AUSTIN, Texas – February 4, 2026 – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) today announced the selection of Levi Fuller as Inspector General for Educator Misconduct. As Inspector General, Fuller will closely oversee the enforcement of Educator Misconduct policies and processes within TEA to help foster safe learning environments for all of Texas’ nearly 5.5 million public school students.  “I look forward to the impactful work Levi Fuller will do in service of our students, families and school systems,” said Texas Education Commissioner, Mike Morath. “With more than a decade of experience holding bad actors accountable, Levi will help root out the flawed few that sew distrust among families and school communities while helping to restore confidence in the teaching profession.”   view article

Longer school days. Fewer electives. Improved test scores, at least for a time. Inside the pricey new experiment aimed at turning around schools with failing grades.  WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Texas school districts are opting to outsource their failing campuses to third-party operators in a little-known, but increasingly common attempt to avoid state takeovers, a WFAA investigation found.  In exchange for paying millions to a third party with the promise of improved accountability scores, the TEA grants a two-year reprieve from state intervention and sends the district additional public education funds to help cover the cost. In these scenarios, superintendents and school boards keep their jobs and retain at least partial local control over their schools — all of which would be at risk with a state takeover.   Texas school districts are opting to outsource their failing campuses to third-party operators in a little-known, but increasingly common attempt to avoid state takeovers, a WFAA investigation found.  In exchange for paying millions to a third party with the promise of improved accountability scores, the TEA grants a two-year reprieve from state intervention and sends the district additional public education funds to help cover the cost. In these scenarios, superintendents and school boards keep their jobs and retain at least partial local control over their schools — all of which would be at risk with a state takeover.  view article

Austin Independent School District will run its own special education department without state oversight for the first time in nearly three years. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Tuesday told the district he was removing the two state-appointed monitors who have overseen AISD ever since 2023 when a state investigation found the district repeatedly missed strict state and federal deadlines for evaluating kids suspected of needing special education services. view article

Two Everman ISD schools will be run by a Colorado-based nonprofit next year after the district board voted to outsource operations at two campuses whose continued failing accountability score performance could put the entire district at risk of state takeover. The district will pay Third Future Schools millions of dollars to take over Townley Elementary and Baxter Junior High schools for the next three years. The TEA gave Townley F grades in 2023 and 2024 and a D in 2025. It gave Baxter F grades all three years. Five years of failing grades puts the district at risk of state takeover. view article

The Texas Education Agency has placed Kingsville Independent School District on accredited warning status due to its F-rating, but another South Texas district's successful turnaround demonstrates that recovery has been achieved before in the region. view article

Austin ISD can now run its special education services on its own, after three years under state oversight. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath sent a letter on Tuesday to AISD Superintendent Matias Segura saying he was removing the two monitors appointed by the state to oversee AISD's special education program. view article

Austin ISD leaders announced that the district’s special education program is no longer under state oversight, marking a major turning point nearly three years after the Texas Education Agency (TEA) ordered sweeping improvements. The district had been under scrutiny since 2021, when a TEA investigation found AISD had failed to properly evaluate students eligible for special education, causing a backlog that left many waiting months for support. In 2023, the state assigned monitors to oversee the district’s progress. view article

The call caught FWISD mother Adrienne Haynes off guard.  A Dunbar High School counselor was checking in about her son’s academic progress — something she said she had not experienced before then.  “I give credit to the superintendent,” Haynes said. “Before her, a lot of times we wouldn’t know what was happening in the schools.”   Each grade level saw improvements on recent midyear exams that track students’ progress. The average reading score increased by 1 to 8 points while the average math score bumped up 1 to 5 points. view article

Fort Worth mother Marisol Herrera couldn’t shake a question from the top of her mind Thursday following the announcement about the state takeover of FWISD.   Will students have the same opportunities she had growing up here as an immigrant? Will they have the same chance to succeed as her son, a junior at I.M. Terrell Academy?   The answers to those questions will come in the coming months and years, as state appointees replace locally elected trustees to control the nearly 70,000-student district with 10,000 employees, marking the second-largest takeover in Texas history.    Herrera is disappointed that Fort Worth ISD will go through immense change when it needs consistency and a steady hand, she said.   Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath launched the intervention Oct. 23 after the now-closed Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade failed to meet state academic standards five years in a row.  view article

