Texas families will soon be able to access $1 billion in taxpayer dollars through education savings accounts, also known as school vouchers, to pay for private school tuition, tutoring, transportation and several other education-related costs.  Passed during the 89th legislative session, the state is calling the universal program Texas Education Freedom Accounts. Families can start applying Wednesday, Feb. 4.  The application portal closes March 17 with selected families getting funds for the 2026-27 school year. State officials estimate the first year of TEFAs will serve about 100,000 families, with awards averaging about $10,000. view article

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

SAN ANTONIO — Flanked by state and local leaders, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, on Wednesday called for the immediate release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias, whose arrests in a Minneapolis suburb last week have become a flashpoint in the furor over the Trump administration’s deportation tactics.  Photographs of federal authorities detaining the Ecuadorian child, who was wearing a Spider-Man backpack and pale blue oversized winter hat, quickly went viral as some Americans saw it emblematic of the government’s severe practices in Minnesota, where immigration agents shot and killed two people this month. Liam and his father were flown to an immigrant detention center about 70 miles south of San Antonio and on Monday a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked their deportation. view article

To help primary voters differentiate between the two, we asked Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico where they fall on major issues, ranging from international policy to taxes. See where they stand, and how they differ.  In a rare opportunity for Texas Democrats, this year’s primary for U.S. Senate features a highly competitive race between two rising stars with national audiences and strong fundraising abilities.   U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas is facing off against her former legislative colleague, state Rep. James Talarico of Austin, to be the party’s 2026 standard-bearer atop the ticket. The view article

The state may soon take greater control in North East Independent School District because of an ongoing disagreement over the district’s cellphone policy. The Texas Education Agency notified NEISD on Tuesday that it could appoint a conservator or board of managers to oversee the district after trustees refused to change a policy that allows student cellphone use during limited periods of the school day. view article

Nearly four months after Texas' ban on cellphone use in schools went into effect, a group of Round Rock ISD students met with the district's leaders to discuss the new law. Despite some concerns, students said that, overall, they felt more engaged, both inside and outside the classroom. view article

If you’ve lived in Deep East Texas for any length of time, you learn to keep one eye on the weather. Around here, we’ve seen just about everything — floods, wildfires, hurricane remnants and the kind of hard freezes that can turn a normal drive into a long day.  With the recent winter storm and freezing conditions we’ve experienced — and with more cold weather still ahead — I want to recognize the tireless efforts of the men and women who work quietly behind the scenes to keep our communities running.  When temperatures drop and conditions get rough, the real difference-makers aren’t sitting behind a desk. They’re out on the roads and in the field: linemen restoring power in freezing conditions, first responders working long shifts, and county commissioners and support staff fielding calls, checking problem areas, coordinating crews, and helping make sure issues get addressed quickly and safely. view article

Soft-on-crime Democrat district attorneys in Dallas and Austin are founding participants in the anti-ICE project.  Two Texas district attorneys notorious for being soft on crime have joined a coalition of “progressive” prosecutors targeting what they call “lawless actions of federal forces in states and cities around the country”—especially the ongoing efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to remove criminals in the U.S. illegally. view article

The program includes “unique undergraduate courses” and a “new study abroad program in Israel.”  The School of Civic Leadership at UT-Austin has introduced a new endeavor to explore “the influence of Jewish ideas and Jewish history on the Western world and the American republic.”  According to a university press release, the Ackerman Program on Jewish and Western Civilization and the Rosenthal-Levy Scholars program will launch in the Fall 2026 semester. view article

The Laredo Independent School District (LISD) has been navigating new library content procedures following the introduction of Senate Bill 13 late last year. The law expands parental rights, giving parents access to library catalogs and control over what their children can access. “It’s also putting the responsibility on the parents. The parents need to know and they have input as to what they feel their child can or cannot read. So what this SB-13 does, it is asking the schools to look carefully,” said Mely Paez, director of library and media services for Laredo ISD. view article

The General Land Office oversees investments that earn billions of dollars for public education, manages state lands, operates the Alamo and distributes benefits to Texas veterans. Here’s a look at who’s running in the 2026 Democratic and Republican primaries and where they stand.  The Texas General Land Office, referred to as the GLO, is the oldest state agency. Established in 1836, the GLO was primarily in charge of collecting and keeping records, providing maps and surveys, issuing titles and managing the settlement of state lands. view article

