As students return to school this week, Dallas ISD is hoping to fill more preschool classrooms. For the first time, every 3- and 4-year-old who lives within the district can attend pre-K for free, regardless of family income.  The expansion is part of the district's effort to attract more families while giving children an earlier start before kindergarten.  Up until this school year, free pre-K in Dallas ISD was only available for military households, low-income families, non-English-speaking learners, and children of Dallas ISD teachers. Of the more than 10,000 preschool students in the district, only, 267 families were paying for preschool last year because they did not meet the eligibility requirements, according to district. view article

Former Harmony ISD head football coach Jeremy Jenkins and his wife Brandy were killed in a car crash Saturday night. The pair’s deaths were confirmed in a statement by Courtney Hudgins, the superintendent of East Bernard ISD, where Jenkins worked as head football coach and athletic director. view article

East Bernard ISD is mourning the deaths of Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Jeremy Jenkins and his wife, Brandy Jenkins, a teacher at East Bernard Junior High School. According to a message from Superintendent Courtney Hudgins, the couple died in a car crash Saturday evening, view article

It is with profound sorrow that we learned of the passing of Tom Luce, Texas 2036’s founder and chairman emeritus. Tom was a visionary leader whose dedication to public service transformed the lives and opportunities of millions of people across our state. He firmly believed in the power of Texans coming together to address the big challenges vital for future generations to thrive, inspiring significant action and driving meaningful change across his lifetime. view article

Dallas ISD welcomed students back to school on Tuesday – but fewer than last year.  The state’s 2nd largest school district started the fall semester with about 132,000 students, down from about 134,300 last year.  Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde, visiting blue ribbon Hexter Elementary School in East Dallas, said federal policies are partly to blame.  “Certainly, some policies regarding immigration have had an impact,” she said. “We think this year we're probably going to level off. We won't know until a few days from now.” view article

Buena Vista ISD is mourning the death of a student, according to a statement released by the district. The district announced the student’s passing Thursday, saying its thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family, friends, classmates, teachers and others affected by the loss. view article

Students in Aldine ISD can get some realistic experience working at a hospital while still in high school. That’s what HEAL High School provides for high school students in the district as the school started its third school year on Wednesday. Aldine ISD staff and Memorial Hermann mentors welcomed the students for the first day of school. view article

The biological parents won a temporary restraining order against the surrogate, who tried to claim parental rights, and are with their baby, their attorneys say.  The baby boy at the center of an out-of-state surrogacy battle that is pitting the Texas attorney general against the California biological parents was born in Dallas on Wednesday, lawyers for the birth parents and the surrogate confirmed.  view article

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As Bryan ISD welcomes students back for the first day of school, Superintendent Ginger Carrabine sat down with KBTX to discuss the district’s momentum, upcoming changes, and key challenges for the new year. view article

Sixteen school districts across the Greater Houston area are welcoming students back to class Wednesday, with more districts set to begin the school year Thursday. In Spring Branch ISD, district police are using the final hours before the first bell to make sure campuses are secure, and officers are prepared for the return of students. view article

A dozen San Antonio-area school districts are set to welcome students back Wednesday for the new year. Those districts include Fort Sam Houston ISD, Harlandale ISD, Ingram ISD, Judson ISD, Lackland ISD, Medina Valley ISD, Natalia ISD, Pleasanton ISD, San Antonio ISD, School of Science and Technology, Somerset Academies, and Southside ISD. view article

As the bulk of Central Texas school districts head back to school Wednesday, leaders with Del Valle ISD said they’re prepared to welcome thousands of students back into their schools. Some classrooms may end up slightly more crowded than originally expected at the district’s only comprehensive high school, Del Valle High School. That’s because construction on the district’s second campus, North Del Valle High School, has been pushed back a year due to road infrastructure delays. view article

North Texas districts are opening their doors to students from neighboring communities as declining enrollment and growing school choice turn recruitment into a financial survival strategy. view article

Ingram ISD students returned to class Wednesday after floods in the Hill Country damaged 12 district buildings, forcing crews to work quickly to make classrooms safe before the first day. Superintendent Justin Turner said students can return to classrooms, though some are still in the work phase and may not be completed until winter break. view article

Chris Clark stepped into the role as Leander ISD navigates growth in some areas of the district while enrollment stabilizes in others. view article

Flour Bluff ISD leaders look ahead to a new school year as students return to class. Here’s what the district is focused on this year. view article

An affidavit obtained by WFAA identifies the suspect accused of shooting a Dallas ISD officer with the officer’s own gun in a Sam’s Club parking lot. The suspected shooter has been identified as 27-year-old Jose Santiago Pantoja-Morales. He admitted to taking Officer Justin Jones' firearm and shooting him in the leg, according to the affidavit. view article

