In the last year, the Texas Legislature and court system made several important changes to how school districts must manage their school resource officers. Furthermore, these changes also impact and limit the way school resource officers may engage with students with disabilities.

ditor’s note: The story appearing in the Jan. 16 edition of the News Dispatch regarding the Wimberley ISD’s objection to the use of its logo altered with a rainbow flag that was published on Jan. 16 contains inaccuracies and a misleading headline.The school district says it had not sent out “cease and desist” letters although it did send an email to a woman who had used the altered logo on social media. We apologize for our error and any misunderstanding or confusion it may have caused. We will clear up the matter in more detail in our next edition. view article

A federal judge temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that would have allowed governors, like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and other local leaders to prevent refugees from resettling in those areas.  The Wednesday decision from Maryland-based Judge Peter J. Messitte comes just days after Abbott became the first and only state leader to opt out of the program. Officials had until Jan. 21 to inform the State Department whether they would participate in the program after the Trump administration imposed the deadline in a September executive order. At least 42 governors, including Republicans, said they would accept refugees. view article

The months-long fight over a school district's logo being used by an LGBTQ group has been a costly one for the district.  Wimberley ISD spent more than $16,000 in their dispute with Wimberley Pride over their use of the district's logo.  In information obtained by CBS Austin, the district says the cost to have the logo trademarked totaled $450.  Meanwhile, the attorney's fees since September for all matters pertaining to Wimberley Pride using the logo total $15,798.84 view article

Kilgore ISD trustees learned Monday night that the next phase in a long-running lawsuit against the district is set for Jan. 27. Superintendent Andy Baker told trustees at their regular board meeting that the date had been set for Axberg v. Kilgore ISD to go back to Gregg County Court at Law No. 2. view article

Wimberley Independent school district is threatening legal action against a woman who used the Wimberley Texan logo with a rainbow in the backdrop.  Community outrage sparked over the logo, after grievances were filed against WISD school board member Lori Olsen for wearing an altered WISD logo with a pride flag in the backdrop. Since those grievances were filed, WISD has obtained copyright to both the Wimberley Texan logo and the new WISD logo to “ensure fairness and consistency,” according to an email notice from WISD Superintendent Dwain York. view article

MART, TX — The Mart Independent School District has filed a complaint against Mart Chief of Police Albert Cavazos.  On Monday, the Board of Trustees approved sending a letter of complaint to the City of Mart regarding Chief Cavazos.  According to the district, the complaint is regarding the department's response after a student made a terroristic threat towards Mart High . view article

The Manor Independent School District is out $2.3 million after falling prey to a phishing scam. The district on Friday said the Manor Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating. view article

Police have arrested a 15-year-old accused of opening fire at a Dallas ISD high school basketball game Saturday night. Video posted on social media shows people running after the shots were fired at the Kimball vs. South Oak Cliff basketball game inside Ellis Davis Fieldhouse, at the Jesse Owens Memorial Complex in southern Dallas. view article

A former school bus driver who transported special needs children was sentenced to 20 years in prison after bring charged with indecency with a child, the district attorney's office said this week. view article

Court documents show Benjamin Kopel, a fourth-grade teacher at Zilker Elementary School, has been arrested and charged with Sale, Distribution, or Display of Harmful Material to a Minor. Thursday night, parents are invited to the school for a private meeting to voice concerns. view article

A state judge Wednesday evening immediately blocked Texas from taking over the Houston Independent School District until she issues a final ruling on the case, complicating the state's plan to oust the district's school board by March. In doing so, Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy preliminarily sided with Houston ISD, the state's largest school district, in a legal battle that will ultimately determine whether Texas can indefinitely seize power from its elected school board. view article

More than a year after Sidney Bouvier Gilstrap-Portley was caught posing as a 17-year-old teen displaced by Hurricane Harvey, a former Hillcrest High School student’s mother is suing the Dallas Independent School District. The then 25-year-old Gilstrap-Portley was known as Rashaun Richardson during his time at Hillcrest and even played on the basketball team. A coach from North Mesquite High, his alma mater, recognized him in April 2018. view article

After the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Wimberley ISD regarding legal threats to parents who have posted on social media an altered Wimberley High School logo that shows the image with the gay pride flag as the backdrop, the district has released a statement calling for unity, and urging students, teachers, employees, parents and community members to keep the district "the harmonious, inclusive and welcoming school district that attracts the best teachers and highest achieving students in the state." view article

House Bill 3, an education funding package passed in the last legislative session, became law Jan. 1. One provision of the bill requires school districts to monitor a statewide "Do Not Hire" registry of school employees accused of “certain allegations of misconduct”. It also requires districts to notify the Texas Education Agency when non-certified staff members are accused of misconduct. view article

In state court this time. - A state judge Wednesday evening immediately blocked Texas from taking over the Houston Independent School District until she issues a final ruling on the case, complicating the state’s plan to oust the district’s school board by March. In doing so, Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy preliminarily sided with Houston ISD, the state’s largest school district, in a legal battle that will ultimately determine whether Texas can indefinitely seize power from its elected school board. At a hearing Tuesday morning, lawyers for Houston ISDargued that Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath exceeded his authority in nearly every step in the process of deciding on a takeover. view article

WIMBERLEY, Texas (KXAN) — It’s being called “Logo-gate.” The Wimberley School district has been split over a version of it’s logo that surfaced during Pride month.  District officials threatened legal action against those who don’t take the logo down. view article

