A Carthage ISD band director said he resigned due to a newly passed law requiring the Ten Commandments to be put up in classrooms. Johnnie Cotton says he has been working in education for 42 years. On Monday, however, he resigned from his role at Carthage ISD for personal reasons, the district told CBS19. Cotton said the decision came after he was asked to install the Ten Commandments in his classroom as required by state law. view article

A Killeen ISD employee has been arrested for allegedly falsifying employment paperwork, the district has announced. Killeen ISD said a federal arrest warrant was issued for the employee on Oct. 3. The district said the matter was "not related to student or staff safety." view article

Police arrested a middle school teacher and coach in Celina Independent School District who allegedly recorded visual images of students’ intimate areas without their knowledge.  William Caleb Elliott, 26, was arrested Friday and charged with invasive visual recording in a bathroom or dressing room, a state jail felony. view article

The details were revealed in more than 25,000 pages of records released after a yearslong legal fight by news outlets including ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.  After the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary, school leaders in Uvalde initially planned to publicly defend district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, but officials instead chose to remain silent as investigations into police actions unfolded, records released this year show. Arredondo is now facing criminal charges over law enforcement’s delayed confrontation with the gunman.  The previously unreported details were revealed in over 25,000 pages of records the district disclosed in multiple batches after a yearslong legal fight with news outlets, including ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, which filed over 70 public information requests for the records in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. view article

River Road ISD is among the 127 school districts being investigated by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) after nearly 300 complaints were filed against teachers for social media posts they made after the death of political activist Charlie Kirk. view article

William Caleb Elliott, 26, was arrested Friday night and booked into the Collin County Jail. Celina ISD said Elliott is a sixth grade history teacher and eighth grade coach at Moore Middle School. In a release, the district said Elliott was placed on administrative leave "indefinitely." Elliott is the son of Celina High School head football coach Bill Elliott. view article

Houston Independent School District laid off 160 uncertified teachers and 54 staff members as part of “staff leveling” efforts “to align teachers with student enrollment,” according to a district announcement on Monday. Additionally, 232 teachers were reassigned to unfilled positions. view article

Laredo ISD recently earned statewide recognition for its commitment to strong leadership development. Through the Holdsworth Center’s Aspiring Principal Program (APP), two of the District’s leaders, Mario Mireles, principal of Raymond & Tirza Martin High School, and Amy Cruz, principal of J.C. Martin, Jr. Elementary School, are serving as rotation principals. By opening their campuses and sharing their leadership practices, Mireles and Cruz are giving aspiring administrators from throughout the state a real-world look at effective school leadership in action. Their participation underscored not only their individual success but also LISD’s role in shaping the future of education in Texas. view article

Jennifer Powers is charged with trafficking women for violent sex with her then-boss Howard Rubin in New York before she moved to Texas and taught in Carroll ISD. view article

Texas teachers don’t give up their First Amendment rights when they step into a classroom or when they speak outside of it, but protections are limited when what is expressed is considered disruptive, legal experts say.  The Texas Education Agency’s decision to investigate educators accused of praising or excusing the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk puts free speech protections to the test. It has educators uncertain about what they can safely say off the job — a question Fort Worth ISD wrestled with in 2019 when a teacher was fired over anti-immigrant posts, highlighting the murky boundaries of educators’ First Amendment rights.  As of Oct. 1, TEA has received 351 complaints tied to social media posts from public school employees across the state. Spokesperson Jake Kobersky said that number does not represent separate individuals and includes certified educators as well as other school staff. Each complaint is being reviewed and investigated, he said. view article

Jacob Allred pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a 15-year-old girl at Great Lakes Academy, which specializes in students with learning disorders. view article

Houston ISD has terminated or reassigned nearly 450 employees amid ongoing enrollment declines. The changes include cutting 160 uncertified teachers and 54 staff members as well as reassigning 232 teachers who are both certified and uncertified. In a video announcement Monday, district spokesperson Trey Serna called the process "standard." view article

