We see it every year: parents trying to opt their child out of STAAR testing. Some claim it’s against their religious beliefs, some claim it’s bad for their children’s mental health, and some have no problem stating they just don’t want to participate. Below we’ll discuss the constellation of consequences that students may face for their parent’s choice of opting out, and what issues your school district might encounter if more and more parents begin to follow this trend.

A federal appeals court late Tuesday issued an order that again prevents Texas from arresting migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the strict new immigration law to take effect. The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes weeks after a panel on the same court cleared the way for Texas to enforce the law by putting a pause on a lower judge’s injunction. But by a 2-1 order, a panel of the appeals court lifted that pause ahead of arguments before the court on Wednesday. Texas authorities had not announced any arrests made under the law.  Earlier Tuesday a divided Supreme Court had allowed Texas to begin enforcing a law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally as the legal battle over the measure played out.  The conservative majority order rejected an emergency application from the Biden administration, which says the law is a clear violation of federal authority that would cause chaos in immigration law.  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had praised the order clearing the way for the law that allows any police officer in Texas to arrest migrants for illegal entry and authorizes judges to order them to leave the U.S. view article

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suspected the hospital was helping Texas kids access puberty blockers or hormone treatments that are outlawed for juveniles.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will drop his quest to seize transgender patients’ information from a Seattle children’s hospital, according to a court settlement Paxton’s office announced on Monday.  Seattle Children’s Hospital officials have said in sworn depositions that the facility does not have staff who treat trans kids in-person within Texas or remotely from Washington.  As part of the settlement, the hospital will withdraw its business license in Texas, though it wasn’t immediately clear Monday for what purposes that license was used.  The agreement comes as Paxton and the hospital face off over a November investigation opened by the attorney general two months after a new Texas law banned the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender youth. view article

Voters throughout Texas—including those in Georgetown—will head to the polls to vote for city council members, school board trustees and local propositions. With early voting underway, here's a quick guide to what's on the ballot. view article

A Granger ISD teacher has been placed on administrative leave following allegations of inappropriate behavior. Granger ISD said district officials have received reports of inappropriate behavior by a teacher in the classroom. Upon learning of the allegations, Granger ISD said it immediately contacted Child Protective Services (CPS) and placed the teacher on administrative leave. view article

The Bryan ISD school board hears from the husband of an educator who was assaulted by a student. During the public comment portion of the BISD board’s April 15th meeting, James Long said his wife sustained a traumatic brain injury. Among other things, Long said “Bryan ISD teachers are being assaulted and victimized across the district. And it appears that the district is not only not doing anything about it, but they are actively trying to cover it up.” view article

A 10-year-old Texas boy confessed to shooting and killing 32-year-old Brandon O'Quinn Raspberry, a man who lived in the same RV park as his grandfather. According to KENS5, the murder was unprovoked and the boy did not know the victim. The boy told police he took a pistol out of the glove compartment of his grandfather's truck, went to Raspberry's RV, and shot him while he was sleeping. The Gonzales County Sheriff's office investigated the shocking confession, which led them to a pawn shop in Sequin where they were able to locate the gun. It was later confirmed as the murder weapon. Read More: 10-Year-Old Texas Boy Confesses To Shooting and Killing Man | https://1063thebuzz.com/ixp/157/p/10-year-old-texas-boy-confesses-to-shooting-and-killing-man/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral view article

KRIS 6 News was recently made aware of a special board meeting being held by Mathis Independent School Board officials on Monday night. The meeting is being held to discuss the employment of Mathis ISD Superintendent Tim Norman and Athletic Director Roger Masters. view article

Attorneys representing Huffman Independent School District have accused Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office of trying to sway the outcome of the March 5 Republican primary election. Paxton’s office first announced on March 1 that it filed a civil lawsuit against the district’s superintendent and board of trustees. The lawsuit was in response to a leaked audio recording of Superintendent Benny Soileau encouraging school staff to vote for the “sweet 16” anti-school choice Republicans facing challengers in the primary. In a Monday legal filing, Huffman ISD contended that the potential election interference committed was the result of the OAG’s lawsuit and not the superintendent’s actions. view article

A Houston-area couple is in custody, accused of taking thousands of dollars from home renovation clients and never finishing the work. Aleck Steven Miller, 55, and Andrea Pierce Miller, 52, were contracted to complete home renovation projects across Katy, Friendswood, Sugar Land and Cypress. Investigators say the couple pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in payments for the work, and the jobs were never completed. view article