Nearly $1.2 million -- that's how much Criminal District Judge John Stevens says former Beaumont ISD electrical contractor Calvin Walker will have to pay in restitution to the school district. A jury found Walker guilty three months ago of defrauding the school district in 2009 after he submitted false documents. view article

Controversy over the Wimberley school district’s censure of parents’ altering of the district’s logo to include the gay pride flag’s colors has gotten the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union.  The ACLU has threatened legal action unless the district drops the issue and ceases retaliation against parents who’ve posted printed or online versions of the altered logo.  “In order to avoid significant legal liability at the detriment of Wimberley taxpayers, students and parents, the school district should immediately cease taking adverse action against anyone who has posted the altered logo and send a retraction to everyone who received the letter from Superintendent (Dwain) York,” ACLU attorney Brian Klosterboer wrote the district in a Jan. 3 letter, referring to a Dec. 18 email the superintendent sent to individual parents and residents. view article

The family of a Santa Rosa teenager has filed a Title IX lawsuit against the the city’s school district alleging that its officials failed to protect their daughter from a sexually hostile educational environment after she was repeatedly assaulted by a school employee.  The suit stems from state cases being tried against Josue Cepeda, 35, and Isaac Ruben Flores, 24, former school district employees who are charged with multiple counts related to sexual relationships they pursued with female students. view article

Two juvenile students were emergency expelled and are facing felony arson charges for an incident involving a firework at Klein Forest High School, the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office said Wednesday. Four students suffered minor injuries as the firework went off inside a container in the school's cafeteria, officials said. view article

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico on Wednesday sued the state's largest school district and a former teacher over a 2018 incident where the teacher allegedly cut a Native American student's hair during class on Halloween and asked another student if she was dressed as a “bloody Indian.” view article

The Wimberley Independent School District is threatening legal action against a group of parents who “expressed their support for LGBTQ students” by creating a graphic that combined the Wimberley High School Texans logo with a rainbow flag, posting the graphic on Facebook and then making T-shirts with that logo during the city of Wimberley’s first LGBT Pride March last fall, according to an article by Brian Klosterboer on the ACLU of Texas website. view article

After making negative public comments regarding the LGBTQ community, several Conroe ISD community members have filed several civil rights complaints against board member Dale Inman with the U.S. Department of Education. view article

Former contract electrician Calvin Walker will pay Beaumont ISD $1,172,656.01, a court decided Wednesday afternoon.   Walker was found guilty in September of submitting false invoices to defraud the district in 2009.  PREVIOUS: Walker found guilty of defrauding BISD  He was sentenced to 10 year of probation following the five-day trial. view article

A federal judge has approved a $165,000 settlement between a large suburban Kansas City school district and a student who was sexually assaulted by a middle school classmate.  The Shawnee Mission School District in Johnson County, Kansas, agreed to settle in September, but the amount wasn't disclosed until it was approved this week, The Kansas City Star reports. view article

An upstate New York school district has begun using facial recognition technology to look for threats. But civil rights advocates want to stop it, saying it infringes on student privacy. The Lockport Central School District says it activated the system Thursday after meeting conditions set by the state, including that no students be programmed in. view article

The aftermath of Midland ISD’s bond recount is now in its seventh week. After the November general election revealed the $569 million school bond failed by 25 votes, the pro-bond committee, We Choose Our Future, petitioned for a recount of the ballots. view article

MARION, Iowa — The Marion Independent School District has settled its final lawsuit from a 2016 case involving student sex abuse by a teenage classroom volunteer.  The lawsuit was filed by parents who said their 5-year-old daughter was molested at Starry Elementary in January 2016. view article

Officials with La Vernia Independent School District have yet to hand over to KSAT 12 copies of text messages sent to and from its embattled former superintendent more than six weeks after the Texas Attorney General’s Office ordered them to do so. The district, through its attorney, has instead told KSAT 12 that the station must pay $1,621 to inspect the records, including paying a deposit of $810.50. view article

An ongoing State investigation into South San Antonio Independent School District has expanded, according to a recent letter from Texas Education Agency officials to the district’s superintendent and board president. The agency has been investigating the school district’s board of trustees since April 2019, citing concerns about dysfunction in the way the district is governed. No action has been taken by the TEA. view article

After months of back-and forth, the ACLU is stepping in, in response to Wimberley ISD's legal threats to parents who have posted on social media an altered Wimberley High School logo that shows the image with the gay pride flag as the backdrop. On Monday, CBS Austin exclusively obtained the ACLU's letter to the school district. view article

The long-running McAllen ISD election contest for trustee Place 4 between Gina Karam Millin and Tony Forina has finally come to an end. In a final judgement entered on Dec. 30, senior District Judge Romeo M. Flores found that Karam Millin had failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the outcome of the election was not true. view article

The Texas Education Agency has expanded its 8-month-long investigation into South San Antonio Independent School District to include new allegations against trustees. Trustees may have violated the state’s “contract procurement process, competitive bidding, awarding and management of contracts,” wrote Jason Hewitt, director of the TEA’s special investigation unit, in a letter to Board President Connie Prado and Interim Superintendent Dolores Sendejo. view article

The original Fort Bend County ruling issued a judgment against the opposing attorneys and their clients for payment of more than $500,000 in attorney’s fees and sanctions, which they now allege is a politically motivated “witch hunt” meant to mask a corrupt Republican-led judicial system and an illegal truancy court system formerly in place that unfairly targeted minorities. view article