Houston ISD began the 2025-26 school year with about 1 in 4 teachers uncertified, an increase from the previous year, district records show.  Nearly 2,500 out of HISD's 10,200 teachers were uncertified as of Aug. 12. One in 5 teachers — about 2,090 out of 10,550 — lacked certification on the same day in 2024.  HISD did not respond to multiple requests for comment. view article

Texas Scorecard obtained a seven-page letter from the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors—part of the Texas American Federation of Teachers—addressed to faculty at the 12 Texas A&M University System campuses. view article

A retired elementary school “Teacher of the Year” was arrested on federal charges of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.   Robby Lynn Mason, 56, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count each of receipt and distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor under the age of 12 years old.   Mason taught 3rd grade math at Sunset (Dumas South) Elementary in Dumas Independent School District from 2018 until 2023, when he retired.  Dumas ISD is located in the Texas Panhandle north of Amarillo and has about 4,300 students and 650 staff.  Mason previously taught in Sunray ISD and Canyon ISD. view article

A recording caught a Texas State University professor expressing support for overthrowing the U.S. government.   Tom Alter, associate professor of history, expressed these views this past weekend at the virtual Revolutionary Socialism Conference 2025.  In a video obtained by author Karlyn Borysenko, Alter spoke about various left-wing groups during his address to the Revolutionary Socialism Conference. He asked, “[W]ithout organization, how can anyone expect to overthrow the most bloodthirsty, profit-driven, mad organization in the history of the world, that of the U.S. government?”  This followed Alter’s discussion of why he found political organization—in this case through the Democratic Socialists of America—insufficient. view article

An Austin ISD custodian has been arrested for indecency with a child, the district told parents and guardians in a letter sent Thursday. AISD said on Wednesday, U.S. Marshals arrested Agustin Ibarra Lopez, a regional custodial specialist for the district, on a charge of first-degree felony indecency with a child. view article

With the Trump administration’s announcement of a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, companies are scrambling to determine whether the high-skill workers they want to hire are worth the fee.   But the steep cost could shut out one group of employers entirely: Texas public schools, which have historically employed more foreign teachers under the program than any other state education system. view article

The Texas Education Agency is investigating more than 280 complaints against teachers who have been accused of making inappropriate comments online about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death as several educators across the state have already been punished for allegedly doing so. In the days since Kirk was shot and killed during an event he hosted at Utah Valley University, lawmakers and activists have called for the firings and removals of anyone mocking Kirk or celebrating his death. The TEA said in a statement Wednesday that it is still in the review process for the complaints, and that any firings or other disciplinary actions would have been at school districts' discretion. view article

Six employees at Midland ISD’s South Elementary have resigned and two administrators remain under investigation following claims of misconduct in special education classrooms, prompting a multi-agency investigation and increased oversight across the district. Following last week’s initial statement regarding an investigation into classroom practices in special education classrooms at South Elementary, Midland ISD remains committed to transparency while acknowledging that some details cannot be disclosed during the ongoing investigation. view article

Rene Tavera taught bilingual classes at Peach Creek Elementary in Splendora ISD. view article

The board of Athens Independent School District is discussing accepting the resignation of the high school’s band director. 45-year-old Nicholas Durham was arrested on a meth charge earlier this month after Henderson County Sheriff’s Office deputies searched his apartment. According to arrest records, he gave investigators two bongs containing meth at that time. view article

Shonterrich J. Johnson, 29, was the assistant principal of instruction at IDEA Parmer Park. He no longer works for the charter network.  Shonterrich J. Johnson, 29, was the assistant principal of instruction at IDEA Parmer Park on East Yager Lane. After multiple students raised concerns about his alleged relationship with a minor, police investigated and arrested him, the affidavit said. He is facing one count of an improper relationship between educator and student and one count of online solicitation of a minor. view article

The selection of Christian Hardigree, regional chancellor for the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, was one of several shakeups at the Texas A&M System on Thursday.  The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Thursday named Florida higher education administrator Christian Hardigree as the sole finalist for president at the system’s newly acquired Texas A&M University-Victoria.  Hardigree currently serves as regional chancellor for the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and has previously served as a founding administrator for two schools at universities in Colorado and Georgia. She holds a Juris Doctor from Mercer University in trial litigation and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. view article

