CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (Nexstar) — The ninth day of the trial against former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officer Adrian Gonzales continues in the Nueces County courthouse on Thursday.  On Wednesday, the courtroom was still tense after Tuesday’s outburst from Velma Lisa Duran, the sister of Robb Elementary teacher Irma Garcia, who was killed in the shooting.  “Y’all are saying she didn’t lock her door,” Duran shouted as she was removed from the courtroom by deputies. “She went into the fatal funnel!” The fatal funnel is a tactical term used by law enforcement to describe an area, like a doorway, where a police officer does not have cover and can be shot. view article

The 89th legislative session has produced a staggering number of changes to the landscape of Texas education. Perhaps one of the more jarring changes was the addition of chapter 26A to the Texas Education Code. This new chapter codifies the grievance provisions that school districts are required to implement in policy. Some of the requirements in the Chapter simply mirror the procedures already common amongst school districts, such as the use of a multi-tiered grievance appeal process. Others, however, depart from the usual grievance procedures or create new procedures entirely. This article will highlight some of the largest departures from past grievance procedures and discuss the implications of these changes for Texas school districts.

Webb County’s sheriff and his assistant chief are facing federal charges for allegedly using office resources to create and profit m a disinfecting business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sheriff Martin Cuellar Jr., 67, and Assistant Chief Alejandro Gutierrez, 47, have both appeared before a federal grand jury after turning themselves in. Their indictments have now been unsealed, revealing that they both are accused of misappropriating Webb County Sheriff’s Office funds between 2020 and 2022. Cuellar is the brother of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo). view article

A former Bartlett ISD teacher has been arrested for allegedly having an improper relationship with a student and for possessing child pornography. According to jail records, 26-year-old Jerod Lee Knox was arrested by the Holland Police Department on Thursday, Jan. 22. He was charged with Possession of Child Pornography and Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student, both second-degree felonies. view article

A Killeen family is approaching two years of a legal battle against the school district. They claim that a teacher restrained an elementary student with autism and mistreated him. The family and attorney say the district refuses to take any kind of accountability which is why the process continues to drag on. However, they say, they won’t stop fighting until they get justice for the young boy. Since filing the case, JW Zepeda, the lawyer on the case, says Killeen ISD has consistently tried to dismiss it. view article

Garland ISD has agreed with a federal motion to release the district from a decades-old desegregation order. Trustees voted 6-0 Tuesday night to seek unitary status, meaning it has met federal equity requirements. Last month, U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould filed a motion to end the desegregation order put in place in1970, when the majority white district had racially segregated schools. view article

A federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division has ruled in favor of a group of Marlin ISD parents who accused the district of tampering with student grades and retaliating against parents. Pacific Justice Institute, the firm representing the parents, announced that the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, Monica Johnson, Clifford Jones, Brandolyn Jones, Praiyer Jones and Addai Jones, in a First Amendment retaliation case against Marlin ISD, former Superintendent Dr. Darryl Henson and Marlin ISD Chief of Police John Simmons. view article

Keller ISD’s election system does not discriminate against Hispanic voters, a federal judge ruled as he dismissed a voting rights lawsuit against the district last week. In a Jan. 15 decision, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor tossed the case and ordered the plaintiff’s legal team — the nonprofit arm of a firm that’s challenged election systems at school districts across North Texas — to explain why they shouldn’t be sanctioned for filing what he called a “baseless petition.” view article

A federal court jury in Waco has awarded $7.5 million to a group of parents who claim they were retaliated against and their right to speak out was trampled on after they protested the planned cancellation of the 2023 Marlin High School graduation. Jurors in U.S. Magistrate Judge Derek Gilliland’s court sided with Marlin parents Monica Johnson, Clifford Jones, Brandolyn Jones, Praiyer Jones and Addai Jones in their First Amendment, retaliation and due process violations lawsuit against Marlin Independent School District, former Superintendent Darryl Henson and district Police Chief John Simmons. view article

