Houston ISD and several other area districts have voted against adopting designated prayer sessions, which are optional for students and staff under Senate Bill 11, while Magnolia ISD has approved them. All Texas districts face a March 1 deadline to make a decision about whether or not to implement them.  Galveston ISD on Wednesday became the latest local school district to reject school prayer periods, which are permitted by a new Texas law. view article

You might have thought the latest Legislative session was a significant change to public education, and you are right. But the most significant change to public education in Texas came from the institution of Districts of Innovation (DOI). For years, public schools complained that they were being compared to charter schools and that was not an apples-to-apples comparison, but DOIs provide school districts the freedom to opt out of many of the laws and requirements with which charter schools are not saddled.

The application period will close March 17. If demand exceeds the $1 billion available, the state will prioritize students based on family income and whether they have a disability. view article

Milo went missing. Yet it wasn’t the lost puppy that gave people the jitters — it was the promise behind the story: That a communitywide web of home security systems could transform a neighborhood into a “Search Party.” The Super Bowl commercial set off public backlash against two leading surveillance companies, Amazon, which owns Ring doorbell cameras, and Flock Safety, which makes license plate reader cameras. Within days, the e-commerce giant announced it was ditching a planned partnership with Atlanta-based Flock. view article

Evidence presented in court also showed that Hernandez was convicted in 2024 of sexual assault.  An illegal alien previously convicted of sexual assault has been sentenced to federal prison for illegally reentering the United States after being deported, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Texas announced.  Cesar Carapia-Hernandez, 42, pleaded guilty in September 2025 to federal charges of illegally entering the U.S. He was found in December 2023 after having already been deported back to Mexico in 2022.  Carapia-Hernandez was indicted by the Northern District of Texas in 2024.  According to court filings, Hernandez agreed that he was not a citizen of the U.S. at the time alleged in the indictment, had been removed back to Mexico, was found back in the country, and did not receive the consent of the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admittance, which is a violation of federal code. view article

Dallas Judge Ernest White has declared a mistrial in the county’s first capital murder case linked to the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua. After three rounds of deliberation, jurors remained deadlocked.  Carlos Zambrano Bolivar—25 years old at the time of the incident—was charged with capital murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping in connection with the August 2024 murder of 33-year-old Nilzuly Arneaud Petit, a fellow gang member. Bolivar is one of four accused suspects.  All four suspects were reportedly in the country illegally. Each had been taken into custody after crossing the border and were released with court dates under the Biden administration, according to DHS sources. view article

Shein is the fifth China-connected company that Texas has sued this week   .Attorney General Ken Paxton is escalating his campaign against Chinese Communist Party-linked corporations, filing his fifth anti-CCP lawsuit in four days—this time targeting global fast-fashion giant Shein for allegedly poisoning consumers and compromising their data privacy. view article

The Itasca Independent School District in Hill County is warning families after a former high school student was arrested for creating AI‑generated pornography using photos of teachers and students, according to district officials. The district says the former student took photos of students and staff on Itasca ISD campuses and in neighboring districts, then used an artificial‑intelligence platform to alter them into nude and sexually explicit images digitally. view article

A federal judge temporarily banned Houston Independent School District (HISD), Katy Independent School District (Katy ISD), and Plano Independent School District (PISD) from enforcing sections 3,7,24, and 27 of Senate Bill 12 (SB 12). view article

A Kindergarten teacher at J.H. Hines Elementary School was arrested Thursday after school police say she twisted the arm of a 5-year-old student behind his back and put her knee in his back after the boy broke a pencil. Waco Independent School District police arrested Pamela Mitchell, 64, on an injury to a child count, a third-degree felony punishable up to 10 years in prison. view article

 A former Texas 10 Most Wanted criminal has been sentenced to nearly four decades in prison for impregnating a young girl in 2024. The man, an undocumented immigrant living in Harris County at the time of his arrest, was captured after a weeks-long investigation into a child sex abuse and smuggling of minor investigation.  view article

Paxton began investigating the East Plano Islamic Center in March for potential violations of consumer protection laws.  Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the directors of a municipal utility district in the second case from his office aimed at impeding the development of a master-planned community initially marketed to Muslims.  The East Plano Islamic Center has pitched a residential development, formerly called EPIC City, with more than 1,000 residential units, a mosque, a K-12 faith-based school and retail shops outside of Dallas. The project drew numerous state investigations last year — some for unclear reasons — including one from Paxton, who said in March he was looking into potential violations of consumer protection laws.   T  he suit alleges that Double R Municipal Utility District in Hunt and Collin counties was improperly transferred to a new, ineligible board of directors in September to help the planned community develop in the district. That same day, the new board also approved adding about 400 acres to its district at the request of Community Capital Partners, one of the development companies for the planned community. view article

