DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – As classrooms remain closed for the rest of this school year, many parents and students are left wondering about the future of classes in August with the continuing outbreak of the coronavirus.  Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa addressed these concerns Monday morning, along with outlining several preliminary plans.   (5) view article

School districts cover this in Public Fund Investment Act Training - js - AUSTIN (KXAN) — The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction against Texas House Bill 89 this week.  The Texas legislature passed the law — what’s known as an anti-BDS law — in 2017. It doesn’t allow state contractors or public funds to go to companies that are boycotting Israel.  The decision to vacate was applauded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. view article

BUCKHOLTS — It was much ado about something, but so far no one has said what that something was.  On Monday, a group of students and parents strongly protested the April 20 dismissal of faculty members by the board of trustees of the Buckholts Independent School District. No protesters came to a special meeting of the board on Saturday evening in the Buckholts Elementary School library.  Before the special meeting, Trevor B. Hall of Austin, attorney for the school district, said, “The parties have settled their dispute by mutual agreement and the terms of the agreement are confidential.” view article

Ending month of deliberation, the Dripping Springs ISD board of trustees voted April 28 to approve an interlocal agreement with the city of Dripping Springs, the Dipping Springs Community Library District and Hays County. The agreement confirms the school district's participation in a project of Dripping Springs' Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ), a development strategy for growing cities to reinvest tax revenue over a certain cap into a specific area's infrastructure. view article

Wichita Falls ISD trustees quickly went into a session closed to the public for a discussion about property during a school board meeting at noon Thursday. The closed session and its general subject were the only items on the agenda for the special meeting. Trustees met virtually in open session and after a few minutes went into closed session to talk about the "Purchase, Exchange, Lease or Value of Real Property," according to the agenda. view article

When the Longview ISD school board meets at noon today, it could approve giving employees premium pay for working during a disaster.  The virtual meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube to comply with social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting can be accessed at tinyurl.com/y7b3wrzr . view article

Five Buckholts ISD employees, including the principal and athletic director, were suddenly let go. The school board voted to approve the non-renewal of their contracts last week. Community members came out to protest the decision on Monday. view article

BUCKHOLTS — The signs students held in protest Monday night were targeted toward Buckholts Independent School District school board members who dismissed several teachers, a principal and the athletic director last week.  “Resign Now!!!!!,” was the sign two boys held from a car. view article

The Jacksonville ISD school board will meet in special session, noon Tuesday, April 28, at the JISD administration building, to discuss continuing education regarding building shut down due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, according to a meeting agenda. view article

view article

The Katy ISD Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet in regular session on Monday, April 27, albeit remotely and broadcast via the district’s livestream due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Anyone wanting to address the board will need to sign up by 2 p.m. Monday. To sign up to speak, individuals must send an email to  publicrecords@katyisd.org view article

Forensic auditors are expected this weekend to give DeSoto school trustees a first look at their investigation that includes evidence of “significant” payments to a fictitious company.  The investigators told trustees at a workshop earlier this month that they’ll recommend the board refer some of their findings to law enforcement, either the Dallas County district attorney’s office or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. view article

As Katy Independent School District students continue online learning and social distancing persists, senior graduations have now been moved to June.  Seniors’ last day of school is slated for Friday, May 15. Other students should finish on Thursday, May 21. view article

The Corsicana Independent Board of Trustees held a regular meeting via video conference, April 20, the first meeting of the group since Gov. Greg Abbott’s April 17 decision to close Texas schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year.  Superintendent Dr. Diane Frost acknowledged the work of everyone in the district, including teachers, staff, administrators and counselors, during the district closure which began in March. Teacher-led online instruction began April 6.  “They have wonderful spirits and great hearts,” Frost said. “I have never seen a staff of our size jump into something so quickly and learn how to use software and online instruction for our students.” view article

The State Board of Education is calling a do-over on a virtual meeting that appeared to violate Idaho’s open meeting law. The board continued to meet Monday afternoon even though its live Facebook video stream failed. The stream was the only method available for the public to watch the two-hour meeting.  “This was an inadvertent mistake and after consulting with the office of the attorney general, we are working to schedule a special board meeting to correct this,” State Board President Debbie Critchfield said in a news release Tuesday. view article

With schools being mandated to close their campuses for the remainder of the school year following an amended executive order last week by Governor Greg Abbott, districts now are finalizing altered grading systems for the last weeks of distance learning.  Nederland Independent School District presented their voting guidelines as a curriculum update Monday evening at their monthly board meeting. view article

When the Mineola ISD School Board met Monday night, they approved changes to the district’s grading policy to reflect the shift to distance learning caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The new grading policy tries to balance school-related expectations with extending grace during the difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. view article

During its meeting Monday night, the Jacksonville ISD School Board gave Superintendent Chad Kelly the authority to modify the district’s local EIC policy, so it can accommodate any changes brought on by the COVID-19 crisis. Any changes will only remain in effect through the end of the 2019-2020 school year unless the board votes to take further action. view article

Katy Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Ken Gregorski spent 20 minutes with Covering Katy's Dennis Spellman on Monday, April 20, 2020. They talked about how the school district is dealing with the COVID 19. The interview was streamed live on the Covering Katy and Covering Fort Bend Facebook pages.  A lot of ground was covered, including online learning, summer school, prom, graduation, and whether kids will be able to get their stuff out of lockers on campus now that online learning will be utilized for the rest of the school year. view article

