The Midland Independent School District’s board of trustees voted Tuesday night to rename a school after Robert E. Lee, reversing a former board’s efforts to distance itself from the Confederate general five years ago. In a divided 4-3 vote, the trustees voted to return one of its schools, formerly Legacy High, back to Midland Lee High. view article

At the start of every school year, concerns about dress codes resurface. One mother in Huckabay ISD, a small district in Erath County, said her daughter was humiliated after being singled out for wearing yoga pants. Shallen Fishel said that on the second day of school, her 12-year-old daughter called to say her outfit violated the dress code and that administrators told her to change clothes. view article

More than 13,800 students will return to Georgetown ISD on the first day of school Aug. 14.  Here is some key information to know as the 2025-26 school year begins.  The overview: The 2025-26 calendar includes these key dates: view article

Many protests, rallies, petitions and calls for racial equality were sparked in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020.  School districts across the country responded by renaming schools, seeking to address historical racism by removing the names of American figures who were known to have owned slaves, fought on behalf of the Confederate army, supported segregation or otherwise furthered racism against Black Americans.  In Midland, Floyd’s death inspired a petition to rename Midland’s Robert E. Lee High School, and the Midland ISD board of trustees voted 5-2 to rename the school Legacy High School in 2020.  At its recent July board meeting, trustees voted unanimously to add criteria to its board policy that prohibits the naming of a district facility after someone who has gone to war against the United States. view article

Five Northside Independent School District (NISD) schools were hit with power outages on the first day of school, according to a district official. The power outages began showing on CPS Energy’s power outage map just after 6 a.m., with the most significant showing on the Northwest Side. view article

For Arlington resident Mikaila Smith, the lead-up to the 2025-26 school year has been stressful. Both Smith’s son and daughter start public school at Mary Moore Elementary this fall.  Balancing the pressure of switching her children into AISD from private school and the rising costs of supplies is a tall order, but she found help at Arlington ISD’s 11th annual Back to School Kickoff at AT&T Stadium.   “Something like this is really beneficial, especially for a lot of kiddos in this area,” Smith said. Approximately 25,000 gathered at the home of the Dallas Cowboys for the Aug. 2 event, according to the district.  view article

BROWNWOOD, Texas — Brownwood Independent School District has introduced a new way for families to connect with the school. ParentSquare, a new all-in-one communication platform designed to streamline how schools communicate with families. According to the district, they aim to consolidate multiple tools into a single, "user-friendly" system for both staff and families.  According to Brown ISD, the platform offers automatic translation of communications into families' preferred languages and provides options for receiving updates via email, app, voice, or text. This initiative supports meaningful engagement across the district's diverse community.  ParentSquare also eases the administrative workload by integrating with the district's student information system, replacing manual processes with paperless workflows. Teachers and coaches can communicate with their teams, classes, students, and parents through custom groups, track engagement, and send real-time updates using one tool instead of managing multiple systems. view article

I’ve been fortunate to experience what many would consider a successful career. I’ve served as a superintendent in two districts, been named Illinois State Superintendent of the Year, published books, given keynotes nationally, and led award-winning school improvement efforts. But I say this with complete honesty: Nothing was more difficult than my first year as a principal. view article

Lawmakers focused a lot of bills on education during the regular session. Now they are law. From a total cell phone ban in all schools to requiring the display of the 10 commandments in classrooms. When classes begin next week for most school districts, there will be a big change for students. view article

After Governor Greg Abbott recently signed the bill banning cell phones in Texas schools, NewsChannel 10 is gathering the new or updated policies for area school districts. view article

Several Central Texas school districts are inching closer to the first day of school. KWTX is tracking new laws put into place in the Lone Star State education system. Come September, classrooms will be required to display the 10 Commandments. The law states the poster of the commandments must measure at 16 inches and 20 inches tall. view article

