The City of Conroe has finally reached an agreement with Willis ISD to provide water and sewer services to multiple schools. This comes after more than six months of legal wrangling. The agreement was only reached after a dramatic meeting where the mayor asked police to clear the council chambers after councilwoman Marsha Porter brought up the Texas Open Meetings Act. view article

A Travis County Special Grand Jury has declined to indict former Manor ISD Police Department Officer Kristopher House in connection with a 2024 use-of-force incident involving a juvenile. Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that the grand jury concluded its review of the February 20, 2024, incident and did not return an indictment on February 12, 2026. view article

You might have thought the latest Legislative session was a significant change to public education, and you are right. But the most significant change to public education in Texas came from the institution of Districts of Innovation (DOI). For years, public schools complained that they were being compared to charter schools and that was not an apples-to-apples comparison, but DOIs provide school districts the freedom to opt out of many of the laws and requirements with which charter schools are not saddled.

Rather than defend the Texas Medical Board, Paxton’s office is intervening in support of Bowden.  Attorney General Ken Paxton has stepped into a legal battle against the Texas Medical Board,  siding with Dr. Mary Talley Bowden and asking a Travis County court to declare the board’s public reprimand against her void.   In a petition filed Thursday, Paxton accused the board of acting “on nothing more than personal animosity and spite” when it disciplined Bowden over her 2021 attempt to administer ivermectin to a hospitalized COVID-19 patient.  Rather than defend the Texas Medical Board, Paxton’s office is intervening in support of Bowden. The filing asks the court to reverse the reprimand and permanently block the board from taking further action against her related to the case. view article

The social media app is accused of exposing minors to inappropriate material.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against Snap Inc., alleging the company misled parents about the safety of Snapchat while exposing minors to sexual content, drug activity, profanity, and addictive design features.  The lawsuit, filed in Collin County district court, accuses Snap of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act.  According to the petition, Snap markets Snapchat in Apple’s App Store as “12+” and characterizes content involving profanity, sexual material, nudity, drugs, and alcohol as “infrequent/mild.”   The state alleges those representations are false, citing an investigation in which a 13-year-old test account was able to readily access explicit sexual material, graphic profanity, drug-related content, and suicide-themed videos. view article

Detransitioner Soren Aldaco spoke on the steps of the Texas Capitol Wednesday morning prior to oral arguments in her medical malpractice case being heard before the Supreme Court of Texas.   During the press conference hosted by Protecting Texas Children (PTC), speakers highlighted the significance of Aldaco’s case.   Aldaco is seeking over $1 million in damages from a transgender clinic, claiming medical malpractice. The Court is currently considering whether her lawsuit was filed within the limitations period. view article

Three staff members at Alice W. Douse Elementary School were removed from campus after a physical altercation in front of students during dismissal, according to Killeen ISD. In a letter to parents, school officials said the incident happened during dismissal and involved three staff members. The message stated that some students were physically impacted by the situation. view article

A jury trial has been set for William Blackburn, the former Academy ISD bus driver indicted on three charges for alleged sexual abuse, officials announced Thursday. The trial is set for June 15, 2026. Blackburn was also charged with the sale, distribution or display of harmful material to a minor, according to the Bell County Sheriff's Office. view article

A Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant is facing both state and federal charges after authorities say he engaged in explicit online communications with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old child.  A Harris County Sheriff’s Office sergeant is now facing federal charges after being arrested last week in connection with an online child exploitation investigation initiated by Florida authorities.  Sgt. John Frederick Black, 46, was taken into custody last Monday after the Leon County Sheriff’s Office in Tallahassee issued a warrant related to alleged online communications with someone Black believed to be a 13-year-old child. He was arrested in Harris County and booked into jail on multiple state charges before federal prosecutors announced additional charges tied to the same conduct.  According to investigators, the case began in January when Leon County detectives working with a human trafficking and exploitation unit initiated contact with Black on an online chat platform while posing as a minor. Court records indicate Black asked the individual’s age early in the conversation and continued communicating even after being told the person was 13. view article

The administration’s push for mass deportations has resulted in more than 18,000 habeas petitions, a historic high. Texas and California account for about 40% of cases this year. view article

A teacher from Aldine ISD is accused of hitting a student during a fight at G.W. Carver High School in January, according to court documents. Court documents obtained by Eyewitness News say Jacenta Green was seen on campus surveillance filming a student as she walked toward the cafeteria. The records state that Green and the student exchanged words before Green's daughter, who also attends Carver High, approached. view article

The Winnsboro ISD Board of Education voted Saturday to approve the hiring of a new interim superintendent following the arrests of several district employees. Board members approved the hiring of Jeff Conovan, who brings more than two decades in general and special education and 12 years of coaching experience to the district. view article

A Trinity ISD teacher has been arrested and placed on administrative leave after he and his wife were arrested in a Munchausen-by-proxy case. Jon Thomas Holcomb, 51, of Trinity, and his wife, Paula Nicole Geurin Holcomb, 46, are each charged with injury to a child. view article

A former Crowley ISD teacher is in jail and has been charged with having an improper relationship with a student. What we know: 62-year-old Ricardo Ortiz was arrested Thursday, Feb. 5 by Fort Worth police. A letter from Crowley ISD says once it found out about the allegations, Ortiz was removed from contact with students and is no longer employed by the district. view article

A Montgomery County judge has signed an order of nonsuit, effectively dismissing a lawsuit filed by Willis ISD against the city of Conroe in August. The nonsuit, filed by the district Jan. 20, was signed Jan. 21 by 457th state District Judge Vince Santini. 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.