A federal judge found the liberal lawsuit against the school district “frivolous, unreasonable, and without foundation.”  In a big win for the Keller Independent School District, a federal judge dismissed a voting rights lawsuit led by left-leaning activists, which had attempted to revoke the district’s decades‑old system for electing trustees as racially discriminatory.  A January 15 opinion by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor found the suit “frivolous, unreasonable, and without foundation.”  O’Connor dismissed all claims with prejudice, awarded Keller ISD its attorneys’ fees, and ordered the plaintiff to show cause for why sanctions should not be imposed. view article

Jurors deliberated for more than seven hours before finding Adrian Gonzalez not guilty in the first trial over the response to the attack that killed 19 children and two teachers. A former police officer was acquitted Wednesday evening of charges he failed in his duties to confront the gunman at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school during the critical opening minutes of what would become one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. view article

According to Paxton's office, the current framework has “historically forced Texas kids to receive over 70 shots from birth to age 18” as a practical condition to continue receiving medical care from many pediatric practices. view article

School districts in North Texas and beyond should learn from revelations about poor hiring practices at Celina ISD that have come to light after the arrest of a teacher and coach on sexual exploitation charges. William “Caleb” Elliott, a former teacher at Moore Middle School and a coach in the district, is accused of recording boys in the locker room. The 26-year-old faces eight federal counts of sexual exploitation of children, including producing child pornography. The case has rightfully shaken the trust of parents and families in this tight-knit community in Collin and Denton counties. view article

The Garland Independent School District will vote tonight to end desegregation efforts, which have been in place for decades. What we know: This is a case where a federal desegregation requirement in effect for more than 50 years has outlived its original purpose. And so, steps are being taken to eliminate it. view article

A final ruling in the case prompted a federal appeals court to cancel oral arguments, set for Friday, on an earlier ruling. Another appeal is expected view article

If a federal judge agrees to lift the Garland ISD desegregation order, it would spell the end of a half century of court supervision that district leaders and civil rights advocates say has benefited students of all races.  The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss the 56-year-old court order that requires the district to follow a plan to ensure a “unitary, non-discriminatory school system.” The district’s board is expected to discuss their response to the move at a meeting Tuesday. view article

The Trump administration is going all in on accelerating mass deportation efforts. Here’s how ICE operations look in Texas, home to an estimated 2 million undocumented immigrants. view article

A federal appeals court will hear arguments in lawsuits seeking to block Texas and Louisiana from requiring classroom displays of the Ten Commandments.  The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday over a Texas law requiring public schools to display posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms. view article

One Texas college basketball program was among the 17 Division I schools investigated by federal prosecutors in recent months in an alleged point-shaving scheme.  Former Abilene Christian forward Airion Simmons is among the 39 players allegedly involved in point-shaving and game-fixing between 2022 and 2025, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Simmons, 25, played for Abilene Christian from 2019-24, with his first alleged misconduct occurring in March 2024. view article

An open letter said the 2025 policy allowing schools to implement prayer times "threatens to drive a wedge" between Texas students.  Since Senate Bill 11 passed in the 2025 Texas regular legislative session, it has been a source of contention among secular and religious communities alike. The law, which allows schools across the state to implement a daily period of voluntary prayer and Bible reading, has been seen in various spaces as either a move to promote religious freedom or a policy that will ultimately harm it. One group of faith leaders is insistent that SB 11 squarely falls into the latter category, urging Texas school boards to ensure that all students will be welcome in their learning environment.   view article

Texas remains a leading state for hate groups promoting neo-Nazi, anti-government and anti-LGBTQ ideals. Editor’s Note, 1/9/2026: This article was originally published in January 2025. It has been updated with new and current information. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), nearly 100 groups dedicated to hate and anti-government ideals called the Lone Star State home by the end of 2024; only California and Florida surpassed Texas with 97 and 100 groups, respectively. Nine of the 92 groups found in Texas operate statewide, according to the nonprofit civil rights organization, with several of them being headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.   The SPLC has published a census of hate groups each year since 1990, and the data shows that Texas is growing more extreme with each passing year. In 2015, the group found 84 active hate groups across the state compared to the most recently recorded 97; in 2005, the SPLC identified 45 groups across Texas.  view article

