her 2023 doctoral dissertation. In the paper, which she had to go back and read herself when it began circulating, she’d written that she wanted the Alamo to “become a beacon for historical reconciliation … but politically that may not be possible at this time.”  Rogers was in the midst of overseeing a politically fraught overhaul of the Alamo Historic Site, which has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debates over how to tell the story of Texas’ history. While she maintains there was nothing particularly controversial in her dissertation, she acknowledged that some parts could be read as critical of the Texas Legislature, which is the project’s largest funder. view article

Hundreds of families lost child care when certain programs weren’t funded earlier this month, and scores more may be affected if Congress doesn’t fund the government by Dec. 1. view article

The president praised Abbott for leading this year’s effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps to favor Republicans during the 2026 midterm elections. view article

The Texas Education Agency has named a former teacher and New Mexico state education secretary to oversee Fort Worth ISD in the wake of its state takeover after the district had several schools that were "academically unacceptable for many years in a row." view article

An unlikely slate of candidates with progressive backing, although they refer to themselves as non-partisan, won their bids for the Cy-Fair ISD board by wide margins Tuesday, bucking a trend of conservative leaders winning in Cypress. The three candidates — Kendra Camarena, Lesley Guilmart and Cleveland Lane Jr. — unseated two conservative incumbent trustees, Scott Henry and Natalie Blasingame, who challenged Henry directly rather than running for her own seat. view article

ersey Village, TEXAS – Voters in Cy-Fair Independent School District sent a clear message this week: change is coming to one of the state’s largest school districts.  After years under a conservative-led board, election results show a decisive shift toward a more moderate direction, with three new trustees defeating incumbent conservatives backed by right-leaning political groups.  Cy-Fair ISD, the third-largest independent school district in the state, has drawn attention for its school board battles over the past two years, from book bans and gender identity policies to the controversial firing of dozens of librarians. view article

College Station ISD voters decided a trio of races for the district’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday, potentially shifting the balance of power on the district’s seven-seat leadership team. view article

Voters in the Socorro Independent School District narrowly rejected a tax measure that would have increased funding for the financially troubled district, leaving district leaders scrambling to move forward without the additional revenue. The district’s voter approval tax ratification election — or VATRE – asked voters to authorize an increase to the operations portion of their tax rates beyond the state’s limit, while reducing the debt payment tax by an equal amount. State law requires that voters approve such a step. view article

Seven candidates and four local PACs have raised almost a combined $370,000 in funding for the heated board election for the state’s third-largest school district.   A new tranche of campaign finance documents shows fundraising for Cy-Fair ISD candidates this election cycle has reached new heights, and local PAC spending is nearing $135,000 on seven candidates in three races, according to a Chronicle analysis of over 30 campaign finance records. view article

It was an eventful night for Centerville ISD as school trustees met for the first time since Superintendent Carole Dickey was indicted earlier this month. During Thursday night’s meeting, the Centerville ISD Board of Trustees voted to place Dickey on administrative leave with pay, effective immediately. The move comes after she was indicted on charges accusing her of failing to report an alleged inappropriate relationship between a teacher and a student to the state. view article

It was past midnight when the Cedar Hill ISD board of trustees emerged from closed session to vote on a Level III grievance filed against the school district on behalf of former CHISD athletic director Melanie Benjamin. At the end of a board meeting that lasted nearly six hours, Benjamin was present to watch the trustees vote to deny her grievance, despite an overwhelming show of public support for Benjamin earlier in the evening. 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

The Centerville school board is set to meet this week for the first time since the school district’s leader was booked into the Leon County jail and charged with a crime. On Friday, we reported the arrest of Centerville ISD Superintendent Carole Dickey who remains employed by the school district and supported by the school board. The next school board meeting is set for Thursday, October 23rd. view article

It was a packed house Thursday night as Austin ISD’s Board of Trustees met for the first time since unveiling a draft plan that could close more than a dozen schools and redraw nearly all of the district’s boundaries.  The proposed consolidation plan calls for closing 13 campuses, including 11 elementary schools and two middle schools, as the district works to address low enrollment and avoid possible state intervention.  [Best Everyday Plantar Fasciitis Shoe, Orthopedic & Arch Support,  view article

Voters in the heavily Democratic district have expressed confusion about who can vote — after the boundaries were upended by a GOP gerrymander — and what November’s special election is for. view article

Austin ISD faces a shortfall of more than $19.7 million, and the possibility of the TEA taking over if it does not get a grip on things. While nothing has been finalized yet, the district is hosting a series of meetings to address parents' questions and gather feedback on its rough draft plan. 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

At a special meeting Wednesday night, Celina ISD’s revered football family found itself at the center of heartbreak and public outrage. Caleb Elliott, 26, resigned and surrendered his teaching license before the meeting — but his fate was still front and center as parents, board members, and community leaders gathered to reckon with the charges against him and his fate with the district. view article

Five of the six candidates running for College Station ISD board positions gathered Wednesday evening to discuss key issues facing the district ahead of the November 2025 election. The candidate forum, hosted by the district, focused heavily on funding challenges, enrollment numbers, and the ongoing needs of teachers within the district. view article

The Katy ISD board spends less than one-third of its meeting time discussing student outcomes, and the Texas Association of School Boards is urging the board to reset its priorities and rebuild trust after years of internal tension. The findings came during a recent governance workshop led by TASB facilitator Robert Long and consultant Jason Burdine, who analyzed the board’s 2024–25 meetings and offered training on collaboration and communication. view article

Earlier this year, Houston ISD got four new faces on its Board of Managers. It happened without a single voter casting a ballot. That’s because the state’s largest school district is still in the hands of Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who announced in June that the state takeover of HISD would last at least another two years. Still, this November, voters in three districts will get to decide who they want waiting in the wings for the moment Morath begins the transition back to local control. view article

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD conservatives appear to be splintering ahead of a November election, putting them at risk of losing the 6-1 board majority that has allowed them to infuse a conservative political agenda into the state's third-largest school system.   The board president and vice president, who ran together on a conservative slate in 2021, are now running against each other in the same seat. Both Natalie Blasingame, a former administrator in Houston and Spring Branch ISDs, and Scott Henry, who works in sales, won the Harris County Republican Party's endorsement in 2021, but now the party has decided to endorse Blasingame in the race between the two. view article

Parents in Coppell ISD are pushing back as the district considers plans to close another elementary school. 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

Another North Texas school district is considering a possible school closure as it grapples with an $8.5 million budget deficit. Coppell ISD says it's considering closing Town Center Elementary, among other possible changes. The move would save about $1.3 million in payroll, according to information shared by the district. view article