My favorite article that I have written over the years is one on official state holidays and recognitions. I find it fascinating to see which lobbyists succeed in recognitions for their cause. I look at this calendar and wonder why Monarch butterflies and veterinarian technicians get their own week, Lung Cancers Awareness gets only one day, Gold Star mothers get a day but not fathers, and there are no recognition days in December? Did you know that the 11 th day of each month is a recognition “day?”

In case you are running low on things to worry about this semester, never fear. This article is dedicated to the False Claims Act (FCA), another tool the federal government appears happy to point in the direction of public schools.

Governments rely on private contractors, or vendors. Many times, using a vendor is either more efficient, less expensive, or gives the government access to expertise that it does not have. Given the ubiquitous nature of contracts with the private sector, devoting some time and attention to your vendor contracts is important.

During the 89th Regular Legislative Session, HB 6 made a number of changes to Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code and the content of the 2025-2026 Student Code of Conduct. Many of these changes will likely be welcomed by Texas public schools, such as the ability to have more discretion in the determination of appropriate behavioral consequences for a student found in possession of a VAPE device.

If you’re one of the many Texas school districts operating under a District of Innovation (DOI) Plan, you’ve already embraced flexibility and local control. But with each legislative session, it becomes increasingly important to reevaluate whether your plan still fits within the legal boundaries.

During the 87th (2021) legislative session, the Legislature quietly expanded the authority of the Commissioner to investigate complaints against public schools and intervene beyond accreditation matters. These legislative revisions to Chapter 39 of the Texas Education Code (TEC) are resulting in a new wave of investigations into locally controlled policies and procedures like school district discipline procedures, bullying and harassment policies, and even student record keeping—previously considered the domain of local school officials and beyond the reach of officials in Austin. As a result, filing a complaint with TEA’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has become the weapon of choice for anyone disgruntled with the actions of a public school.

A Garland ISD employee is on administrative leave after allegedly taking photos of a female elementary school student while she was in the restroom. The incident reportedly took place during the week of March 29 at Abbett Elementary, according to an email sent to parents on Thursday, April 1. view article

Pursuant to subsection 38.001(f) of the Education Code, the Legislature provided that a student who has not received the immunizations required by law “for reasons of conscience, including because of the person’s religious beliefs, may be excluded from school in times of emergency or epidemic declared by the commissioner of public health.” Read in context, a court likely would conclude that this exception does not permit exclusion of students who lack vaccinations unrelated to an existing "epidemic" contemplated by subsection 38.001(f). view article

view article

On May 4, 2020, the Department of Education (“DOE”) issued new Title IX regulations, which direct how educational institutions receiving federal funds must address reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault involving both students and employees. view article

At SL&A, we offer a full array of legal services for our school law clients throughout Texas. We strive to deliver a high-level of client service through teamwork, calling upon our attorneys’ decades of public and private experience to provide practical solutions and advice for all school needs. view article

Officers with the Hudson ISD Police Department arrested a former math teacher for the school district on Monday in connection to allegations that he had an improper relationship with a high school student that included sexual contact. view article

On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) officially filed a grievance against the Wimberley Independent School District, according to our partners at the Austin-American Statesman. The grievance is the result of an email Superintendent Dwain York sent to some parents in December 2019 regarding the altering of the district's logo to include the colors of the gay pride flag, according to the Statesman. view article

A former student has filed a lawsuit against Dallas ISD after he lost his status as his high school’s salutatorian a day before graduation due to a last minute change in rankings. In June, the district apologized after class rankings at Woodrow Wilson High School were changed right before graduation because of a calculation error. Now a former student is suing Dallas ISD, claiming that the change will affect his applications to universities and employers. view article

Terry Burchett, 69, was arrested in South Carolina on February 18 on charges of child pornography. He was found to be in possession of over 9,800 sexually explicit images of children according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. view article

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Irving ISD and the city of Irving by Ahmed Mohamed's family, according to Dallas Morning News. Ahmed made headlines when he was 14 years old and made a clock in school that was mistaken for a bomb in 2015. His family stated that his civil rights were violated when he was arrested at MacArthur High School and charged with making a "hoax bomb." The charge was later dropped, but he was still suspended. view article

A Lockhart High School science teacher has been arrested for having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old male student. Sarah Fowlkes started at the district in October 2014. On March 10, 2017 a school administrator reached out to Lockhart Police after receiving a "concerning report." LPD launched an investigation and determined Fowlkes was engaged in sexual contact with the student. view article

The plaintiffs continued building their case Tuesday in the instance of a student at Lewisville ISD who is suing the school for Title IX violations. The girl was 14 years old when she said she went to a high school party and got sexually assaulted by two high school football players at Hebron, a school in the Lewisville district. view article

When Deron Harrington filed a lawsuit on behalf of three parents in May 2015, he was trying to make sure the district where his kids attended school was following student truancy laws. He had a hunch that wasn't the case. At the time, Fort Bend ISD was making headlines for referring thousands of students to the county's specialized truancy court. Data showed a disproportionate number of the district's students referred to truancy court were African-American. As a lawyer, Harrington thought he could make a difference. view article