Kerr County officials grilled over absences, delays in tense Kerrville hearing  KERRVILLE — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly at a hearing Thursday for being absent on July 4 as rising flood waters tore through the county, washing away homes and killing more than 100 people.   “I don’t know where you were on Day One, on July 4, but you should have been here. You should have been here directing that response. That is your responsibility,” Patrick, a Republican who presides over the state Senate, told Kelly at the flood-focused hearing.  “I just want to set the record straight. Everyone was here that day working their ass off, and you were nowhere to be found.” view article

Andrew McGann resigned from Lewisville ISD in 2023 amid allegations of inappropriate behavior with students.  A teacher charged with murdering a mom and dad at a state park in Arkansas in front of their two young children formerly taught at a North Texas elementary school.  Andrew James McGann, 28, was arrested Wednesday by Arkansas State Police at a barbershop in Springdale following a five-day manhunt and was charged with two counts of capital murder.  McGann is accused of killing Cristen and Clinton Brink at Devil’s Den State Park while they were hiking with their daughters, ages 7 and 9 years old. view article

The Houston Federation of Teachers filed suit against the district for awarding raises based on performance metrics, alleging it violated state law.  A Harris County judge has denied a teachers’ union request for a temporary restraining order against the Houston Independent School District, allowing the district to move forward with its performance-based teacher compensation plan for the 2025–26 school year  .The legal dispute between the Houston Federation of Teachers and Houston ISD centers on House Bill 2, a new Texas law that establishes a Teacher Retention Allotment of approximately $3.7 billion.  view article

UNT will pay more than $700,000 to resolve accusations of racism.  A public university in Texas just learned an expensive lesson.  According to media reports, the University of North Texas will pay $725,000 to Professor Robert Jackson. Jackson sued the university in 2021, claiming to have suffered professional and emotional damage following accusations of racism leveled at him in te immediate aftermath of George Floyd’s death.  The dispute arose following a discussion in an obscure academic journal edited by Jackson. view article

After refusing to sell “surplus property” back to its former owner, the Texas Department of Transportation is now before the Supreme Court in a case that could reshape the state’s eminent domain policy.  “Eminent domain” is the government’s power to take private property for public use, provided “just compensation” is given to the owner. Texas law outlines specific procedures for such acquisitions and—relevant to this case—grants limited rights to repurchase the property if it becomes unnecessary for public use.  Facts of the Case  According to court records, in 2013, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) sent an offer to Joyce Hutcherson, Rudolph Pusok, and Jimmie Pusok—the owners of 19502 Mueschke Road in Tomball—to purchase their property. TxDOT planned to construct a new road along the Grand Parkway (State Highway 99). view article

Senate Bill 12 is designed to close loopholes and stop the flow of taxpayer funds to registered lobbyists.  Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying Costs Millions as Texas House Failed to Act view article

A gag order regarding the fatal stabbing at a Frisco ISD track meet has been issued by a Collin County judge, CBS News Texas confirmed. This gag order issued by Judge John Roach applies to anyone associated with the defense or the prosecution on the case. view article

A Frisco ISD spokesperson has confirmed to WFAA that the school district received lawfully issued subpoenas in connection with an ongoing criminal case that resulted in the death of one student and the arrest of another for murder. In the case State of Texas vs. Karmelo S. Anthony, prosecutors allege Anthony intentionally stabbed Austin Metcalf, a student-athlete at Frisco Memorial High School, during a dispute at an April 2 track meet. view article

The Frisco Independent School District has been subpoenaed to provide the names of students who were at the April 2 track meet at Kuykendall Stadium, where Austin Metcalf, a Memorial High School student, was fatally stabbed, a district spokesperson confirmed to CBS News Texas. The subpoena is part of the criminal case The State of Texas vs. Karmelo Anthony. Anthony, also a student, is accused of stabbing Metcalf during the meet and is facing a charge of first-degree murder. view article