A Democrat won a state legislative special election in a district that President Trump carried by 17 percentage points, unnerving Republicans in Texas and beyond.  In an upset that rattled Republicans in Texas and beyond, a Democrat decisively won a state legislative special election on Saturday in a district around Fort Worth that President Trump carried by more than 17 percentage points just over a year ago.  The Democrat, Taylor Rehmet, a local union leader and first-time candidate, defeated the Republican, Leigh Wambsganss, by double digits — 57 to 43 — in the historically conservative district. view article

The casino lobby is escalating its spending blitz ahead of the Texas Republican primaries, with mailers landing in districts across the state as gambling interests push to reshape the legislature.  While some contributions have come directly from the Texas Sands PAC—an arm of the Las Vegas Sands foreign casino empire—much of the recent activity has flowed through the Texas Defense PAC, a multimillion-dollar political committee funded almost entirely by Miriam Adelson, the owner of Las Vegas Sands. view article

Texas’ next top lawyer will inherit an office that has become the tip of the spear of the conservative legal movement. To help primary voters differentiate, we asked the four GOP candidates where they stand on the agency’s major issues. view article

Our detailed guide shows what will be on the ballot, mail-in voting information, voter registration requirements, important dates to know and much more. view article

Not only do Texas school vouchers not cover the amount of tuition at many private schools, those schools don't have to let families with the vouchers in.On Feb. 4, Texas families can begin submitting applications for Texas Education Freedom Accounts, also known as school vouchers. Now legal after several failed attempts, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature legislation allows families to use public funds for private schooling.  view article

Texas public schools could soon be required to teach biblical passages in English classes from kindergarten to senior year, according to a draft proposal before the State Board of Education.  The proposal, created by the Texas Education Agency and set to receive a preliminary vote from the state board next week, is part of a novel push to create a common statewide literary canon, with required readings at each grade level, the first of its kind in the United States.  The list’s genres vary, from fairy tales and nursery rhymes for younger students to historical speeches and full novels in high school. Ten excerpts from the Old and New Testaments are dispersed throughout, including “The Shepherd’s Psalm” for seventh graders and the Eight Beatitudes from the book of Matthew in the eighth grade.  view article

The Texas comptroller’s office has released a set of rules to govern the state’s $1 billion education savings account program, or ESAs. Accepted families will receive thousands of dollars in state funds to send their children to a private school or homeschool them.  The overview: Accredited private schools and education vendors can begin applying to join the program as soon as Dec. 9, and applications will open for interested families Feb. 4.  Most families accepted into the program will receive about $10,300 per student, which can be spent on tuition at accredited private prekindergarten or K-12 schools and related expenses. Homeschooled students will receive up to $2,000 per year, while students with disabilities will be eligible for up to $30,000 annually. view article

The four-way Republican primary drew millions in donations over the second half of 2025, outpacing the comparatively meager fundraising by Democrats led by Sen. Nathan Johnson. view article

Talarico’s two years as a public school teacher is central to his Democratic Senate campaign after shaping his policy goals and driving his political rise through the Texas House.  Texas’ Senate Republican primary, meanwhile, looks headed for a runoff. The survey found U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in a dead heat against Attorney General Ken Paxton, with neither eclipsing 30%. view article

The majority of the Democratic caucus’ haul came when the party broke quorum over the summer to delay the GOP-controlled Legislature from redrawing the state’s congressional map. With a little help from their quorum break last summer, the Texas House Democratic Caucus raised $2.2 million in 2025, a record-setting year for the minority party in the state’s lower chamber.  The HDC is set to file those figures, shared early with The Blast, at the campaign finance reporting deadline Thursday. Caucus Chair Gene Wu says that will let Democrats “preemptively” plan for the 2027 legislative session. view article

No GOP candidate for the Texas Senate has ever defeated a Patrick-endorsed primary opponent since he became the state’s second-in-command over a decade ago.  Jon Gimble says he has plenty to offer GOP primary voters in his bid for an open Texas Senate seat.  He’s a lifelong Texan and a local public servant, upsetting a Democrat in 2014 when he was elected district clerk in McLennan County. And he says he has political relationships in Austin while also being in touch with residents living in rural areas outside of Waco, who feel some of their biggest problems are neglected at the Capitol.  But the one thing Gimble can’t offer might kneecap his chance of representing the district southwest of Dallas he seeks: an endorsement from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the upper chamber’s kingmaker. view article

