Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking two Central Texas school districts to court, accusing them of violating state law by refusing to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Round Rock ISD, Leander ISD and members of both districts' Board of Trustees. view article

The decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and nationally, who pushed through the mid-decade redistricting at the behest of President Donald Trump. Attorney General Ken Paxton said he would appeal.  Texas cannot use its new congressional map for the 2026 election and will instead need to stick with the lines passed in 2021, a three-judge panel ruled Tuesday.   view article

Celina police say their investigation into a former Celina ISD teacher and coach who was arrested for invasive visual recording and possession of child pornography and indicted last week on federal charges of sexual exploitation of children identified 38 victims in digital data. William Caleb Elliott, 26, a former 6th-grade history teacher and 8th-grade coach at Celina ISD's Moore Middle School -- and the son of Celina ISD athletic director Bill Elliott -- was indicted by a federal grand jury last week on eight federal charges, including seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography, officials say. If convicted, Elliott faces a maximum of 30 years in federal prison, officials say. view article

Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Leander and Round Rock Independent School Districts and their respective board of trustee members for not displaying donated copies of the Ten Commandments in all classrooms. In the lawsuit that was filed Tuesday, Paxton's office said Round Rock ISD chose to “openly defy” state law after indicating it would not comply with Senate Bill 10 in a Sept. 15 email. view article

Laredo police arrested a Zapata ISD police officer on a third-degree felony stalking charge, and the incident remains under investigation. According to Laredo police, officers responded around noon Sunday, Nov. 16, to a report of an alleged assault in the 5700 block of U.S. 83. A woman called to report that her sister had been assaulted by a law enforcement officer making threats. view article

SAN ANTONIO — In a win for religious freedom and church-state separation, a federal judge today issued a preliminary injunction requiring certain public school districts in Texas to remove Ten Commandments displays by Dec. 1, and prohibiting them from posting new displays. The order is in response to a new lawsuit filed Sept. 22 by a group of 15 multifaith and nonreligious families with children attending schools in the districts. In his order, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia wrote that “displaying the Ten Commandments on the wall of a public school classroom as set forth in Senate Bill 10 violates the Establishment Clause.” He added, “It is impractical, if not impossible, to prevent Plaintiffs from being subjected to unwelcome religious displays without enjoining Defendants from enforcing S.B. 10 across their districts.”   view article

The former Celina ISD teacher and coach faces eight federal charges of sexual exploitation of children, records show. view article

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Galveston Independent School District on Friday for not following a new state law requiring schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms while the legislation is challenged in federal court. view article

Antonio De Jesus Moreno Escobar secured seven jobs in three years with the falsified documents.  An illegal alien has been arrested after stealing a Texas minor’s identity, causing the minor to lose healthcare benefits.  Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the arrest on Wednesday, saying the theft was first discovered after the victim’s mother received notification that her son’s Medicaid benefits were being discontinued due to fraudulent income being reported in his name. view article

According to a letter to Crockett Early College High School families, principal Shana King said someone had reported that a student who got in a fight had a weapon. view article

The Johnson County District Attorney's Office confirmed it's investigating allegations involving a Godley ISD staff member. A spokesperson for the Johnson County District Attorney's Office said they were made aware of the allegations last week and are "in the early stages of the investigation." view article

The county recently allocated $1.3 million to groups that provide immigration legal services amid an uptick in federal enforcement. Paxton called the program “evil and wicked.” view article

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.

Congratulations on passing your bond. It’s time to get to work. Let’s, for just a few minutes, set aside the beautiful architectural renderings and the excitement of the benefits that your construction program will bring to you community, and talk about ways to minimize the risk inherent in such a large undertaking.

Receiving a subpoena to testify for the first time can be daunting for most educators and school administrators. Preparation will ensure your testimony is clear and accurate. Whether the case involves student welfare, special education disputes, personnel matters, or other legal issues, below are key steps for teachers and administrators to prepare to testify under subpoena:

Spring break is right around the corner! While schools welcome a much-needed break, they must also be ready to welcome possible new transfer students upon return. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) imposes certain requirements regarding the provision of special education services to students who transfer from one public agency to another. See 34 C.F.R. § 300.323(e)-(g). Within the past year, the Commissioner revised the administrative rules governing how Texas districts must respond when a special education student transfer into their district from another public school district (in-state or out-of-state). The following is a brief overview of those obligations for mid-year transfer students.

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

On March 11, 2016, the Texas Education Agency Commissioner of Education, Mike Morath, requested an opinion from the Texas Attorney General on the implementation of SB 507. This new law requires video surveillance of certain special education settings upon request beginning in the 2016-2017 school year. In an earlier blog post, I outlined the provisions of SB 507. view article

More than two months after a tornado hit Shields Elementary School in northern Ellis County on Dec. 26, Red Oak ISD confirmed Thursday that the original builder of the school, Ratcliff Constructors, has agreed to pay for the repairs. Fox 4's Lori Brown began investigating concerns about the quality of construction at the school  in Glenn Heights after an exterior wall collapsed in the tornado. view article