The Justice Department has asked states for their voter rolls with an eye toward purging ineligible voters. Democrats say sharing the data could violate federal election law. view article

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in two cases that could determine whether states can ban transgender athletes who identify as women from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, a legal fight that could have far-reaching implications on transgender policies across the country.  The arguments in the two cases, Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., will examine state bans on transgender athletes participating in school sports under Title IX and the Constitution’s equal protection clause.  At issue is whether laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender athletes who identify as women from playing on teams that match their gender identity discriminate based on sex. view article

Transgender athlete bans get Supreme Court review in landmark case  The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear two cases about whether transgender athletes can play on girls’ and women’s sports teams, according to several media outlets.  The cases involve state laws in West Virginia and Idaho barring transgender athletes from participating on women’s teams. Both laws were blocked by federal appeals courts after transgender athletes sued. West Virginia said in its declaration to the court that transgender girls should not compete on girls’ teams because there are “inherent physical differences between biological males and biological females.“  However, the mother of the transgender girl that sued the state after she was barred from participating in her middle school girls’ sports teams said her daughter does not have an advantage because she “has lived as a girl in all aspects of her life for years and receives puberty-delaying treatment and estrogen hormone therapy, so has not experienced (and will not experience) endogenous puberty,” the Los Angeles Times reported. view article

Lance Mosley taught at Mann STEAM Academy, which serves 6th-8th grade students. view article

A Houston business owner already charged in connection with an alleged AI-generated impersonation scheme is now facing a civil lawsuit. view article

A motion has been filed that could see certain federal oversight over Garland ISD's desegregation policies dating back to the 1970s end. view article

Caleb Elliott, a former teacher and coach in the district, was arrested last year for sex crimes involving dozens of students. He has been in jail since October 2025 for allegedly recording videos of middle school students undressing in a boy's locker room and allegedly forcing two of them to perform sexually explicit exercises. 10h ago view article

Texas A&M University removed one reading from a single philosophy class. view article

The Court clarified that judges may refuse to perform same-sex weddings while continuing to perform opposite-sex weddings. view article

(KNUE-FM) As a kid in Texas, you’re taught so many things, one of the most important would be to avoid dangerous people or situations. For example, we find out at an early age that drugs can cause serious harm to ourselves and our families. So we’re encouraged to stay away from them. view article

A Smith County judge has rejected a plea deal for a former Tyler ISD substitute teacher accused of physically assaulting a student with special needs by throwing her to the floor. Joacim Castro-Lacayo, 29, of Tyler, pleaded guilty to the charge of injury to a disabled child. According to an arrest affidavit, Castro-Lacayo threw the student to the ground and restrained her for several minutes at Moore Middle School. view article

A Cleveland High School employee has been charged with an improper relationship with a student on Wednesday, according to the Cleveland Independent School District. According to court documents, Amanda Greenwood, 33, of Willis, Texas, was arrested by Cleveland ISD police. view article

On Tuesday, a former Austin ISD elementary school teacher pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ said 51-year-old Carl David Innmon was a fifth-grade teacher in AISD when he was arrested in April 2025. Innmon had also worked as a substitute teacher at about 20 other schools within the district. view article

One of the state's top teachers unions filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block the Texas Education Agency's investigation into public educators who commented negatively about Charlie Kirk after his assassination, saying the probe has “unleashed a wave of retaliation and disciplinary actions against teachers” by their local school districts.   “Texas AFT members have been placed on administrative leave, reprimanded, and even in some cases terminated for expressing their views about Mr. Kirk and other matters of public concern in social media posts made on their own time,” the filing states.   The lawsuit, filed in federal court by the American Federation of Teachers’ Texas chapter, alleges  the TEA investigations infringe on educators’ First Amendment rights and exercise of free speech on social media, including on their private accounts. The group represents roughly 66,000 educators in the state. The state agency launched the inquiry last fall and has yet to dole out any disciplinary action. view article