A jury has found a former LaPoynor ISD coach guilty of tampering with evidence after an incident involving a recording in a girls’ locker room. LaPoynor ISD serves Larue and Poynor, communities southeast of Athens. Former girls’ basketball coach Jammie Allen Maze, 45, of Brownsboro, was arrested in 2023 after a phone was found with the camera on left in a shoe under a bench in the girl’s locker room. view article

On July 15, a Travis County judge sentenced a former Austin ISD executive in connection with a district theft investigation. According to court documents, 46-year-old Lynn Brennan was given two years’ deferred adjudication after she entered a guilty plea. During the two years, Brennan must complete 100 hours of community service in addition to other requirements. view article

Despite having an office with hundreds of attorneys, Ken Paxton frequently opts to hire private lawyers. One cost taxpayers more than $24,000 in one day.  One day in late May 2024, lawyer Zina Bash spent 6 1/2 hours working on a case against Facebook parent company Meta on behalf of the state of Texas. She reviewed draft legal filings. She participated in a court-ordered mediation session and then discussed the outcome with state Attorney General Ken Paxton.  In her previous job as senior counsel on Paxton’s leadership team, that labor would have cost Texas taxpayers $641.  But Bash had moved to private practice. Paxton hired her firm to work on the Meta case, allowing her to bill $3,780 an hour, so that day of work will cost taxpayers $24,570.  In the past five years, Paxton has grown increasingly reliant on pricey private lawyers to argue cases on behalf of the state, rather than the hundreds of attorneys who work within his office, an investigation by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica found. These are often attorneys, like Bash, with whom Paxton has personal or political ties. view article

Lawyers for Barbers Hill ISD say the long-standing court case over whether a student could wear dreadlocks should be dismissed now that the student has graduated. While the district filed a suggestion of mootness last month, lawyers for former student Darryl George say the case should continue because of the emotional toll he suffered during his high school years. view article

Baird ISD employee Waldo Rodriquez is now facing deportation even though his employer says he was meeting the conditions set out for him by U.S. Immigration. view article

On July 15 and 16, the Cooke County Sheriff’s Department hosted and coordinated a joint law enforcement "sting" operation with Texas DPS, Collin County Sheriff’s Department, and the Colony Police Department. view article

Derrick Brookins, a choir director at Denton ISD’s Braswell High School in Little Elm, was arrested on an indecency with a child charge the day before the seniors in his program graduated. Frisco police arrested Brookins, 54, on May 22 for allegedly performing a sexual act in front of a child, according to an arrest report. Collin County Jail records show his bail was set at $10,000, and he posted bail and was released May 23. view article

Federal authorities have charged three current or former Louisiana police chiefs with taking bribes in exchange for filing false police reports that would allow noncitizens to seek a visa that lets certain crime victims stay in the U.S. U.S. Attorney Alexander C view article

A Texas City High School teacher is in custody and charged with online solicitation of a minor, according to the Harris County Precinct One Constable's Office. John Derrick Taylor, 55, is a math teacher and power-lifting coach for boys and girls at the Texas City ISD school. Taylor was arrested at his home in Manvel on Tuesday by detectives with Precinct One’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. view article

A Houston Independent School District Physical Education teacher has been charged after being accused of posting explicit videos of his ex-girlfriend, according to court records. What we know: Christopher J. Hampton is charged with unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material. Hampton is a PE teacher at Pleasantville Elementary. view article

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.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A group of Dallas-area families and faith leaders have filed a lawsuit seeking to block a new Texas law that requires copies of the Ten Commandments be posted in every public school classroom. The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, claims the measure is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.  Texas is the latest and largest state to attempt a mandate that has run into legal challenges elsewhere. A federal appeals court on Friday blocked a similar law in Louisiana. Some families have sued over Arkansas' law.  The plaintiffs in the Texas lawsuit are a group of Christian and Nation of Islam faith leaders and families. It names the Texas Education Agency, state education Commissioner Mike Morath and three Dallas-area school districts as defendants.  “The government should govern; the Church should minister," the lawsuit said. "Anything else is a threat to the soul of both our democracy and our faith.” view article

The contest coincides with the state’s November uniform election, when voters across Texas will already be at the polls to decide local offices and ballot measures. view article