Paxton said his office is examining claims that administrators and faculty helped organize the demonstrations.   The move, announced Monday, targets North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Dallas Independent School District and Manor Independent School District, following a similar inquiry into the Austin Independent School District. Paxton said his office is also examining claims that administrators and faculty helped organize the demonstrations.   “I will not allow Texas schools to become breeding grounds for the radical Left’s open borders agenda,” Paxton said in a statement. “Let this serve as a warning to any public school official or employee who unlawfully facilitates student participation in protests targeting our heroic law enforcement officers: my office will use every legal tool available to hold you accountable.” view article

A Pearland High School theatre teacher is on administrative leave and under investigation by the Pearland Police Department, KPRC 2 has learned. “Please be assured that the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our top priority,” said Aliana Wynn, Pearland ISD’s director of communications. Families were not notified about the teacher’s investigation. view article

San Antonio’s North East Independent School District is under investigation for allegedly facilitating student protests against U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday. view article

The City of Conroe has finally reached an agreement with Willis ISD to provide water and sewer services to multiple schools. This comes after more than six months of legal wrangling. The agreement was only reached after a dramatic meeting where the mayor asked police to clear the council chambers after councilwoman Marsha Porter brought up the Texas Open Meetings Act. view article

A Travis County Special Grand Jury has declined to indict former Manor ISD Police Department Officer Kristopher House in connection with a 2024 use-of-force incident involving a juvenile. Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that the grand jury concluded its review of the February 20, 2024, incident and did not return an indictment on February 12, 2026. view article

Rather than defend the Texas Medical Board, Paxton’s office is intervening in support of Bowden.  Attorney General Ken Paxton has stepped into a legal battle against the Texas Medical Board,  siding with Dr. Mary Talley Bowden and asking a Travis County court to declare the board’s public reprimand against her void.   In a petition filed Thursday, Paxton accused the board of acting “on nothing more than personal animosity and spite” when it disciplined Bowden over her 2021 attempt to administer ivermectin to a hospitalized COVID-19 patient.  Rather than defend the Texas Medical Board, Paxton’s office is intervening in support of Bowden. The filing asks the court to reverse the reprimand and permanently block the board from taking further action against her related to the case. view article

The social media app is accused of exposing minors to inappropriate material.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against Snap Inc., alleging the company misled parents about the safety of Snapchat while exposing minors to sexual content, drug activity, profanity, and addictive design features.  The lawsuit, filed in Collin County district court, accuses Snap of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act.  According to the petition, Snap markets Snapchat in Apple’s App Store as “12+” and characterizes content involving profanity, sexual material, nudity, drugs, and alcohol as “infrequent/mild.”   The state alleges those representations are false, citing an investigation in which a 13-year-old test account was able to readily access explicit sexual material, graphic profanity, drug-related content, and suicide-themed videos. view article

Detransitioner Soren Aldaco spoke on the steps of the Texas Capitol Wednesday morning prior to oral arguments in her medical malpractice case being heard before the Supreme Court of Texas.   During the press conference hosted by Protecting Texas Children (PTC), speakers highlighted the significance of Aldaco’s case.   Aldaco is seeking over $1 million in damages from a transgender clinic, claiming medical malpractice. The Court is currently considering whether her lawsuit was filed within the limitations period. view article

Three staff members at Alice W. Douse Elementary School were removed from campus after a physical altercation in front of students during dismissal, according to Killeen ISD. In a letter to parents, school officials said the incident happened during dismissal and involved three staff members. The message stated that some students were physically impacted by the situation. view article

A jury trial has been set for William Blackburn, the former Academy ISD bus driver indicted on three charges for alleged sexual abuse, officials announced Thursday. The trial is set for June 15, 2026. Blackburn was also charged with the sale, distribution or display of harmful material to a minor, according to the Bell County Sheriff's Office. view article

A Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant is facing both state and federal charges after authorities say he engaged in explicit online communications with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old child.  A Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant is now facing federal charges after being arrested last week in connection with an online child exploitation investigation initiated by Florida authorities.  Sgt. John Frederick Black, 46, was taken into custody last Monday after the Leon County Sheriff’s Office in Tallahassee issued a warrant related to alleged online communications with someone Black believed to be a 13-year-old child. He was arrested in Harris County and booked into jail on multiple state charges before federal prosecutors announced additional charges tied to the same conduct.  According to investigators, the case began in January when Leon County detectives working with a human trafficking and exploitation unit initiated contact with Black on an online chat platform while posing as a minor. Court records indicate Black asked the individual’s age early in the conversation and continued communicating even after being told the person was 13. view article

