A state lawmaker and a Tarrant County official believe the measure primarily applies to border counties.  Fort Worth’s top law enforcement officer insisted that city police “will not change” their mission even if Texas’ new border security measure were to take effect.  Police Chief Neil Noakes issued a video statement Monday on X, pledging that, although the Fort Worth Police Department will “always follow the law, the primary responsibility for immigration enforcement and border protection should be left to our federal and state partners.” view article

Teen Wears Grandmas Dress To Prom And Finds This.. PlayJunkie| Sponsored Brandon Neil Sams, 48, pleaded guilty on March 19, 2024, to coercion and enticement of a minor before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Boone Baxter. According to court documents, while serving as a band instructor at Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas, Sams engaged in repeated attempts to coerce and entice several of his students to engage in sexual activity. Sams admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with several minor victims, all of whom were his students at Texas High. view article

Tuesday was a big day for a Keller ISD third grader who returned to school after being hit by a car. It happened about three weeks ago in Fort Worth when 8-year-old Scarlett Lowery was walking home from Park Glen Elementary School, shortly after crossing guards left for the day. She spent about a week recovering from a brain injury inside Cook Children's Pediatric ICU, but you never would have known it. view article

A student has been ‘emergency expelled’ from Klein ISD after reportedly bringing a loaded gun to campus. In an email to parents, representatives for the district said a loaded handgun was recovered at the school after administrators and district police received an anonymous tip. view article

A student has officially been expelled from Klein Independent School District after a loaded gun was reportedly found at a school on Tuesday, according to officials. KISD officials said 17-year-old Jeremiah Sherman, a senior, faces felony charges and has been expelled. view article

Carthage ISD has been awarded a $1 million state grant to add or improve safety measures at its campus. “What that grant does is it helps districts getting into compliance with the safety standards that came out of the last session, HB3,” Darrin Peeples, director of safety and security, said. “Some of the most ones that most of us will are looking at it or the fencing and then the film across our glass doors. And so now that I’m here, we’re gonna start looking at that, and also some new updated campus maps — digitized maps.” view article

Alvin ISD is encouraging parents with school-aged kids who have weapons at home to securely store them after a kindergarten student brought a gun to school. In a statement to parents, the district said the incident happened Tuesday at Savannah Lakes Elementary School. "One of our kindergarten students unknowingly brought a firearm to school," the district wrote. "Upon discovering the firearm in the student's backpack, our administrators promptly intervened and confiscated the weapon." view article

A teacher from the Northwest school district, which includes parts of Tarrant, Denton, and Wise Counties, is speaking ou after being targetted online for her support of gay students. view article

A Northwest ISD teacher whom KERA isn't naming for privacy reasons was the target of fake bomb threats last week, days after she was the subject of a social media post by the controversial Libs of TikTok. Allegations against the Medlin Middle school math teacher by the ultra-conservative Moms for Liberty, via Libs of TikTok, openly named the teacher. view article

At least one school library in a South Carolina school district restricted access to its online card catalog in order to hide “critical race theory books” from parents, internal documents obtained by the parental rights group Moms for Liberty show. The school district claims that it required all schools in the district to unlock their catalogs at the beginning of the school year, but the Moms for Liberty leader says at least one catalog remained blocked as late as Feb. 12. “Instead of listing these books as available in the library, they are making a conscious decision to include them in curriculum read aloud in class so parents don’t know,” Carly Carter, chair of the Anderson County Moms for Liberty chapter, told The Daily Signal in a written statement Wednesday. Carter’s Freedom of Information Act request turned up the documents. view article

Along line of Waco High students stretches from the school’s main entrance to the Colcord Avenue curb most mornings before classes begin. They inch forward, many toting clear backpacks crammed with books and daily school gear, as they walk through the school’s “prohibited items detector,” which uses artificial intelligence to scan for weapons and suspiciously shaped objects. The detector, created by Evolv Technology, is used at public schools across the country, including Killeen Independent School District. view article

Public data from a network of state air monitors around the Houston Ship Channel is hard to interpret and is often inadequate, leaving Latino-majority neighborhoods like Cloverleaf unaware of whether the air they breathe is safe.  On a hot, humid October day, Cristina Lazo readies her youngest daughter for a bike ride and whispers in Spanish, I pray to God nothing happens to you.  Lazo, who wears a Rebelde band T-shirt and biker shorts, takes Alina, an energetic 7-year-old, outdoors for short periods because it only takes a few minutes before Alina’s eyes get red and her coughing starts.  “Vámonos,” Lazo yells, lengthening the last syllable as she begins pedaling through the streets of Cloverleaf, an unincorporated area about 15 miles east of downtown Houston. Alina starts coughing immediately.  Lazo, a 42-year-old mother of six, knows that tonight she’ll rub Vicks VapoRub on her daughter’s chest, and in the morning Alina will still wake up with congestion and what Lazo calls "itchy spider webs” in her eyes. view article

