Austin ISD officials are considering alternatives that could keep water polo in schools despite ongoing budget challenges. The sport is among several programs being reviewed as district leaders work to address a projected $181 million budget shortfall for the 2026-27 school year. The possibility of eliminating water polo sparked strong opposition from students, parents and community members, who packed Austin ISD headquarters Thursday night to urge trustees to keep the program. view article

A Texas Tribune analysis identified at least 248 planned data center projects. Opponents fear the projects will spike Texans’ electric bills and make the grid less reliable. But industry representatives say they promise huge economic gains.

The Class of 2026 have received their diplomas but that doesn’t stop us from still celebrating them. These students earned prestigious college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships. view article

As students carefully filled notebook pages with colorful words describing themselves, they were doing more than practicing English vocabulary. They were sharing who they are. One student wrote words like "angel," "neighborly" and "liberty" to create an acrostic using her name. Another described herself as "joyful," "secure," "sassy" and "interesting." Nearby, classmates searched for new words, practiced pronunciation and built confidence as they learned a new language together. view article

When school starts this fall in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District near San Antonio, none of the district’s 15 campus libraries will be operated by a certified librarian. As a cost-saving measure, SCUC’s libraries will be staffed by hourly workers known as paraprofessionals who are not required to have a college degree. view article

Three Canutillo Independent School District teachers represented Region 19 at the 2026 Texas Sped Support Summer Institute for Teachers of Students with Complex Access Needs. view article

Democratic nominee for Texas Governor Gina Hinojosa held a press conference this morning with Rep. John Bryant to discuss how Greg Abbott’s failed leadership has left parents, students, and teachers suffering from Dallas ISD budget shortfalls. view article

SpaceX awarded $10,000 scholarships to 10 Brownsville Independent School District students on Thursday, saying they will help the company realize its vision of human life among the stars. “SpaceX’s mission is to make life multi-planetary. We believe life is far more exciting when mankind is among the stars and we’re excited that these students will help carry that vision forward as the next generation of explorers,” Marisela Cortez, SpaceX manager of external affairs, said as she introduced the recipients in the BISD board room. view article

Pleasant Grove Independent School District's band program is increasing in numbers and the board approved the purchase of more equipment to accommodate the growth. view article

Weimar ISD announced on their Facebook page that they will be opening up their weight room this summer for the people in the community. There is a liability release form that people must fill out before using the weight room. The link to the form is on Weimar ISD’s Facebook page. view article

Austin ISD is restarting a boundary review process that could impact thousands of students and families across the district. District leaders held an open house in East Austin on Tuesday night, giving parents and community members an update on proposed school boundary changes. The meeting at Govalle Elementary drew a strong turnout as families gathered to learn about the next phase of a process that began last fall but was later paused. view article

Lewisville Independent School District voted to rename one of its elementary schools in honor of the first African American member of the Board of Trustees, according to a press release from the district. Mill Street Elementary will be renamed to Vernell Gregg Early Childhood Center to honor the long-time educator. view article

Let me start by giving you a trigger warning. I’ve noticed in this commencement season, some graduation speeches have provoked a few boos from students. So, I should probably warn you that I am about to utter the two most provocative letters in the English language today: AI. Artificial intelligence.  But in fact, I don’t really want to talk to you about AI. I want to talk about HI: Human Intelligence. view article

The University of Texas at Tyler has partnered with Jacksonville Independent School District to provide discounted tuition rates for district employees wishing to pursue advanced degrees at UT Tyler. The university remains focused on teacher education and how its School of Education can help address the teacher shortage in East Texas and across the state. view article

Lubbock-Cooper ISD is proposing a new feeder system that would keep students who attend the same middle school together through high school. The district says student groups are currently broken apart as they age through the district. The new proposal aims to account for new growth and give students stability as they transition from middle to high school, but one parent argues the map would do the opposite. view article

Austin ISD is planning two community meetings this week to discuss possible boundary changes, with the first meeting set for 6 p.m. Monday at the Delco Center. view article

In the hope he’ll land a job in finance, Andre Bonnick spends hours rehearsing what he’s going to say. He’s using key words from job listings, making eye contact — following advice he’s gotten from recruiters. view article

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called the ruling “an assault on Texas ranchers.” 
 view article

Tropical Storm Amanda is the first of the Pacific hurricane season, meteorologists say  MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Amanda formed Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean, marking the first tropical cyclone of the season, the National Hurricane Center said.  Amanda was located about 1,505 miles (2,420 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, according to the Miami-based weather center. With the center of the storm at sea, the cyclone posed no immediate threat to land.  Amanda had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph), meteorologists said. The storm was forecast to strengthen over the next couple of days and then weaken over the weekend. view article

The company’s U.S. headquarters is currently in New Jersey. view article

West Oso ISD reversed its decision to move graduation indoors after parents, students, and community members pushed back against a ticket limit that would have restricted how many family members could attend the ceremony. view article

