A former Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD teacher is facing charges for an alleged improper relationship with a student. According to the Irving Police Department, Denton police initially arrested 28-year-old Haley Radabaugh in May for child grooming. view article

A Martin's Mill ISD employee has been arrested and charged with child sex crimes, according to county officials. The Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office said a warrant was served for Larry Plant, the maintenance director for Martin's Mill ISD, on an indecency with a child - sexual contact charge. He was reportedly booked into Van Zandt County Jail without incident. view article

The court’s ruling means children born to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. will continue to be citizens.  The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday shut down President Trump’s attempt to reverse a 170-year-old constitutional right that gives American citizenship to babies born to undocumented immigrants.  In a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court said that children born on American soil to undocumented parents are “‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause.” view article

After slashing their nearly $35 million budget shortfall down to nearly $6 million Judson ISD is facing a new hurdle. The school district is now being investigated by the Texas Education Agency. Board president Monica Ryan says many of the allegations being investigated are old claims that have already been found to be false. view article

Mothers from a Jasper High School choir booster club filed a lawsuit claiming Plano Independent School District (ISD) participated in civil conspiracy and had them falsely arrested. The lawsuit, which names Laura Cervantes and the Jasper High School Choir Booster Club as the plaintiffs, describes the series of events that led to the filing. view article

Austin ISD faces a federal lawsuit alleging the school district failed to prevent abuse by a former band teacher accused of grooming a student. Rodney Childers, a former band teacher at LBJ Early College High School, was indicted on nine felony counts, including three counts of improper relationship between an educator and a student, two counts of indecency with a child, one count of child grooming, two counts of online solicitation of a minor, and one count of possession of child pornography. view article

Twenty students and five teachers accused DPS and Uvalde County of negligence in the delayed response to the deadly 2022 shooting. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday rejected an appeal by Robb Elementary students and teachers who argued failures by the Department of Public Safety and Uvalde County contributed to a botched response to the 2022 shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. The court’s order, issued without comment, upheld a February ruling by the San Antonio-based 4th Court of Appeals that dismissed the lawsuit.  DPS and the county were sued for negligence by five teachers and 20 students who were at the school but not in the classrooms where the shootings occurred. view article

In a 6-3 decision, the justices green-lit the practice of limiting the number of people who can apply for asylum each day. view article

A Del Valle ISD police officer has been indicted on six felony counts stemming from alleged misrepresentations made during his employment application process, the Travis County District Attorney's Office said. A grand jury indicted Officer Ruben Gonzales on June 2 with six counts of Tampering with a Government Record with Intent to Harm or Defraud, a state jail felony. view article

Thirteen defendants were among those charged in the Northern District of Texas as part of the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould, during a press conference held earlier today. The charges announced today by U.S. Attorney Raybould are part of a strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death. Today’s Takedown represents a new era in federal, state, and international cooperation to combat health care fraud: cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories, with 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participating, the most in Department history. In addition, unprecedented international cooperation over the two-week Takedown resulted in the apprehension and return to the United States of the following health care fraudsters: one defendant in Kyrenia in connection with an over $3.7 billion scheme; two defendants in Estonia in connection with a previously charged $10.6 billion scheme; and, in the Philippines, one of FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters in connection with a previously-charged $1.2 billion telemedicine fraud scheme. The Takedown involves the cutting-edge use of data analytics to target the worst actors; the seizure of over $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other assets; and full-spectrum accountability for all criminal actors from doctor’s offices to corporate boardrooms.   Today’s coordinated enforcement action involves a whole-of-government approach, including: view article

The names, Social Security numbers and medical information of more than 26,000 people were exposed as part of a data breach impacting Alamo Heights ISD. The San Antonio school district reported the breach to the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday, saying that those affected were in the process of being notified by mail. It's unclear how much of the affected population are students, staff or faculty members with Alamo Heights ISD, which serves about 4,700 students. view article

A federal lawsuit filed by the Council on American Islamic Relations alleges Fort Worth ISD violated the constitutional rights of an educator whose promotion to principal of Western Hills High School was later withdrawn. The lawsuit centers on Shayma Alzubi, a longtime educator who was briefly promoted to principal in May before the district reversed the decision. view article

Katy ISD has confirmed they are investigating the alleged sexual assault of a McDonald Junior High student with special needs. According to court records, it's alleged that a teen boy, just 13 years old at the time, was accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old classmate who has autism and a speech impairment back in Jan. 2. view article

State leaders are investigating whether Judson Independent School District leaders violated Texas law, amid several allegations against Board President Monica Ryan and former Superintendent Milton “Rob” Fields III. Among the nine allegations outlined by the Texas Education Agency, Fields is accused of failing to report the abuse of a student by a certified educator, according to a document obtained by KSAT. Ryan is accused of threatening the superintendent and other trustees. view article

A former Refugio ISD coach has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest or detention and unlawfully carrying a weapon following an alleged Memorial Day incident in Victoria, according to a complaint filed by the Victoria Police Department and released by the Victoria County Sheriff's Office in response to a public records request. view article

On Monday, Ken Paxton’s office asked the judge to block the rule, a request the federal agency then agreed with. The suit echoes a similar move in 2025 that killed a 24-year-old state tuition law. view article

Siding with SpaceX and the General Land Office, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that environmental groups did not have a right to sue to preserve public access to a beach that has been closed during rocket launches.  The unanimous ruling said a trial judge properly dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the groups could not refile it with changes.   The dispute began in 2021 when then environmental group SaveRGV sued the Texas General Land Office, Commissioner Dawn Buckingham and Cameron County, arguing Boca Chica Beach and State Highway 4 — the only access road — had been improperly closed for SpaceX launches. view article

The Texan said he hopes the proposed changes, written with a Democratic senator, can save athletics from a stark separation between the haves and have-nots. view article

The lawsuit argues that building a border barrier in Presidio could cause dangerous flooding, endangering homes, farms and agriculture. view article

The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday will weigh and vote on ERCOT’s proposal to streamline the power approval process for data centers.   If you look at recent forecasts for future demand on Texas’s energy grid, the state must find a way to more than quadruple its energy production in the next six years or risk high energy prices and blackouts.  However, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the energy grid operator that produces the forecasts, says they are wrong thanks to a massive influx of data centers prematurely requesting connection to the grid.  “Our existing process really was not designed for the volume of large load interconnection requests that we have been experiencing,” Jeff Billo, ERCOT’s vice president of interconnection and grid analysis, said at the organization’s June 2 board meeting. view article

The justices confirm that defendants need to be tried in the place the crime was committed. view article

It’s that time of year when weather conditions can be unpredictable. A small chance of rain can rapidly turn into lightning, high winds, and hail. When emergency repairs arise, it’s important for school districts to be able to respond quickly and legally. Let’s review the process for districts to utilize when responding to the need for emergency repairs and steps to take in preparation for when emergency repairs are required.

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.

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.

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

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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