A mass “sickout” is planned across Houston ISD on Thursday, as parents, students and community members continue protesting the state takeover of the district. Organizers are calling on families to keep students home or bring them to school after lunch so they will be counted absent. The goal, they say, is to send a message to state leaders and demand the return of the district’s elected school board. view article

4 views Feb 10, 2025 #news #DFW #dallas  The state’s top education official briefed state lawmakers in Austin Monday morning. The state of education in Texas is not the best. Texas spends below-average per student and is getting below-average results according to national standards. NBC 5's Phil Prazan reports with how lawmakers want to address the issue. ----   view article

Just after Fort Worth ISD trustees lost their legal fight to stop the state takeover of the district, school board member Wallace Bridges announced his resignation on Friday. A state administrative court ruled in favor of the Texas Education Agency, concluding no factual disputes would justify overturning Commissioner Mike Morath’s decision to intervene in the 70,000-student district because of failing academics. This clears the way for Morath to install new leadership over the city’s largest school system. view article

Seven elementary schools closing, one new middle school opening, and a fresh map of school boundaries-- these are the solutions Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) officials proposed Monday as ways to handle the district’s budget and overcrowding issues. view article

New data from Fort Worth ISD shows that test scores are improving. According to a progress report that will be shared with trustees Tuesday night, a mid-year assessment showed that 40% of 3rd graders meet or exceed grade level in English Language Arts and Reading. Earlier in the school year, it was only 20%. The 3rd grade class has shown even larger gains in math. In the first assessment of the school year, about 29% of 3rd graders were at grade level or above for math. That doubled to 60% for the mid-year assessment view article

Republican officials in Oklahoma and Florida have also launched plans to expand the presence of the conservative youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk.  Texas has launched a partnership with Turning Point USA to create chapters of the right-wing organization on every high school campus in the state.   Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault revealed the initiative during a news conference at the Governor’s Mansion on Monday. They did not outline any plans that would require schools to initiate the clubs, but Abbott said that he expects “meaningful disciplinary action” to take place against “any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas.”  view article

Just after Fort Worth ISD trustees lost their legal fight to stop the state takeover of the district, school board member Wallace Bridges announced his resignation on Friday. A state administrative court ruled in favor of the Texas Education Agency, concluding no factual disputes would justify overturning Commissioner Mike Morath’s decision to intervene in the 70,000-student district because of failing academics. This clears the way for Morath to install new leadership over the city’s largest school system. view article

The Texas Education Agency on Tuesday warned school districts that they could be taken over by the state if they help facilitate students walking out of class to attend protests.  The agency released guidance after Gov. Greg Abbott directed Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate a social media post showing Austin Independent School District students participating in nationwide walkouts against the recent killings of several people by federal immigration officers. Austin school district police officers drove near some of the students during the Jan. 30 protest in downtown Austin. view article

This section implements the requirements of Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.002(c-4), and, in conjunction with Chapter 113 of this title (relating to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies), implements the requirements of TEC, §28.002(a)(2)(G), (h), and (h-1). view article

Following over four hours of public testimony and debate Jan. 28, the Texas State Board of Education is poised to postpone a plan to create a mandatory reading list for K-12 students.  Board members said Jan. 28 that they wanted to get more feedback from Texans before moving forward with the policy, which would take effect at the beginning of the 2030-31 school year. The SBOE is required to create the reading list under a 2023 state law, and members said they would likely revisit the proposal during an April meeting. view article

The walkout was part of a national protest of recent ICE crackdowns on illegal aliens. 

State officials are demanding explanations from the Austin Independent School District after the student walkout last Friday in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Soon after reports were made that students had been allowed to leave class and join anti-ICE protests at the Texas Capitol while receiving a police escort, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Education Agency to investigate the situation.  “AISD gets taxpayer dollars to teach the subjects required by the state, not to help students skip school to protest,” posted Abbott on Friday evening.  view article

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School teacher Edriana Cofer’s biggest fear as Texas takes control of Fort Worth ISD is losing her autonomy to help students. The unknown of what’s next had Dolores Huerta Elementary teacher Angela Andrews thinking about jobs outside FWISD. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has approved the vast majority of Austin ISD's turnaround plans to improve failing schools. Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura sent a letter to parents on Thursday night stating that the TEA approved 22 of the 24 plans. The schools affected by the turnaround plans are: view article