We’re a year out from the next legislative session and already, the battle lines are forming around a key issue that’s sure to divide Texas Republicans — how to go about lowering property taxes. Gov. Greg Abbott has shared his proposal, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has thrown his pitch, and we’ll all spend the next year nervously assessing whether their disagreement portends a special session or two in 2027.  To discuss all this, Eleanor and Matthew are joined by John Diamond, director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy. view article

pon signing school vouchers into law last May, Governor Greg Abbott pronounced that he had delivered “education freedom to every Texas family.” But the billion-dollar program, which opens to parents on February 4, has enrolled dozens of private schools that openly discriminate against Texas families on the basis of religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity, according to a Texas Observer analysis of information gathered from the schools’ websites and handboos, and survey responses and phone calls with school leaders. The Observer gathered information about all 291 schools selected by the state that offer education beyond the kindergarten level. More than 90 percent are affiliated with or owned by a religious or faith-based group, the analysis found. More than 100 of those schools require or prioritize for admission students of the same faith, and more than 60 have a written policy that discriminates against LGBTQ+ students, the schools’ own data shows. view article

HIDALGO — During a visit to the border Friday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said changes in immigration laws should wait until the border is completely secure, a contrast from Republican lawmakers who are willing to explore legal status for immigrant workers to address labor shortages prompted by enforcement efforts at work sites.  Cornyn was part of a group of Republican U.S. senators and Senate hopefuls who flocked to the Rio Grande Valley to praise President Donald Trump’s border policies as they attempt to promote their achievements and shape political narratives ahead of November’s midterm elections.  Aggressive enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has prompted some unauthorized workers to stay clear of job sites, leading to labor shortages in construction and restaurants. The Valley has been among the areas hardest hit by the worker shortage, prompting a group of local builders to call for solutions to economic struggles in their industry. view article

Seven judicial candidates are under scrutiny for submitting defective candidacy forms. view article

In an about-face, Dallas County Republicans last week decided against hand-counting ballots in Texas’ March primary, saying they weren’t able to line up enough workers, among other hurdles.  That leaves just two counties where Republicans will hand-count their primary ballots: Gillespie County, west of Austin, and Eastland County, southwest of Fort Worth. view article

Texas officials have turned over the state’s voter roll to the U.S. Justice Department, according to a spokesperson for the Texas Secretary of State’s Office, complying with the Trump administration’s demands for access to data on millions of voters across the country.  The Justice Department last fall began asking all 50 states for their voter rolls — massive lists containing significant identifying information on every registered voter in each state — and other election-related data. The Justice Department has said the effort is central to its mission of enforcing election law requiring states to regularly maintain voter lists by searching for and removing ineligible voters. view article

A professor at Texas A&M University was told by the school's philosophy department that he must drop class readings from his syllabus because they violate the school's new policy on "race ideology and gender ideology" in course content.  Philosophy professor Martin Peterson submitted the syllabus for his Contemporary Moral Issues class for the spring 2026 semester to department leadership for review during the school's winter break. The syllabus included readings from Plato's Aristophanes' Myth of the Split Humans, Diotima's Ladder of Love and a textbook titled Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, which were all flagged by the university.

His primary opponent U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, said in a statement that every quarter last year was a record one for her as a fundraiser, but did not say how much she had hauled. view article

On top of dozens of laws taking effect on Jan. 1 and the incoming midterm elections, the new year also comes with developments on numerous policy issues affecting the state. They range from criminal justice to education to international trade, setting up a year that could bring about sweeping changes for Texans.  Here are some important issues to watch in 2026. view article

Andrew White, the son of former Gov. Mark White, announced he is ending his campaign for the Democrat nomination for governor, citing fundraising struggles.  White, who previously ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, said he is stepping aside with State Rep. Gina Hinojosa emerging as the frontrunner in the Democrat primary.  In a video message to supporters, White said the campaign had failed to raise the resources needed to remain competitive. view article

In a new filing, Jane Nelson argues the case is not ripe for judicial review.In a new filing, Jane Nelson argues the case is not ripe for judicial review.Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson is asking a federal judge to dismiss the Republican Party of Texas’ lawsuit seeking to close GOP primaries, arguing the case is premature because the party has not yet adopted a binding closed-primary system. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott has a sweeping plan to abolish Texas’ school property taxes. Would it work?  Gov. Greg Abbott announced his reelection campaign in November, promising to lower property taxes. His plan covers three areas, which The Texas Tribune is breaking down over a series of articles. This is Part One. Read Part Two here.  FORT WORTH — Texas lawmakers have gone big to rein in the state’s property taxes, spending tens of billions of dollars toward reducing the annual bill homeowners and businesses pay each year to help pay for schools. State lawmakers have also put tighter limits on how much local governments can increase taxes to pay for public safety, parks and other services. Ahead of the 2026 election, Gov. Greg Abbott wants to go bigger.  view article

Several court hearings and policies affecting education, health and more will roll out in the new year. view article