Montrose and Heights parents are searching for answers after the appointed Houston ISD Board of Managers voted to eliminate zoning at the popular Wharton and Helms dual-language schools, preserving their school-wide Spanish immersion programs but removing seats for neighborhood children in the process. About 50 Wharton parents and other Montrose community members met with board member Adam Rivon on Tuesday night to communicate their frustration with the decision and urge the district to find an alternate solution. Seated in the main dining room of the Midtown Bar and Grill, many parents spoke openly about how they moved to Montrose specifically so that their children would be zoned to Wharton, and now feel like their future is up in the air. view article

Scott Novy was conflicted Monday when he addressed a former Longview ISD special education teacher who pleaded guilty in his courtroom to multiple charges of injuring special education students. Novy, the 188th District Court judge, had listened for several hours as parents testified about how their children were affected and watched videos that showed Cecilia Gregg terrorizing students — nonverbal autistic — in a J.L. Everhart Elementary School classroom. view article

Officials with Levelland ISD have opened up an investigation after allegations that district employees and students may have “engaged in misconduct.” A release from the school district did not specify the nature of the allegations. However, multiple employees were placed on paid administrative leave on Monday. On April 10, Levelland ISD leadership received the allegations and launched an internal investigation. The following day, local law enforcement was informed of the situation. view article

Two Texans are among 11 House impeachment managers initiating a trial of the Homeland Security secretary in the Senate. U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, and nine other Republican impeachment managers presented the articles of impeachment Tuesday against U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate, urging Democrats to give the secretary a full trial. “We did our job in the House, and I pray that [Senate Majority Chuck] Schumer will do his job in the Senate as he is required to do under the Constitution,” McCaul said during a news conference with other managers and several senators after delivering the articles to the upper chamber. view article

Rio Grande City officials called Ediel Barrera’s requests “vague or ambiguous.” A South Texas political candidate is suing his town over a bevy of public records requests, accusing officials of delaying the release of records he wants to prove his opponent is corrupt. Rio Grande City officials took the unusual step of announcing on social media earlier this month that the request and subsequent lawsuit filed by Ediel Barrera was causing a backlog and that the public may have to wait longer than usual for their documents. view article

 Whether the journals of a Nashville school shooter can be released to the public will go before a Tennessee judge on Tuesday after nearly a year of legal wrangling over who can participate in the case.What started as a simple public records request has ballooned into a messy mix of conspiracy theories, leaked documents, probate battles and new legislation as different sides try to gain an advantage. And even though the main issue of which police investigative records can be released has finally made it to a court hearing, any decision by Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles is likely to be appealed view article

More than a month after the fallout from a faith-based film crew’s visit to a Keller ISD school, the documentary series has released its episode. On Sunday, Netherlands-based Evangelische Omroep (EO), an Evangelical broadcast television network, released its new episode of ‘God, Jesus, Trump!’ view article

In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler.  A district judge who previously presided over a woman’s capital murder case recommended last week that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturn Melissa Lucio's 2008 conviction after a district attorney’s office admitted that prosecutors withheld evidence from her defense. Decades after a jury sentenced Lucio to death for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, the Cameron County district attorney and Lucio’s legal team cosigned court filings that found key evidence, which included interviews with Lucio’s other children, was suppressed by prosecutors at the time of the case. view article

The House of Representatives on April 15 rejected a motion to reconsider its vote to reauthorize the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Ahead of the vote on the motion to reconsider put forward by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), lawmakers voted to table the motion to avoid its consideration altogether. It was tabled in a 259–168 vote. Ms. Luna put the measure forward last week following the House’s passage of a two year reauthorization of Section 702 in a 273–147 vote. Consideration of the motion was postponed until this week, although it was largely expected to fail.  The reauthorization passed last week didn’t include a requirement that intelligence agencies get a warrant to search Americans’ data and communications, as an amendment that would have mandated a warrant was rejected in a tie vote. view article

In a unanimous decision on Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a rare victory for American property owners. Specifically, this Supreme Court ruling curbs the power of local governments to impose permitting fees. Or, in other words, it stops local government from being able to use the permitting process to force property owners to pay large development fees. Let’s go through the details of the case together. view article