Seguin ISD says it is reviewing social media comments from a district employee after Gov. Greg Abbott called them “inappropriate” and said they “have no place in our schools.” “Seguin ISD is aware of an employee’s social media comments regarding recent events. These comments were inappropriate and do not reflect the values and beliefs of our school district,” said Emily Allen, the district’s executive director of communications. view article

Seguin ISD says it is investigating after a teacher was called out directly by Gov. Greg Abbott for allegedly referring to Charlie Kirk's death as "karma." view article

A day after Gov. Greg Abbott singled out a Seguin ISD teacher for appearing to have referred to Charlie Kirk's killing as "karma," saying such sentiments "have no place in our schools," district officials said they were looking into the online comments. "These comments were inappropriate and do not reflect the values and beliefs of our school district," a Seguin ISD spokesperson said, adding leaders would "address this situation consistent with district policy." view article

The board of regents will soon begin a national search for Mark Welsh’s replacement.  Mark Welsh, president of Texas A&M University, is stepping down effective September 19. Announced by Chancellor Glenn Hegar and the Board of Regents, the news follows weeks of mounting controversy over Welsh’s leadership.  Welsh’s resignation caps a period of public uproar sparked by his handling of a children’s literature course that included instruction on introducing LGBT and gender identity material to children as young as three.  The situation came under public scrutiny after State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian) released audio of a student objecting to the curriculum and subsequent allegations that the student was kicked out of class for expressing concerns about transgender indoctrination. Initially, Welsh defended the professor involved but later reversed himself—firing the instructor and removing the department head and dean from their posts. view article

Attorneys for a terminated Texas State University professor have announced an impending lawsuit. The professor was fired after revelations that he had called for the overthrow of the U.S. government.   It was widely reported on Tuesday that attorneys for former Professor Tom Alter claimed he was fired “because he espoused views that are unpopular in today’s conservative, politically-charged climate, in violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.”  As reported by Texas Scorecard before his firing, a social media post showed Alter addressing the virtual Revolutionary Socialism Conference.  view article

The student pantomimed Kirk’s death.  A second student at another taxpayer-subsidized university in Texas has been expelled for mocking conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.  In a recording posted by activists CJ Pearson and Libs of TikTok, the student can be seen slapping the side of his neck and saying, “Charlie Kirk got hit in the neck, b—-.”    He then pantomimes Kirk’s death, climbs atop a statue, says, “Hi, my name is Charlie Kirk,” and repeats the performance.  Libs of TikTok posted on X: “DISGUSTING. At a @txst Charlie Kirk memorial event, a student MOCKS Charlie’s ass*ssination, curses, and spits at people honoring his memory.”  Within an hour, Gov. Greg Abbott stated on social media, “This conduct is not accepted at our schools.”  view article

More than 200 Texas teachers from government-run schools are currently under investigation. 
The Texas Education Agency is investigating more than a hundred Texas teachers over their social media posts regarding conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.   Late last week, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter to superintendents acknowledging that the agency had been made aware of teachers sharing social media posts celebrating Kirk’s assassination and was actively investigating the situation.   To date, 281 Texas teachers from government schools are under investigation by the TEA. view article

Texas A&M President Mark A. Welsh III is resigning a week after video surfaced of a student confronting a teacher about gender identity content in a summer course covering children's literature.  view article

More than 200 Texas teachers from government-run schools are currently under investigation. 
 The Texas Education Agency is investigating more than a hundred Texas teachers over their social media posts regarding conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.  Late last week, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter to superintendents acknowledging that the agency had been made aware of teachers sharing social media posts celebrating Kirk’s assassination and was actively investigating the situation.  To date, 281 Texas teachers from government schools are under investigation by the TEA. view article

A Lubbock County grand jury returned an indictment charging a former Lubbock teacher accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl attending a church in Amherst, where he was a youth pastor.  Jeremy Maxfield, 41, is charged with a count of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison. view article

Alleged comments made by a teacher regarding the death of Charlie Kirk are being looked into, according to the Texarkana Independent School District. view article