The Aldine ISD Class of 2026 is closing the school year with more than $1.35 billion in financial aid and scholarship offers, demonstrating what is possible when students, families, campuses, and college-readiness teams collaborate.​ According to preliminary district data shared by Aldine ISD’s College Readiness team, the Class of 2026 had received $1,354,163,186 in financial aid and scholarship offers as of May 22. This total, which includes both university-based and non-university-based scholarship offers, is expected to increase as additional offer letters are verified and processed over the summer. view article

Austin Independent School District Police Chief Wayne Sneed was seriously injured Wednesday while escorting a district official on a motorcycle and appeared to have been struck by his own officer, according to the Austin Police Department. view article

The state has faced a backlog of large energy consumers who want to connect to the Texas power grid. view article

Americans face a new round of punishing price increases for fuel and other products as oil and gas inventories plunge to historic lows around the world because of the war in Iran, energy executives and analysts warn. view article

At least 248 data centers are planned to be built in Texas. Of those, nearly half will be built in unincorporated areas, where county officials are limited in their ability to regulate development, according to a Texas Tribune analysis.  Their property is a 118-acre paradise along the Paluxy River Valley where the couple care for a menagerie of animals including their two enormous donkeys, Little Joe and Hoss, chickens and a herd of African antelope that they inherited when they bought the property nine years ago. Instead of green, about 600 yards away from their garden, they could soon be looking at 2,100 acres of warehouse-like structures filled with computing servers that process the digital world, flattening their scenic view into something industrial. The site plan calls for a campus that spans almost six times the size of University of Texas at Austin’s main campus. Its Florida-based developer refers to it as the Comanche Circle project, but the eventual company that will run the data center has not been publicly revealed. view article

The policy change was announced hours after the Department of Public Safety removed the Spanish language option for commercial driver’s license tests to align with federal guidance.  The policy change was announced hours after the Department of Public Safety removed the Spanish language option for commercial driver’s license tests to align with federal guidance. Under the new federal guidelines, Texas has only been approved to grant H-2A visa holders commercial drivers licenses for now, the DPS release said. Eligibility for H-2B and E-2 visa holders in Texas “will be announced at a later date,” according to the release.  The limitation to the three types of visas was implemented to prevent “dangerous foreign drivers” from being given licenses, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a February statement, claiming that bad actors had previously been abusing access to commercial drivers licenses.  The reinstatement came hours after DPS announced it would offer CDL license and permit knowledge tests only in English, removing the Spanish option previously offered, according to a DPS press release announcing the change.  view article

The number of uninsured young children in Texas has risen in recent years, according to a new report from Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families.  Georgetown CCF, a prominent nonpartisan health policy research organization, used data from the 2024 American Community Survey — the most recent data that is currently available from the U.S. Census Bureau.  "The reason we look at young children is because their coverage is really important during a critical time of their development," said Georgetown CCF research fellow Elisabeth Burak. "When they don't have access to the care that they need in those early years, they're at higher risk of falling behind developmentally."  Researchers found that 10.8% of Texas children under 6 were uninsured in 2024, up from 7.9% in 2022. That comes out to more than 73,000 additional uninsured kids. Texas has the highest uninsured rate of any U.S. state for that age bracket, far exceeding the national rate of 5.3%. view article

Lowry Crossing in Collin County was the fastest growing city, according to the data. The suburb east of McKinney grew by a little more than 45%.  “Cities like McKinney and Plano and those in that area, they still have tons of room to grow, but it might be getting more expensive in those more populated areas,” Jackson said. view article

Wylie ISD has accepted the resignation of Wylie East High School Principal Tiffany Doolan following months of public scrutiny over an unauthorized religious materials distribution incident at the campus in February. view article

Close to 54,000 acres of former Hill Country ranchland with a 30-acre spring-fed lake will soon become the second-largest park in Texas.  The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced Wednesday that it has acquired the property, which will become Silver Lake State Park. The former Silver Lake Ranch, where sheep and cattle grazed, features steep canyons and rolling hills located around 150 miles west of San Antonio, between Rocksprings and Uvalde in Kinney and Edwards counties. view article

The University of Texas at Tyler has partnered with Kilgore Independent School District to provide discounted tuition rates for district employees wishing to pursue advanced degrees at UT Tyler. The university remains focused on teacher education and how its School of Education can help address the teacher shortage in East Texas and across the state. view article

Laredo Independent School District (LISD) is bracing for a steady drop in student enrollment, a trend that could mean less money coming in and tougher budget decisions ahead. A new demographics report shows the district is already down hundreds of students, and projections show enrollment could keep sliding over the next several years. view article

A beloved Port Arthur ISD music teacher and coach was shot and killed while picking up his wife's baby in northeast Harris County early Tuesday morning, investigators say. Authorities identified the victim as 36-year-old Marlon Sanders, a music teacher at Porter Arthur ISD's Adams Elementary School. Sanders was also a football and basketball coach, and a local musician known throughout the Port Arthur community for his warm personality and energy. view article

Kilgore ISD employees will receive discounted tuition through a new UT Tyler partnership aimed at growing East Texas educators and leaders. view article