The suspected gunman who shot two students before shooting himself Wednesday at Evergreen High School has died, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday night. The big picture: The shooting happened just before 12:30pm on campus grounds, both in and outside the school — which has over 900 students and is about 30 miles southwest of Denver, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.  The three students, including the suspected shooter, were taken to CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood. view article

The suspected gunman who shot two students before shooting himself Wednesday at Evergreen High School has died, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday night. The big picture: The shooting happened just before 12:30pm on campus grounds, both in and outside the school — which has over 900 students and is about 30 miles southwest of Denver, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.  The three students, including the suspected shooter, were taken to CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood. view article

A former Eanes ISD student was taken into custody Wednesday on "suspicion of possessing a weapon in his car" on the Westlake High School campus, according to district officials. "Out of an abundance of caution, several schools were placed in SECURE while our Eanes ISD Police Department responded to an incident nearby," Eanes ISD officials said. "We have heard unaffected schools were also placed in SECURE." view article

The law’s authors urged districts to use “common sense.” But some nurses worry they could violate the law and face discipline for providing basic care without a parent’s approval. view article

A North Texas school district is dispelling rumors that a student overdosed on campus last week. Millsap ISD officials in a statement said that rumors of the overdose are not true. Instead, what happened was that three students on Aug. 29 were using a vape that contained THC and one of the students reported to school officials that they weren't feeling well. view article

Video shot by an anonymous bystander on Wednesday and posted to social media was shared with KHOU 11 by a very concerned mother who said it made her physically sick. "When I saw the video, I threw up," Angela Dixon said. "I fell to the floor, I threw up." Dixon's 13-year-old daughter, who we're not identifying, is seen in the video getting punched and kicked repeatedly. As the attack spilled into the street, the victim fell to the ground as school buses and other vehicles passed by. view article

A MacArthur High School teacher died on Thursday morning, the school’s principal said in an email obtained by KSAT. In the email, Principal Joaquin Hernandez confirmed that one of the school’s teachers died following a medical emergency during first period. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office told KSAT that the teacher was Timothy Kitterman, 65. Kitterman’s cause and manner of death have yet to be determined. view article

Previously, parents had to wait for the state to mail them the exemption form. They still have to get the form notarized before submitting it to the school for enrollment purposes.  Texas parents will no longer have to wait weeks for a vaccine exemption form to be mailed to them if they want their children opted out of state-required immunizations to attend school.  This week, the state health agency quietly unveiled the new downloadable vaccine exemption form, the result of state Rep. Lacey Hull’s House Bill 1586 which went into effect on Monday. Along with the form, the Texas Department of State Health Services also published a document listing the benefits and risks of immunization.  The new law does nothing to change the childhood vaccine schedule. Instead, it would allow parents to download at home a form that allows children to be exempted from being vaccinated in order to attend public schools. The parents can show the same filled out form for two years before having to fill out a new one.  Before the new law, parents had to contact the state health agency and request the exemption form be mailed to them.  Parents still have to get a notary’s signature before they can present the form to school officials. view article

A volleyball coach charged with sexually grooming and abusing an underage Lockhart Junior High School student is now the target of a civil lawsuit along with Lockhart Independent School District.  Aaron Aguilar, 28, was arrested in April and charged with sexual performance by a child under the age of 14. He was later also charged with possession of child pornography.  The victim’s mother filed a federal lawsuit against Aguilar and Lockhart ISD on August 25.  Aguilar was no longer employed by Lockhart ISD at the time of his arrest. view article

The law does not specifically ban the possession of THC vape pens, but those who sell them face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 penalty. view article

Texas’ rubber-stamp system allows drillers to release vast amounts of natural gas into the atmosphere.  Hakim Dermish moved to the small South Texas town of Catarina in 2002 in search of a rural lifestyle on a budget. The property where he lived with his wife didn’t have electricity or sewer lines at first, but that didn’t bother him.  “Even if we lived in a cardboard box, no one could kick us out,” Dermish said.  Back then, Catarina was a sleepy place. A decade later, oil and gas drilling picked up, and he welcomed the financial opportunities it brought. Dermish launched businesses to support the industry, offering everything from guards for drill sites to housing for oil field workers.  The growth also brought flares — flames burning off excess natural gas — that blazed day and night at wells in the surrounding countryside. Initially enamored of the industry’s potential, Dermish now worried that its pollution endangered the health of the town’s 75 residents. He began lodging complaints with the state in 2023, asking it to push companies to control emissions. view article