A former Grapeland ISD employee has been arrested after allegedly showing an explicit image to a student. Joshua Jeremaine Kincade, 44, of Neches, was arrested on April 9 on a charge of displaying harmful material to a minor. According to a probable cause affidavit, police were notified that a complaint had been made at Grapeland Junior High School on Feb. 29. Kincade had been working for Grapeland ISD as a substitute teacher and IT assistant. He was fired for a separate incident, the affidavit says, and when a student heard he had been fired she spoke up to a teacher about a previous interaction. The student was sent to the Kalin Children’s Advocacy Center to meet with a forensic interviewer. view article

After his Massachusetts school district tried to remove important services from his special needs son, Scott Pitta tried to record a meeting with administrators, but in doing so, he claims they shut down the meeting. Now, he is suing on the basis that school officials violated his constitutional rights.  view article

An investigation is open into allegations of a teacher injuring a student by the Jacksonville Independent School District. “I would have never expected that to happen at school by a teacher,” said Ashelle Whitaker, mother. Concerned parent Ashelle Whitaker said her 7-year-old son was hurt by his second grade teacher. view article

Citing a need to prioritize student success, the La Joya ISD School Board unanimously approved a new policy that prevents district employees in “supervisory positions” from holding elected office. The policy was approved during a Thursday night school board meeting without any discussion. La Joya ISD School Board President Julian Alvarez III said the new policy “speaks of the district’s commitment to creating the conditions necessary for all La Joya ISD students to succeed.” view article

A Dallas ISD high school student has filed a federal Title VI civil rights complaint claiming the school district enables harassment and discrimination against Jewish students. The 17-page complaint was submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Tuesday by the student and StandWithUs, a nonprofit that supports Israel and works to combat antisemitism. The complaint details a log of antisemitic incidents dating back to 2021. view article

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded Friday morning to a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in southeast Dallas, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue officials. Police sources told WFAA that one student was injured and a 17-year-old suspect in the incident, also a student at the school, was taken into custody around 11 a.m. view article

A New Deal ISD teacher is being investigated after the school district was made aware of teacher misconduct, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday. The Texas Rangers were notified by New Deal ISD of the incident. DPS said The Texas Rangers and the New Deal Police Department are investigating the matter. view article

An investigation is underway into allegations of misconduct against a teacher at New Deal ISD. Superintendent Matt Reed confirmed the teacher is on administrative leave, but would not comment further on the allegations. Reed said the Texas Rangers are handling the investigation. We contacted the Texas Department of Public Safety, which confirmed the New Deal ISD Police Department contacted the Texas Rangers, who are in the early stages of the investigation. view article

A teacher at Cy-Fair High School has been arrested and accused of having sex with a student on multiple occasions. The allegations were brought to light when Burbank’s girlfriend found text messages between him and the student on his phone. view article

A Cy-Fair ISD teacher resigned Tuesday after being accused of having an improper relationship with a student. The district identified the teacher as Kayden Burbank. He taught at Cy-Fair High School. Burbank was placed on administrative leave on April 2 after campus administration became aware of allegations that he was having an improper relationship with a student. Burbank then resigned on April 9. view article

Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that the state is suing Harris County over its “Uplift Harris” guaranteed basic income pilot program that the county launched at the start of the year. In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Paxton said: This scheme is plainly unconstitutional. Taxpayer money must be spent lawfully and used to advance the public interest, not merely redistributed with no accountability or reasonable expectation of a general benefit. I am suing to stop officials in Harris County from abusing public funds for political gain. In a response to the filing, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee issued the following statement: view article

Lake Travis ISD is facing a federal civil lawsuit over how it handled a controversy surrounding a student's severe allergy attack last fall. In October, district leaders say high school football players put peanuts in the locker of a teammate who had a severe peanut allergy. view article

The family of a former Lake Travis High School football player is suing the Lake Travis Independent School District, including the superintendent and athletic director, after fellow football players put peanuts in their son’s locker. In the lawsuit, which was filed on April 6, the family alleges the teens knew their teammate was severely allergic, and the district failed to take any action to prevent bullying against their son. view article

Kedria Grigsby, 42, a cosmetology teacher at Klein Cain High School was arrested Monday, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, via X (formerly known as Twitter), along with her son, Roger Magee, 21. The latter was arrested back in November 2022 for trafficking and prostitution. view article

Several Houston-area Democratic legislators are calling for a formal hearing to address “potential violations of state law” in Houston ISD in the aftermath of the Texas Education Agency stripping elected leaders from the school district. view article