More Ten Commandments posters are making their way into Central Texas schools, with a large donation delivered to Lake Travis ISD this week. The nonprofit group Texas Values provided about 610 posters to the district Wednesday — part of a broader effort following a recent federal appeals court decision upholding a Texas law tied to religious displays in public schools. view article

In this week’s episode of Student News Now on KXAN+, our local reporters dive into an Austin ISD student now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The student, 18-year-old Fernando Cabrera Chavarria, was driving home from work when a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper pulled him over. The trooper who stopped him determined he was not lawfully in the United States, according to Texas DPS. view article

The Wichita Falls ISD is under investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s Office regarding the district’s compliance with Senate Bills 10 and 11. Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his statewide investigation into 29 school districts on May 7. Senate Bill 10 requires public schools to display donated copies of the Ten Commandments that meet certain requirements. Senate Bill 11 requires school boards to vote whether to allow time for prayer and bible reading. view article

The head football coach and athletic director at Klein High School is being investigated for misconduct stemming from a previous job in another school district. In a letter sent to families and staff on Monday, Tomball ISD said Nick Codutti was being investigated for “allegations of misconduct that date back to his employment in Tomball ISD.” view article

Ever wondered how the regulations that impact public schools are made? Regulations are created by Texas state agencies under the requirements of The Texas Administrative Procedure Act. These types of laws were adopted across the country, beginning in the 1940s, to ensure fairness while bringing efficiency and accuracy into the states’ administrative processes.

Waco ISD says it is complying with state laws tied to classroom prayer and Ten Commandments displays amid a Texas investigation. view article

Luis Fernando Cabrera Chavarria’s life in Austin had become a steady routine that started and ended with his 2-year-old nephew. Chavarria woke up early to take him to a babysitter while Chavarria's sister, Holi, slept after a late shift. Chavarria went to school, then soccer practice and work at a neighborhood Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Then, finally, home to play with his nephew and fall asleep — but not before a pillow fight. view article

Texas A&M says “TexAM” branding improperly trades on the university system’s name and reputation.  Officials with the Texas A&M University System have formally objected to the use of the “TexAM University” name by a North Texas Islamic educational entity already facing a state order to cease operations. view article

The investigation centers on many of the districts that were involved in litigation halting enforcement of the Ten Commandments law.  Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching a statewide investigation into dozens of Texas school districts to see whether they are following new laws requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms. He is also requesting evidence that each school board voted on whether to put organized prayer time back into public schools.  Paxton’s office announced that it has sent investigative demands to nearly 30 ISDs—from urban systems like Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Cypress-Fairbanks to suburbs like Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, and Plano—ordering them to turn over records showing whether they are displaying the Ten Commandments and whether their boards have voted on implementing a daily prayer period.  view article

Jonathan Cory Cruz, of Georgetown, was arrested on May 4 on a 2024 warrant from Arlington Police. He has been charged with injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury, stemming from an incident in January 2024. view article

A Cy-Fair ISD staffer charged in connection with the death of a 16-year-old student with autism appeared in court Monday, where prosecutors laid out new details about what they say happened in the moments before the student died. Donald Cameron Perkins, who faces a third-degree felony charge, is out on bond after a judge set it at $30,000 on Friday. He bonded out Saturday and is expected to return to court Monday morning. view article

A Robstown Independent School District teacher/coach faces a drunk driving charge after being arrested early Sunday morning. Criztian Alberto Delgado, 24, was pulled over after police say he was traveling 95 miles per hour in a construction zone. view article

A Humble ISD middle school student is facing a felony charge after being accused of bringing a gun to campus, and now, parents are raising concerns about how the situation was handled and when they were notified. The incident happened Friday at Ross Sterling Middle School. According to the district, administrators received information at the end of the school day that there may have been a weapon on campus and immediately launched an investigation with Humble ISD Police. view article

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office and Fort Bend ISD officials confirmed Monday that multiple staff members at Burton Elementary School are no longer employed following an investigation into "valid allegations" of child abuse and injury. view article

The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office and Fort Bend ISD officials confirmed Monday that multiple staff members at Burton Elementary School are no longer employed following an investigation into "valid allegations" of child abuse and injury. view article

Police said the shooting was not a random act and that the suspect had been arrested.  CARROLLTON — A man shot five people, killing two, in back-to-back shootings Tuesday at a shopping center and then an apartment building because he was angry over business dealings, police said.  The first shooting happened just before 10 a.m. at a shopping center in a Koreatown neighborhood in a suburb north of Dallas, the Carrollton Police Department said. When police arrived, they found four adults who had been shot. While they were investigating, another shooting was reported at an apartment complex roughly 4 miles away, and responding officers found a dead man inside one of the apartments. view article

Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a North Texas municipal utility district and its leadership, accusing them of secretly orchestrating an illegal takeover tied to the controversial East Plano Islamic Center’s EPIC City development. In a filing announced Monday, Paxton alleges that Double R Municipal Utility District No. 2A of Hunt and Collin Counties violated the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) during a September 12, 2025 meeting in which a new board was installed and major actions were taken without proper public notice. view article

The U.S. Supreme Court’s new decision gutting a key provision of the federal Voting Rights Act clears the way for state officials to drastically reshape not only Congress but also state legislatures, county commissions, city councils and even local school boards.  The ruling, released last week in a case called Louisiana v. Callais, dismantled some of the final guardrails protecting the electoral power of Black, Hispanic and other racial minority voters that had been enshrined in the Voting Rights Act, a landmark 1965 federal civil rights law that bars racial discrimination in voting access. view article

The parents of a Bellaire High School student have filed a federal lawsuit against Houston ISD, alleging the district violated their parental and religious rights by referring to their daughter as a boy without their consent.  view article

More than 53,000 additional Texas students will receive school choice funding this week, as hundreds of thousands of families continue competing for limited spots in the program.  Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced Monday that the latest round of Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) awards will go to students in lower-income households, expanding the state’s first statewide school choice program in its inaugural year.   The newly awarded students qualified under Tier 2, which includes families earning at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level—roughly $66,000 annually for a family of four. view article

More than 53,000 additional Texas students will receive school choice funding this week, as hundreds of thousands of families continue competing for limited spots in the program.  Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced Monday that the latest round of Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) awards will go to students in lower-income households, expanding the state’s first statewide school choice program in its inaugural year.   The newly awarded students qualified under Tier 2, which includes families earning at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level—roughly $66,000 annually for a family of four. view article

The lower court ruling had already been stayed, allowing the map to be in effect for 2026.   view article

A former Round Rock ISD teacher was arrested in connection with a sexual assault of a child investigation. The backstory: Round Rock police said on April 29, around 9:15 a.m., officers arrested Caleb Ian Carter, 27, at the Dallas College Brookhaven Campus. The Dallas College Police Department helped Round Rock police with the arrest. view article

A Dayton Independent School District employee has been accused of making inappropriate contact with students, according to the Harris County Precinct 3 Constable's Office. The district confirmed that both state and local law enforcement have been contacted regarding the alleged inappropriate communication. view article

A staff member within the Southwest Independent School District has been placed on administrative leave after an “incident” with a student, according to the district. A Southwest ISD spokesperson told KSAT the district is investigating the incident at one of its middle schools involving a staff member and student. The district did not identify the school. view article

The Texas Education Agency has confirmed it is investigating Austin Independent School District related to the district’s Pride Week activities. In a brief statement to KXAN, TEA said an investigation is open but did not provide additional details because the matter is ongoing. view article

A group of K–12 students has filed a federal class action lawsuit against Curriculum Associates, Inc., the maker of the widely used i-Ready educational platform, alleging that the company unlawfully collects and shares student data without proper consent. The case, M.C. v. Curriculum Associates, is emerging as a significant legal battle over student privacy in the rapidly expanding education technology sector. Filed on December 22, 2025, the complaint accuses Curriculum Associates of violating multiple federal and state privacy laws by gathering sensitive student information through its digital learning tools. The plaintiffs are four California students represented by their parents who claim that the company collects data such as names, student IDs, grade levels, responses to academic questions, and IP addresses, and shares that data with third-party service providers without direct parental consent. view article

A former Llano Independent School District substitute teacher was arrested for allegedly having an improper relationship with a student, according to the sheriff’s office. The Llano County Sheriff’s Office notified Llano ISD on Tuesday. view article

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) use is on the rise in Texas schools. From lesson-planning platforms to student-facing chatbots, AI is reshaping how instruction happens. But as more people use AI, one question lingers: Who is responsible when mishaps occur? In Texas, AI creates legal complexities where education law already demands careful attention to student privacy, curriculum standards, and teacher certification. Because AI provides a new way to violate state and federal laws, even inadvertently, educators and administrators must be mindful when using AI to ensure that the law is still being followed.

As we all know by now, the 89th Legislative Session(s) brought numerous changes to the world of special education. In the midst of all of the high-profile special education legislation, one important change may have slipped through the cracks: House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 568 made changes to the requirements surrounding surveillance of special education settings.

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.

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.