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks, affecting nearly 500,000 people in the United States each year. view article

A Humble ISD mother said her daughter, who has special needs, received second-degree burns after using the slide at her school's playground. Humble ISD confirmed Tuesday that it has launched an investigation into the matter. Teresa Moncada said her 10-year-old daughter, Savanah, was using one of the slides at Park Lakes Elementary last Thursday during recess. view article

As students return to school, North Texas Salience Health psychiatrist Dr. Shanila Shagufta said it's important for parents to look for signs of mental health challenges in children and teens.  One in five adolescents experience mental health challenges—emotional, mental, or behavioral—in any given year, Shagufta said, a figure confirmed by the U.S. Center for Disease Control.  Salience Health, which offers mental health treatments, has locations in Frisco, Allen, Dallas, McKinney and Plano, according to its website. A new location is planned to open in Southlake at the end of August. view article

News 10 This Morning's Olivea Herzberg details how effective the metal vape collection boxes have been throughout Waco ISD. view article

A Sabine Independent School District student has died on Monday. According to the district, there was an incident Monday in the community that “resulted in the passing of a Sabine High School student.” They did not confirm whether the death of the student was part of the incident in Hugh Camp Memorial Park that happened on Monday afternoon. We have reached out to the superintendent for comment. view article

More than 75 Texas camps have met dozens of safety standards to become accredited by the American Camp Association, which can be a lengthy and costly process.  Train staff on various emergencies, file emergency plans with local emergency personnel, maintain communication methods in case phone and internet services go down, and teach campers how to respond during crises.  Seventy six youth camps in Texas must meet these requirements and dozens more to be accredited by the American Camp Association — the gold standard of camp safety and operation — and some of those measures are among the camp reforms that Texas lawmakers seek to implement following the deadly July 4 floods. view article

SAN JUAN, Texas – From Monday, July 25, to Saturday, July 30, the Texas Health and Human Services will carry out Operation Border Health/Preparedness (OBHP). OBHP is a program that sets up sites around the Rio Grande Valley, offering residents free health services. Services include general physician services, immunizations, screenings, sport physicals, dental services, vision services, and more. Although assisting the public in maintaining their health is a goal of OBHP, the underlying purpose is to assist the community in preparing for disasters. State Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said Operation Border Health Preparedness allows state, local, and nonprofit entities to practice setting up and operating health clinics that may be needed in the case of a public health emergency, while providing free care to the community. He said services include medical exams, immunizations for children and adults, sports physicals for students, health and diabetes screenings, and dental and vision exams. “Operation Border Health Preparedness is a great example of a smart policy that not only ensures we are prepared for future public health crises, but also provides an immediate public benefit in the process,” Hinojosa said. view article

Police officials and law enforcement experts say there’s no guarantee that officers will follow their training and confront a shooter — no matter how much training they have.  In the weeks since officers in Uvalde waited more than an hour to confront a gunman who killed 19 children and two adults at an elementary school, police departments across the state have asked themselves a crucial question: If they faced a similar situation, would they be able to quickly stop the gunman?  The images of parents and students pleading with officers to take action at Robb Elementary School on May 24 before a tactical team of federal agents finally breached a classroom and fatally shot the 18-year-old gunman deeply disturbed Marfa police Chief Estevan Marquez. view article

An increase in COVID-19 cases among children in El Paso is resulting in more absences at some schools. "Last week my child had a light cough so we decided not to take her to school to not expose the other children to her cough," said El Paso ISD parent Guerrero Garcia. view article

Some Brenham ISD parents are concerned about the safety of their children aboard school buses, while the district struggles to find people to drive them. Overcrowding and longer run times for some buses has parents worried and debating whether their children should be using school transportation. One parent, Cassi Harrison, has pulled her three children off after she says her daughter had to sit on the floor of her elementary school bus, which had students from two bus routes. Harrison says the safety of the children needs to be addressed. view article