During an April 20 virtual meeting, the Georgetown ISD board of trustees authorized Superintendent Fred Brent to finalize the purchase of 18.33 acres for a future elementary school.  The authorization allows Brent to negotiate and execute the contract for purchase the tract of land. The land is located in the southwest quadrant of district, but the exact location will be released when the purchase is final, GISD Executive Director for Communications Melinda Brasher said.  If finalized, funding for the land purchase will come from the voter-approved 2018 bond program, Brent said. view article

Other states may be shifting to increased mail-in voting, but Texas' GOP leaders are fighting efforts to expand voting by mail. That leaves local elections officials stuck trying to make polling places safe in a pandemic.  There will be an election in Texas in mid-July, apparently with polling sites, election workers and voting machines in place so people can cast their ballots in person. How many voters might be willing to risk a trip to the polls during a pandemic, though, remains unknown.  As Texas Republicans work to block the expansion of mail-in balloting during the new coronavirus crisis, local election administrators across the state are deciphering how to safely host voters for the July 14 primary runoff elections — and eventually the November general election — under circumstances unseen by even the most veteran among them. view article

Clear Creek ISD administrators addressed points of contention related to the district’s recently adopted spring 2020 pass-fail grading policy at a special meeting of the board of trustees April 20. view article

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott discussed reopening the Lone Star state up for business during an online church service from Dallas on Sunday, the same service President Trump had tweeted he would be watching.  Jack Graham, the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, spoke remotely to the Republican governor about opening businesses and churches following the coronavirus-related shutdowns. view article

Voting rights groups and Democrats nationally are ratcheting up pressure tomake mail voting more available in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  President Trump claims increased usage of “mail ballots are a very dangerous thing for this country.” The president has been arguing mail-in ballots are frequently fraudulent for the past week. Trump has also said that making it easier to vote in America would hurt the Republican Party.Which brings us to Barbers Hill and Mont Belvieu. view article

The Jefferson ISD trustees on Tuesday voted unanimously to push back the district’s school board election to Nov. 3 and also approved a resolution to make the grading and class ranking policy more flexible during this time of school closure. view article

The Pflugerville school board late Thursday postponed the May 2 trustee elections to the Nov. 3 general election due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The board’s action follows Gov. Greg Abbott’s proclamation to suspend Texas Election Code and allow governmental entities to postpone May elections.  Trustee Rob Reyes ― who is not seeking his fourth term on the board ― cast the sole vote against the postponed election date, saying it seemed “self-serving” as he would continue serving as a trustee through November. view article

The Clint Independent School District board approved compensating substitute teachers during the district’s closure due to COVID-19. Clint ISD officials also announced students will not return to school for the remainder of the school year. Substitute teachers will receive two payments that will be calculated based on the substitute teacher’s average gross earnings in the months of January 2020 and February 2020. view article

Round Rock ISD teachers and staff will have to wait to learn whether they will receive a raise for the 2020-21 school year, following a lack of board action April 16. Members of the district’s administration alongside the Texas Association of School Boards recommended a 2% salary increase in an April 16 presentation. The increase, which also included salary adjustments for positions that were under market value, would have totaled approximately $8.7 million, or a 2.7% budget impact, according to staff’s presentation. view article

The Leander Independent School District Board of Trustees will hold a virtual Agenda Review meeting on Thursday, April 16 to discuss Phase II of the district’s Remote Learning Plan. Trustees will also consider the issuance and sale of two Bonds series, approval of costs for updates for two district campuses and an approval of costs for the construction of Tarvin Elementary. Though Trustees will review and discuss these items, decisions will not be made view article

The Fort Worth school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to buy thousands of computers in an emergency purchase for elementary school students who need devices and internet access for at-home learning.  The district plans to purchase 3,160 Chromebooks for nearly $1.2 million and spend another $1.3 million on 6,000 hot spots with 3G mobile plans and access to the district’s learning network. view article

The Bryan school district has set graduation dates for seniors at its four high schools.  In an announcement sent to students this week signed by Superintendent Christie Whitbeck and the four high school principals, the district said all graduations will be held at Merrill Green Stadium in May.  The decision to move the graduations to the district facility comes after Texas A&M University said Reed Arena would not be available through the end of May because of the COVID-19 pandemic. view article

The Fort Stockton ISD School Board voted to move the Saturday, May 2 bond election to the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election, heeding recommendations from the state Secretary of State and executive orders from Gov. Abbott that the election would be difficult – if not impossible – to conduct safely in May.  The vote came at a special session on April 13.     view article

The Humble ISD Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint former school district board president Brent Engelage to fill the vacancy left by trustee Angela Conrad, who resigned to move to her family’s dream home, during the virtual monthly meeting on April 14.  Brent Engelage was first elected in 2008 to the board and was reelected in 2010 and 2013, serving through 2017. During his previous time on the board, Engelage served as parliamentarian from 2010-11, secretary from 2011-12, vice president from 2012-13 and president from 2013-14. Engelage manages an outpatient clinic in Conroe for Select Medical Corporation and is an orthopedic physical therapist according to his online board profile from Humble ISD. view article

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The El Paso Independent School District board will meet twice on Tuesday via teleconference.  The meetings will be at 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The first will be a special meeting and the second will be the regular monthly meeting.  The livestreams and the agendas can both be viewed online at the district’s website. view article

The Fort Bend ISD board of trustees, along with district staff, discussed the potential effect of the coronavirus on the remainder of the 2019-20 school year at the April 13 board meeting.  Superintendent Charles Dupre said a final decision about end-of-year activities and continuing online learning could come in the next few days.  Here are three topics Dupre and the board discussed:   view article