Despite the air of confidence he typically wore through the halls, 17-year-old Kadence Carter suffered through most days at Mayde Creek High School in Katy. Several of his classmates constantly bullied and misgendered Kadence, a transgender male. He wore multiple chest binders every day to school, which dug aching craters into his shoulders and stained his skin with bruises. He avoided drinking water the entire eight-hour school day so he wouldn’t need to use the boys’ bathroom, where he worried about getting beaten up. The unrelenting struggles Kadence faced came to a head in August 2023, when the Katy Independent School District board of trustees passed a controversial gender identity policy opposed by many LGBTQ+ students and advocates. One day after the policy went into effect, a teacher held up the attendance roster in front of Kadence, pointed to his deadname and said, “We’re going back to this one now,” he recalled. view article

Katy Independent School District will conduct free CRASE training – Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events – on March 27th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the district’s Education Service Complex, 6301 S. Stadium Lane in Katy. The event – which is available ONLY to Katy ISD parents and staff and which is limited to 75 participants – is designed to help civilians understand what they should do if confronted with an active shooter situation. The Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) training is designed and built on the AVOID, DENY and DEFEND strategy, according to a flyer provided by the district. Topics covered in the presentation include the history and prevalence of active shooter events, the role of law enforcement and civilian response options. view article

Daniel Rodriguez was out of town during the 2022 massacre. He told the local newspaper he was “not forced, asked or pressured” to resign.  The Uvalde police chief who was on vacation during the Robb Elementary School shooting — but who also led a department with officers that didn’t receive sufficient active shooter training — resigned on Tuesday. He told the local newspaper it was a decision in the best interest of his family.  Daniel Rodriguez’ resignation comes days after a city-sanctioned review of the May 24, 2022 shooting response cleared all local officers of wrongdoing — and at points praised those officers’ actions. Those findings were in contrast to previous audits of the police response that faulted law enforcement at all levels, in part due to lack of training.  Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the massacre that’s been defined by a catastrophic police response and failure of leadership resulting in children being trapped with the gunman for more than an hour. Some of the children called 911 from the classrooms, begging for help as responding officers stood in the hallway. view article

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office said they are still investigating to determine the cause of death and what happened.  Two Houston area teachers were found dead inside a Richmond home on Monday, according to Fort Bend County authorities. Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office Investigations Command told Chron Tuesday morning preliminary findings indicate a murder-suicide. view article

Texas teens must get parental OK for birth control A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a Texas father can deny his daughters access to contraception, finding that a state parental rights law trumps a federal program that allows some clinics to forgo getting that approval. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit marks the first major decision on birth control access since federal protections for abortion were overturned almost two years ago. view article

A third infant nearby also contracted botulism last August. Local and state health officials said there is no public health emergency.  Two newborns living with their families in the same West Texas neighborhood were earlier this year diagnosed with botulism, a rare — and in some cases, fatal — illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves. The families, who live within blocks of each other, learned of the diagnosis in mid-January and early February.  A third newborn in the same neighborhood was previously diagnosed with botulism, which can cause difficulty breathing and muscle paralysis, in August.  Hospitals in Lubbock treated the three infants. view article

State schools are struggling to outpace the surge of illegal alien students being enrolled in public education, per a recent report by the Heritage Foundation.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, when a child unaccompanied by an adult or legal guardian is apprehended at the southwest border by immigration authorities, the child is transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee and Resettlement “while they wait for immigration proceedings.”  The ORR subsequently releases illegal minors to sponsors—who, oftentimes, are family members. Sponsors are considered custodians throughout the child’s immigration proceedings. view article

Report: Though outgunned and underequipped, Uvalde police didn’t run from school shooter Paxton filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden's administration March 8 and said that the EPA's new air quality standards are not based on sound science and will impose significant economic harm on Texas. He said the new rule will result in the closure of manufacturing and industrial facilities, and put workers out of jobs. view article

In late February and early March, Round Rock ISD named two new heads of departments overseeing special education as well as the district's safety and security initiative. Read on to learn more about these new program leaders. view article

A Point Isabel Independent School District employee was booked into jail this weekend on new charges. Omar Vera (Cameron County Jail) Omar Vera was arrested in February on five counts of distribution of harmful material to a minor. On Saturday, he was booked into the Cameron County Jail on four new charges: indecency with a child, online solicitation of a minor and two counts of child grooming. view article

According to the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated Independent School District, education officials were made aware of concerns on social media of an alleged threat made toward the high school. Law enforcement was contacted immediately, school leaders said, and a call was made to parents Friday night. LCM Police Chief Mike Hennigan and Orange County Sheriff’s Department personnel investigated of the alleged incident.  “The rumor of the alleged threat quickly spread across social media, but it is determined no credible threat was made to the safety of LCM students, staff or schools,” a district statement read.  view article

The Texas Panhandle faces a long road of recovery following a series of wildfires this month that have scorched more than 1 million acres.  Federal, state and local governments are working with the communities to support the region, a panel of officials told The Texas Tribune Friday.  “I think it's fair to say that we're all feeling overwhelmed right now – overwhelmed with loss and overwhelmed also with the response,” said Hemphill County Judge Lisa Johnson. “The outpouring of help and support has been tremendous, but it's quite a task to get all those resources in the hands of people that are in need.” view article