A group of parents is suing Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD for allegedly violating the state open meetings laws ahead of a vote earlier this year to permanently close four schools. The lawsuit alleges trustees and district officials abandoned community recommendations for their own benefit and discussed a consolidation plan in private as they moved ahead with closing Central, Furneaux and McCoy elementaries and Long Middle School, and redrawing attendance zones. view article

An army of advocates worked with lawmakers to protect students from sexual abuse and exploitation.  Parent advocates are praising a series of reforms designed to protect Texas children from sexualization and sexual predators in public schools, making education officials live up to their frequent claim that “student safety is our top priority.”  An army of grassroots activists, parents, and survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of educators worked with state lawmakers before and during the 89th Legislative Session to ensure passage of measures to keep kids safe in taxpayer-funded schools.  Gov. Greg Abbott has now signed the bills, adding his stamp of approval to the measures. view article

The Court found that the law is a constitutionally permissible exercise of the state’s authority to protect children from sexually explicit content.  In a win for protecting children from the harmful effects of pornography, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification to access X-rated content online.  Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the 6-3 opinion finding that the state’s age verification law, known as House Bill 1181, does not unconstitutionally burden First Amendment-protected free speec view article

Two women accused in the abuse of multiple disabled Longview elementary students are asking their charges be tried separately. Cassandra Renee James, 51, of Hallsville, and Linda Kaye Brown Lister, 63, of Longview, are each charged with 18 counts related to child abuse. They are two of six people accused of abusing 11 students at J.L. Everhart Elementary from 2019 to 2021. view article

Head coach and athletic director Andrew Harvey was arrested by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday. He’s charged with online solicitation of a minor sexual conduct, sale/distribution/display of harmful material to a minor and solicitation of prostitution person under 18. Howe ISD said in a release to parents that Harvey was placed on administrative leave immediately after they were notified of the charges, and he is not permitted on district property, nor is he allowed to have contact with students or faculty at this time. view article

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s directive follows a June 4 ruling that illegal aliens cannot receive in-state tuition in Texas. view article

Coach Devin Anderson was charged last year with having an illicit sexual “relationship” with a female student. view article

Some parents and teachers are calling on Dallas ISD to adopt a policy barring ICE agents from the district’s campuses.   It comes after masked agents were seen stopping traffic in the street near two DISD schools on June 20.  In a packed meeting of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees on Thursday night, the majority of public speakers shared a unified message to the district.  “Do whatever is necessary to keep any and all ICE presence out of DISD schools,” said Veronica Alvarez, a DISD parent.  Last Friday, DISD teacher Cynthia Longoria took a series of pictures showing the street between Pancho Medrano Junior High and Joe May Elementary.  The pictures showed four law enforcement agents stopping a driver, with one of the agents wearing a face covering. view article

In less than 90 days, Karmelo Anthony was indicted for first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf during a Frisco ISD track meet, and officials call for patience and justice over emotion. It was 83 days, to be exact, from the day Frisco police said Austin Metcalf was killed at that track meet until Tuesday, when Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis announced the indictment. "Earlier this spring, our community was shaken by what happened at a school track meet in Frisco, the violent loss of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf," Willis said. view article

A Winnsboro ISD coach was arrested on Monday after court documents revealed he attempted to hide the sexual relationship between another coach and a student. According to the arrest affidavit from the Wood County Sheriff’s Office, on May 28 officers were alerted about an improper relationship between an educator and student that involved a Winnsboro High School coach during the 2024-2025 school season. view article

A federal judge has been asked to let groups intervene in the settlement that ended the Texas Dream Act view article

“U” visas are intended to grant temporary legal status and work authorization to illegal aliens who are victims of certain serious crimes. view article

The Winnsboro ISD school board considered firing Winnsboro ISD Police Chief Heath Guy on Monday after he was placed on administrative leave recently. KETK was at school board meeting on Monday were many Winnsboro residents had showed up to voice their concerns. Earlier in June, former Winnsboro ISD assistant football coach Nicholas Gabriele was arrested arrested after allegedly admitting to having a sexual relationship with a student. view article