For the first time, the Connally ISD community came face to face with the Texas Education Agency to get answers and more details about a timeline on the future of a TEA takeover. view article

Parents and students spoke out during a Fort Bend ISD school board meeting, raising concerns that the district’s long-range boundary planning could lead to school consolidations and major changes for campuses and the surrounding communities. view article

Faced with a proposed list of almost 300 readings for K-12 students, the State Board of Education delayed a vote until April. view article

Round Rock ISD now has 11 additional educators who have completed the path to become National Board Certified Teachers across our district, with three others working toward certification through the National Board. They join more than 30 National Board Certified teachers throughout the district, collectively bringing decades of experience to Round Rock ISD campuses and classrooms. view article

Low test scores on one campus can trigger a state takeover in Texas, affecting Black, Hispanic and low-income students most  The demographic makeup of the “trigger” schools raises questions about whether Texas' accountability system fairly considers historic inequities tied to race and poverty.The Texas Education Agency last year launched plans to take over four school districts due to low academic performance, confiscating decision-making power from elected leaders based on state-issued F grades at six campuses. view article

Families are opting out of Houston ISD for neighboring districts or even out of public education entirely. view article

Lake Worth school board president Tammy Thomas apologized Tuesday night, her voice cracking as she sniffled and took responsibility for the decisions that led to the district’s state takeover. “The fault that the district is in lies in the hands of this board,” Thomas said. “We were slow, very slow, in appointing a new superintendent.” view article

The state of Texas is proposing a list of literary works, from nursery rhymes and novels to Bible passages, that would become required reading in all English classrooms statewide.  The list, the first of its kind in the country, sets mandatory titles for every grade from kindergarten to high school. The Texas Education Agency, which drafted the list that will be voted on next week, says the goal is to create a standard “literary canon.”  The genres vary, from fairy tales and picture books for younger students to historical speeches and full novels in high school. Ten excerpts from the Old and New Testaments are also included, such as “The Shepherd’s Psalm” for seventh graders and the Eight Beatitudes from the book of Matthew in the eighth grade.  view article

Carvajal Elementary School on the West Side will be shuttered at the end of the 2025-26 school year.  On Tuesday night, the school board for San Antonio Independent School District voted to close the campus, keep Carvajal’s school bond dollars in the community and prioritize students and staff in the transfer process “upon availability.”  Superintendent Jaime Aquino was not present at the meeting due to a previous engagement. SAISD Chief of Staff Toni Thompson took his place but did not comment during discussions. view article

Most teachers at Fort Worth ISD’s newly designated turnaround schools will earn a base salary of $100,000 next year.  Educators, principals and other staff at six of the district’s most struggling schools will receive bigger paychecks than their counterparts at other FWISD schools starting in August. Trustees approved the pay Tuesday as part of overhaul efforts aimed at jump-starting academic gains.  “We’re putting the best teachers at these schools,” Superintendent Karen Molinar told trustees. view article

The Lake Worth school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to not appeal a decision by the Texas Education Agency to take over the struggling district. Board members voted to not fight the TEA takeover and waived the school district’s ability to ask the State Office of Administrative Hearings to review Commissioner of Education Mike Morath’s decision to remove Superintendent Mark Ramirez and all current members of the school board.  Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/education/article314393904.html#storylink=cpy view article

Houston ISD delays state requirement that would limit uncertified teachers   The Houston ISD state-appointed board of managers voted Thursday night to delay new state requirements that would have banned uncertified educators from teaching core subjects, including English language arts and reading, math, science and social studies, in public schools by the 2027-2028 school year.  Last summer, the Texas legislature passed House Bill two, which put limitations on uncertified teachers in core classrooms. Specifically, it requires reading and math teachers for kindergarten through fifth grade to be certified by this fall, and by the next school year, districts can't have any uncertified teachers for English, math, science and social studies across any grade level.  A recent study from the University of Houston reported uncertified teachers make up nearly 20% of the teacher workforce in Houston ISD. Uncertified teachers made up just .3% of teachers in the district seven years ago. view article

The Texas Education Agency will meet with the Lake Worth community Wednesday as the school district braces for a state takeover. The meeting is an opportunity for parents, teachers and the community to ask questions and learn more about the takeover. Marilyn Miller Language Academy is the campus that is triggering this state takeover. They have been rated an 'F' for five years. Under Texas state law, that rating allows the TEA to intervene. view article