Trump orders work on new census, says people in US illegally 'WILL NOT BE COUNTED'  President Donald Trump declared in a Thursday morning Truth Social post that he has directed the Commerce Department to start working on a new census, noting that illegal aliens in the U.S. will not be included in the population count.  "I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024," the president said in the post.  view article

Just days before the first day of school at the newly constructed Homer C. Calfee Middle School, part of Willis ISD, the City of Conroe shut off the school’s water service. The school is set to welcome more than 800 students on August 13, but parents said important back-to-school events like orientation have been postponed because of the water permitting problem. view article

A new school year means even more classroom time for students at 15 Fort Worth ISD schools, the district announced. To accelerate academic growth, the Fort Worth ISD School Board approved a plan to add additional school days at 15 campuses. At these schools, the school year will begin Aug. 12 and extend to June 30. The plan adds 25 more instructional days for students at those campuses. view article

As students prepare to return to class, HISD is rolling out a new cell phone ban under a new state law that takes effect this school year. The law, House Bill 1481, requires all Texas school districts to restrict students from using personal electronic devices during the school day. That includes cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, headphones, and earbuds. view article

The countdown for returning to class is on with most Houston-area students starting a new school year next week. This weekend also marks Tax-Free Weekend where shoppers can purchase many school essentials without paying sales tax. To help out, many major retailers across the country and in the Houston area currently have deals to help students return to class or to college without breaking the bank.   Here are some of the deals:  view article

The agency initially blocked the payout because of two state investigations into now-banned lottery courier services, one of which sold the winning ticket. view article

For the seventeen year-olds that gathered in late July to begin their college applications, it may have still felt like summer, but for the five-person college counseling team at the newly built YES Prep Northline secondary campus, the bootcamp was the culmination of months of work preparing to send the class of 2026 off to college. Equipped with the folder of all folders — including an itinerary for the two-day college bootcamp, usernames and passwords to college application websites, a community service hours tracker, a blank version of the Common App, a master college list-building worksheet, a guide to calculating class rank and information on SAT scores benchmarks — the emerging high school seniors got to work. view article

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UNT will pay more than $700,000 to resolve accusations of racism.  A public university in Texas just learned an expensive lesson.  According to media reports, the University of North Texas will pay $725,000 to Professor Robert Jackson. Jackson sued the university in 2021, claiming to have suffered professional and emotional damage following accusations of racism leveled at him in te immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s death.  The dispute arose following a discussion in an obscure academic journal edited by Jackson. view article

LAMPASAS — On a blistering June morning, Andy Sipocz brushes his fingers through the thick, sawgrass fronds rising higher than his head beside a creek in the Texas Hill Country.  Around him, rocky limestone lines Yancey Creek, streaked in subtle reds and browns — evidence of millennia of mineral deposits and weathering.  Sipocz, a natural resources coordinator and biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is one of more than three dozen staffers gathered here to begin laying the groundwork for what will one day be Texas’ newest state park — about a two hour drive northwest of Austin.  Wearing cargo shorts and pants, hiking boots, and sun-brimmed hats, the TPWD team winds its way down a steep hill — no trail in sight. That’s the point. They're here to determine where the trails should be. Today’s mission: conduct early-stage natural resource surveys and habitat assessments to support the park’s future design. view article

Just a few months shy of the one-year anniversary of a near-miss incident at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Austin City Council members approved a resolution July 24 urging the Federal Aviation Administration to prioritize staffing at the airport. Austin City Council member Vanessa Fuentes, who authored the measure, said the call to action includes several components, among them an FAA-approved air traffic controller academy in partnership with Austin Community College.  “We want to continue to ask and demand that the FAA take action, but also add a local solution,” Fuentes said in an interview with Community Impact. “Rather than pointing a finger, we are lending a hand, trying to address and help solve for the staffing shortages.”  If the city succeeds in establishing a certified air traffic controller program locally, it would be the first and only one of its kind in Texas. view article