A North Texas middle school teacher has been arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, officials said. David Goggins, 32, was arrested Tuesday by officers from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, according to court records. Goggins is a teacher at Pike Middle School in the Northwest Independent School District, school officials said. Northwest ISD spokesperson Anthony Tosie told the Star-Telegram that Goggins turned himself in to authorities. He was hired by the district for the 2022-23 school year. view article

A North Shore High School senior and football player for the nationally-ranked Mustangs was killed in a shooting this weekend, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez confirmed Sunday. Jarvon Coles, 18, was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound at the 4900 block of Fieldwick Lane in Humble late Saturday night. Per Gonzalez, "a large group of persons, most in their teens and early 20s, were attending a party at a home rented via Airbnb" that police believe was advertised on social media. KHOU reports that deputies responded to a welfare check and found "50-60 people" at the property, where Coles was found unresponsive in the backyard. EMS arrived on the scene and determined he had been shot. view article

A third infant nearby also contracted botulism last August. The Midland health department said it would not issue a public health warning.  MIDLAND — Two newborns living with their families in the same West Texas neighborhood were earlier this year diagnosed with botulism, a rare — and in some cases, fatal — illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves.  The families, who live within blocks of each other, learned of the diagnosis in mid-January and early February.  A third newborn in the same neighborhood was previously diagnosed with botulism, which can cause difficulty breathing and muscle paralysis, in August.  Hospitals in Lubbock treated the three infants. view article

A contracted security officer at Johnson Elementary School in Bryan was fired on Tuesday after leaving their gun and holster in a nurse’s bathroom, according to the school district. In a recorded phone message shared with parents this afternoon, the school district said the incident happened earlier in the school day. “We wanted to inform you that earlier today an armed campus security officer left their duty belt in the nurse’s office bathroom. While no student handled the duty belt and the weapon remained holstered, we understand that this news may be unsettling,” the recording said. view article

The fire chief of a small town in the Texas Panhandle region where large wildfires have been burning died responding to an unrelated structure fire Tuesday, officials said. Fritch Fire Chief Zeb Smith was responding to a structure fire in the city at around 7 a.m. when he went inside to check for people who needed rescue and never came out, a spokesperson for the Hutchinson County Office of Emergency Management said. Fritch Fire Chief Zeb Smith. Fritch Fire Chief Zeb Smith.City of Borger's Office of Emergency Management Smith was first on the scene of the fire in the town of around 1,800, officials said. He was found by a rapid response team inside the home at around 7:30 a.m., emergency management office spokesperson Brandon Strope said at a news conference. view article

When a motion detector went off overnight at Kromrey Middle School, a police dispatcher called up a digital map of the building, pinpointed the detector, clicked on a live feed from the nearest camera and relayed the intruder's location to responding police.  Within moments, they captured the culprit: a teenager, dressed in dark clothes and a ski mask but carrying no weapon.  The map and cameras “let the dispatcher keep things from becoming super-escalated,” said the school's security director, Jim Blodgett. “The dispatcher could see that it looked like a student ... just kind of goofing around in the building.” view article

BLANCO COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A Blanco Independent School District School Resource Officer is under investigation for allegedly making inappropriate comments to a student. The city confirmed a student made the complaint against the SRO that worked at Blanco High School. Former Blanco County detention officer faces sexual assault charge Maria Mathis-Kruser said she found out about what allegedly happened from the parent of the teen. “I have a very, very close family friend that I work with,” Mathis-Kruser said. “He was telling me about this incident with the resource officer and his daughter. When he was speaking to me about it, it was very concerning.” The city said the SRO is accused of making inappropriate comments to a female student at the school. “Very much like, ‘Oh, when are you turning 18? So you can come over.’ In no world, is that OK,” Mathis-Kruser said. view article

The Texas health department recently reported a statewide uptick of meningococcal disease, which can cause a severe form of meningitis, or inflammation of the brain and spinal cord membranes. view article

Already in Fiscal Year 2024, there have been 59 individuals on the terror watchlist encountered at the southwest border.  Although the number of encounters with illegal crossers has dropped significantly at the southwest border, an individual on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s terror watchlist was apprehended.   According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources, 40-year-old Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya was apprehended by Texas Department of Public Safety agents on February 21. Yepez-Bedoya was attempting to cross the Texas-Mexico border in Eagle Pass.   CBP sources confirmed with Fox News that the Colombian national is registered on the FBI’s terror watchlist but have not said why.  view article

For the second day in a row, Grady Independent School District will not be having school due to continuous gas leaks. School was closed Thursday because of a gas leak discovered on Wednesday. Now, an additional leak was found, prompting no school on Friday. This is what Grady ISD posted on Facebook Thursday: view article

Opioid overdoses are not slowing down in Texas. But locating Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an overdose quickly, has been tough for Texans since it was made available without a prescription last year.  When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone an over-the-counter medication last summer, health care advocates praised the removal of the prescription barrier as an effective tool to prevent fentanyl deaths.  That is, if you can find it.  A February report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy found that of the 156 pharmacies they contacted, 71 percent of the Houston pharmacies kept it behind the pharmacists’ counters or were entirely out of the product. view article