Students returning to Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD this week will notice a major change inside their school libraries. Beginning this school year, certified librarians have been reassigned to other positions within the district, and paraprofessionals will now manage the district's 15 campus libraries. view article

Amazon is planning to build a massive data center in Pecos County, Texas. But the company says the plant would generate its own gas power. view article

State lawmakers created the TEFA program in 2025, and accepted students will receive some funding for education opportunities that include: private school tuition and fees; tutoring and therapy; homeschooling; and other services. Funding is capped at $1 billion for the first year of the program, and about 122,000 students of the over 274,000 who applied have been accepted, including 85,344 participants who have received funding. view article

Texas’ candidates in this year’s U.S. Senate race are neck and neck, according to recent polling. Since the runoff election on May 26, state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, has performed slightly better than his Republican opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton. view article

Who says you can't mix two passions together? For Dallas Independent School District softball Coach Mark Stout, he's done it weekly this season. Stout warms up his team at W.T. White High School every home game and then, for a brief moment, plays the national anthem on the trumpet to get to that exciting umpire line: play ball! He started doing it before games last season. view article

In some voting locations where a party’s appointed polling judge didn’t show up, election officials allowed the other party’s judge to operate both parties’ voting machines in an effort to keep the polling place running. view article

The Lewisville ISD board of trustees approved the district's 2022-23 academic calendar, which includes 177 instructional days. The 2022-23 calendar, which was approved during a Jan. 10 board meeting, will have an Aug. 10 start date with exams for the first semester to be completed before winter break, which runs Dec. 19-Jan. 4, 2023, according to the calendar. view article

Fort Worth ISD is moving forward with plans to establish four early learning centers across the district in areas where affordable, high quality child care is hard to come by after voters narrowly approved a November bond to fund the project along with other improvements. Three other bond measures were defeated in the same election after opposition groups lobbied against them, pointing to the district’s lackluster academic performance and what they called limited information about the bonds in the weeks leading up to the election. view article

An online petition created by the 'Students of KATYISD' group is demanding change to allow access to LGBTQ+ resources and websites, including a suicide prevention hotline. Katy ISD student, 17-year-old Cameron Samuels, spoke out at a school board meeting last week and told ABC13 that students cannot access LGBTQ+ youth resources and websites while on the district's internet server. view article

The Northwest ISD Education Foundation last week held a grand opening event for its new free store and library for teachers to get resources and educational materials for their classrooms. Teachers can “shop” for school and classroom supplies, snack packs, clothing items and books. All items are free to district educators, who will use them in their classrooms to support students, according to a news release from Northwest ISD. view article

When you were in school, did you ever wonder to yourself, "what if I were principal for a day?" On Wednesday, WFAA's Cynthia Izaguirre and our station general manager, Brad Ramsey, got that chance thanks to the Principal for a Day Program (PFAD) with the Dallas Independent School District. The program is meant to help people who don't work in education understand the strengths and challenges Dallas ISD schools face. view article

It’s 4 p.m. at S.S. Conner Elementary School’s district-run afterschool program, and cheerleaders are pumping up a group of 70 students as they enjoy a healthy snack. Now with full bellies and high spirits, the students go into classrooms and center themselves with deep breathing exercises and social and emotional learning practices. Then it’s on to fun, hands-on learning and, at last, an epic game of kickball in the gym. view article

The McAllen Independent School District (McAllen ISD) is considering closing Bonham Elementary School due to low student enrollment. Since 2010, McAllen ISD has closed down three schools: David Crockett Elementary in 2011, Jose Antonio Navarro Elementary, after the 2017-18 school year, and Abraham Lincoln Middle School the same year. view article

Calallen ISD's superintendent apologized for a video that surfaced on social media of a high school pep rally during which students portrayed former President Donald Trump and Jesus Christ while making racist remarks. The video, captioned "i'm so scared #saveme," has garnered close to 34,000 views and has been shared over 550 times since being posted. It is a screen recording from someone's Snapchat account. That person recorded the pep rally, which took place at Calallen High School's gymnasium. view article

The national outcry over efforts to foster diversity and inclusion initiatives in schools has added fuel to a heated Grapevine-Colleyville ISD runoff election. The incumbent, Mindy McClure, said she is fighting a campaign of “misinformation” from her opponent, community volunteer Shannon Braun. view article

For Granger ISD officials, they have been working since the spring of last year, planning on getting kids back to campus for the start of school. School for the Lions has been fully on campus since the start of the school year. The district says this is due to the COVID-19 safety protocols that are in place, as well as teachers who have gone above and beyond. view article

Austin ISD hosted its Operation Reconnect block walk door-to-door event to ‘reconnect’ with existing district families and help recruit new ones to its schools. The event specifically aimed at attracting families to schools in its northeast corridor, including (among others) Andrews and Harris elementary schools, Garcia’s Young Men’s and Sadler Means Young Women’s middle school leadership academies, and Northeast High School. view article