The administration’s push for mass deportations has resulted in more than 18,000 habeas petitions, a historic high. Texas and California account for about 40% of cases this year. view article

A teacher from Aldine ISD is accused of hitting a student during a fight at G.W. Carver High School in January, according to court documents. Court documents obtained by Eyewitness News say Jacenta Green was seen on campus surveillance filming a student as she walked toward the cafeteria. The records state that Green and the student exchanged words before Green's daughter, who also attends Carver High, approached. view article

The Winnsboro ISD Board of Education voted Saturday to approve the hiring of a new interim superintendent following the arrests of several district employees. Board members approved the hiring of Jeff Conovan, who brings more than two decades in general and special education and 12 years of coaching experience to the district. view article

A Trinity ISD teacher has been arrested and placed on administrative leave after he and his wife were arrested in a Munchausen-by-proxy case. Jon Thomas Holcomb, 51, of Trinity, and his wife, Paula Nicole Geurin Holcomb, 46, are each charged with injury to a child. view article

A former Crowley ISD teacher is in jail and has been charged with having an improper relationship with a student. What we know: 62-year-old Ricardo Ortiz was arrested Thursday, Feb. 5 by Fort Worth police. A letter from Crowley ISD says once it found out about the allegations, Ortiz was removed from contact with students and is no longer employed by the district. view article

A Montgomery County judge has signed an order of nonsuit, effectively dismissing a lawsuit filed by Willis ISD against the city of Conroe in August. The nonsuit, filed by the district Jan. 20, was signed Jan. 21 by 457th state District Judge Vince Santini. view article

A church and coffee shop are claiming the sign requirements violate their First Amendment rights.  Two Harris County property owners are challenging state laws that govern when persons carrying handguns can be convicted of criminal trespass if they enter or remain on property where guns are not welcome.  The laws—Texas Penal Codes 30.06 and 30.07—require the posting of signs with specific requirements on the buildings of property owners that wish to ban handguns from their premises. Property owners may alternatively issue a written notice in the form of cards or give verbal notice to potential violators.  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral arguments in January. view article

Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down the operations of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood in Texas, marking the first major enforcement action stemming from Gov. Greg Abbott’s designation of the groups as foreign terrorist organizations.  The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Collin County, asks a state court to issue temporary and permanent injunctions prohibiting the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, and their affiliated entities from operating, fundraising, recruiting members, or engaging in organizational activity within Texas.   “Sharia law and the jihadists who follow sharia law have no business being in Texas,” Paxton said. “I am in full support of Governor Abbott’s lawful declaration that CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood are foreign terrorist organizations, and it’s imperative that they are stopped from operating in Texas. Radical Islamic terrorists are antithetical to law and order, endanger the people of Texas, and are an existential threat to our values.”  view article

Sara Gonzales exposes a Texas public school for handing out Qurans, hijabs, and pamphlets on Sharia law.  The ACLU has long tried to keep the separation of church and state when it comes to Christianity in public schools, and now BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales is calling on them to have the same energy when it comes to Islam.  “If you try to teach Christianity, if you try to preach the Bible inside the schools, they are right there to tell you how there has to be a separation of church and state. And I’m just wondering, I’m wondering if we will hear the same outrage from the ACLU on this next story,” she says. view article

A current and a former Winnsboro ISD superintendent were arrested on additional charges Thursday, according to the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office. Brian David Wilcox, 50, and Aaron David Nation, 39, were both held Thursday at the Hopkins County Jail on warrants charging them with tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair and with unlawful interception of a wire, oral or electronic device. view article

Lubbock ISD responded to a threat made against one of its middle school campuses Thursday. While the threat was deemed false, Brian Ellyson Director of student and parent resolution for the district said they take every report seriously. “You know that’s our job, is to make sure our kids are educated and our kids are safe,” Ellyson said. view article

Wylie Independent School District is investigating an incident at Wylie East High School after an outside religious organization distributed materials on campus without district approval, according to a letter sent to parents on Tuesday. "Parents send their kids to school with the presumption that they're going to get a good education. They don't expect to come home with a Quran or hijab on their head," said Jacquez Jones, the Chairman of the High School Young Republicans. view article