Saying positive cases of COVID-19 are climbing to "very high rates" in the district, the Richardson ISD says they are once again temporarily implementing a mask requirement for everyone inside K-12 schools. In a letter to parents, the district said active cases of COVID-19 have increased from 49 on Dec. 7 to 1,089 on Jan. 6, an increase of more than 2100%. The previous pandemic-high number of positive cases in RISD was 367 on Sept. 3. view article

They say participation is strictly voluntary, but the Fort Worth Independent School District is offering a one-time $500 incentive to employees who get fully vaccinated against COVID. Administrators say the money is an ‘effort to provide safe and healthy environments for students, staff and visitors’. view article

In a video address by the Conroe ISD superintendent, Dr. Curtis Null gave an update on the latest numbers on Friday as COVID-19 cases in the district continue to climb. Dr. Curtis Null, the Conroe ISD Superintendent, said, “We need to do something as a community to help make sure that we can keep our schools open and keep our kids safe.” According to the district in the first two weeks of the school year, there have been over 1,100 reported positive cases that included 962 students and 176 staff. view article

Houston ISD students and employees who refuse to wear masks when the school year begins could face discipline and be forced to temporarily learn online under new guidelines released by the district. With exceptions and reasonable accommodations made for people with a “documented medical disability,” the district’s updated back-to-school plan, released Friday evening, says that those who refuse to comply with the mask mandate will face consequences. view article

As COVID-19 cases rise and schools begin to come back into session, the safety of students is a top priority for many school districts. According to a social media post by Jim Hogg County Judge Juan Carlos Guerra, JHC ISD is taking precautions to protect students against rising case numbers. view article

The largest school district in the San Antonio area said Wednesday they will not be enforcing a mask mandate, “for now,” despite a county-wide requirement issued Tuesday that students and teachers wear masks in public schools. A Northside Independent School District spokesperson told KSAT that the district will continue to “strongly encourage the use of facemasks by students, staff, and visitors to district facilities and events” but stopped short of requiring them. Meanwhile, they will “closely monitor the changing guidelines and directives” and alert the public of any change to the policy before the district’s start date on Aug. 23, the spokesperson said. view article

Round Rock ISD parents are divided on COVID-19 masking protocol, with some fighting to keep mask rules in place for their schools and others wanting it to be a choice. The school district's board of trustees recently considered relaxing the mask requirement, but voted to keep the rules in place through the end of the calendar year. view article

All Fort Worth ISD employees will soon be offered a COVID-19 vaccine. Superintendent Kent Scribner sent the information to employees on Thursday. The email states that all employees, including part-time and substitute workers, will be invited to sign up for the vaccine through the school district. view article

During and after a Nov. 9 meeting, Friendswood ISD board members and parents discussed the merits and challenges of structural changes to the district’s virtual learning program. Guidance from the Texas Education Agency released Nov. 5 gave the district significantly more options when it comes to virtual learners, officials said. But that guidance continues to change. view article

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Mackenzie Middle School has confirmed the first case of COVID-19 at the school. Mackenzie Middle School release a statement to parents confirming the case of COVID-19 on August 26, 2020. view article

School districts across the Brazos Valley will be heading back to school in the next few weeks but many are dealing with new protocols as the pandemic continues into the new school year. One area that many districts are dealing with is extracurricular activities. KBTX spoke to Bryan ISD’s Fine Arts Director, Patrick Corbett about how the district’s protocols are adjusting to fit the needs and safety for those who choose to participate. view article

The union for Austin Independent School District employees is asking the district and the state not to send employees back to school buildings in August. Union members say it is unsafe for employees and children to be in classes together. During an online news conference Wednesday, Education Austin President Ken Zarifis said the union is asking AISD to commit to online learning only for the first nine weeks of the semester, while monitoring Covid-19 cases in the city. He also asked that increased pay for employees like cafeteria workers and other support staff continue. view article

Lamar University and Nederland Independent School District both confirmed Wednesday that employees had tested positive for the coronavirus. The NISD employee was last on campus on May 20 and self-reported a positive test according to a statement. view article