Austin city leaders are urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reinstate $50 million in funding for flood protection upgrades to critical city utility infrastructure — money that was pulled earlier this year. In 2022, FEMA appropriated $50 million for part of the Fallwell Lane Capital Renewal Project, which aims to bolster flood resilience at a water treatment plant and a power plant in Del Valle, both of which border the flood-prone Colorado River. But the Trump administration canceled the FEMA program that provided the funds. Without those funds, the back half of the project — meant to protect $1.4 billion of infrastructure and prevent sewage overflow and power outages — has been stuck in financial limbo.  view article

Democratic members slammed the process, questioning why hearings were happening before maps were available for review. Chair Cody Vasut said follow-up public hearings will be scheduled once maps are filed. view article

Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Based directly inside schools throughout Bexar County and surrounding areas, Communities In Schools of San Antonio connects children and their families to educational and community-based resources tailored to each student’s needs. view article

President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. Senate Democrats are imploring Trump ‘s administration to intervene as Palestinians suffer and starve in Israeli-controlled Gaza, with more than 40 senators signing onto a letter Tuesday urging the resumption of ceasefire talks and sharply criticizing an Israeli-backed American organization created to distribute food aid. Trump has been playing more golf Tuesday in Scotland on the White House has called a working trip including meetings with world leaders.  Here’s the Latest: view article

At least two summer camps in the Texas Hill Country have invited campers back after sustaining little to no damage from the flood. Other camps are still combing through the rubble. view article

East Texas school districts are making plans for a new state law that would create a public catalog of what books are in the libraries and classrooms. Senate Bill 13 allows school districts to decide which books are permitted in their school libraries. The law goes into effect on September 1. Nacogdoches ISD Superintendent, Gray Burton said the district is working on updating several campus library catalogs. They will also add books from teachers’ classrooms as of Monday. view article

Children’s crafts and certificates of achievement remain in some corners of Dobie Pre-Kindergarten School. The campus officially closed its doors in May 2025 as part of Richardson ISD’s Project RightSize consolidation plan. Dallas County and Richardson ISD were able to strike a deal to repurpose the campus into a resource hub. view article

Houston-based chain Shipley Do-Nuts no longer has Texas ownership after being acquired Monday by a California private equity firm, Houston TV channel KHOU reports.    A spokesman for Peak Rock Capital announced Monday that the Austin-based firm had sold Shipley to Leichtman Capital Partners, based in Beverly Hills. Also included in Leichtman's portfolio are Cici's Pizza and Nothing Bundt Cakes.  Shipley Do-Nuts, one of the largest donut companies in the country, got its start as a small Houston shop in 1936. Now, the nearly 90-year-old business has more than 375 stores operating in 14 states. view article

Children’s crafts and certificates of achievement remain in some corners of Dobie Pre-Kindergarten School. The campus officially closed its doors in May 2025 as part of Richardson ISD’s Project RightSize consolidation plan. Dallas County and Richardson ISD were able to strike a deal to repurpose the campus into a resource hub. view article

A new bill passed by the 89th Texas Legislature will officially prohibit Carroll ISD students -- as well as all Texas public and open-enrollment charter schools -- from using cell phones once the 2025-26 school year begins. House Bill 1481 will "implement a new policy restricting the use of personal electronic communication devices during the school day" effective this upcoming school year, according to a Carroll ISD press release. view article

The Argyle ISD board of trustees unanimously approved a flexible school day program at a July 22 meeting. The program will be available for students for the 2025-26 school year. view article

Starting this fall, students across Fort Worth ISD will no longer be allowed to use their cellphones, smartwatches, earbuds, or other personal devices during the school day. The district’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new “Put it Away, Learn Today” policy at its July 22 meeting, aligning with a new state law that takes effect Sept. 1. view article

Districts across Texas are making decisions about student cellphone use ahead of a new state law taking effect this fall. On Tuesday, Fort Worth ISD joined that list. During a board meeting on Tuesday, the district voted to approve a new phone policy that bans personal communication devices in schools. view article