fter decades of trying, conservatives this year succeeded in creating the first national school voucher program.  The Republican megabill that President Donald Trump signed into law in July will establish new tax credit scholarships for families to use at private schools, including religious ones — a long-held goal of school privatization advocates who argue parents should get taxpayer support if they want to opt out of their neighborhood school.  Under the “big, beautiful bill,” donors can receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits of up to $1,700 for contributions to scholarship-granting nonprofits. Those groups then distribute the money to families seeking help paying for private school, tutoring and other educational expenses. The program, while significant, is less expansive than in earlier drafts of the legislation. Previous versions gave donors larger tax credits — a match up to $5,000 or 10 percent of their income, whichever is greater — and mandated that all states participate rather than allowing them to opt in.  view article

RNS) — Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a seminarian who has joined dozens of other Democratic state legislators in leaving his state to oppose mid-decade redistricting efforts, said he views their protests as an act of faith, reflecting both his personal beliefs and his faith in democracy.  Talarico, who is a student at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Texas, discussed the protest in a webinar Tuesday (Aug. 5) co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Interfaith Alliance. view article

t was once a rite of passage for millions of American schoolchildren before being phased out under the Obama administration.  But now public school students across the U.S. once again face being rated on their strength, endurance and flexibility under an executive order reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test signed by Donald Trump on Thursday.  What is the Presidential Fitness Test?  The original program, which was replaced in 2012, was formalized in 1966 under President Lyndon B. Johnson to "promote good health" and provide "sturdy young citizens equal to the challenges of the future."  It typically assessed students aged 6 to 17 in public schools at least twice yearly. Top-performing students could receive the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. view article

An Oklahoma sheriff’s office Monday opened an investigation over reports that images of nude women were displayed on the state’s school superintendent office television during a meeting with education board members.  Top Oklahoma lawmakers have sought answers over accounts given by two State Board of Education members, who said they saw the images during a meeting in Ryan Walters 's office Thursday. Another board member, Chris Van Denhende, said he was not in a position to see the television but that “something was on the screen that should not have been,” based on Walters’ reaction. view article

Importers and exporters based in Texas have so far avoided the harshest effects of the trade war sparked by President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from a host of countries, but they could be in for a rude awakening come Monday.  Mexico, Texas’ largest trading partner, has been largely exempt from tariffs due to a March agreement that allowed an estimated 85% to 90% of all Mexican goods to avoid the 25% tariff the Trump administration placed on its imports.  However, Trump earlier this month informed Mexico, two dozen other countries and the European Union that their exports will face an increase in the tariffs on their goods unless they quickly negotiate new trade deals with the U.S. Trump’s letter to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo promises to raise the rate against the country to 30% on Aug. 1 and makes no mention of extending the spring agreement exempting most Mexican imports. view article

The bills would carry a $5,000 fine for a first-time violation and comes as momentum for such restrictions has increased in the state and nationally.  Legislation identical to two failed regular session bills seeking to restrict what bathrooms transgender people can use in government and school buildings have been filed in the Texas House and Senate after Gov. Greg Abbott outlined the restrictions as a special session priority.  State Sen. Mayes Middleton filed Senate Bill 7 on Thursday, days after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick indicated the Galveston Republican would carry the special session’s “bathroom bill.” The bill is identical to House Bill 32, filed by Rep. Valoree Swanson, R-Spring, as well as Senate Bill 240 filed by Middleton during the regular session. Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, is also listed as a coauthor for SB 7.  SB 7 and HB 32 would mandate that multiuse bathrooms at K-12 schools, public universities and state and municipal government buildings only be used by people of one sex or another, as indicated on their birth certificate. Violating the provision would carry a $5,000 first-time fine and $25,000 for any subsequent violations. view article

President Donald Trump recently made two big steps toward fulfilling his promise to carry out the largest deportation program in American history — changes some worry are denying due process to detained migrants.  Earlier this month, the Trump Administration ended bond hearings for undocumented people in detention, eliminating the opportunity for them to have a judge “look at whether the detention was actually appropriate,” said Denise Gilman, a law professor who directs the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin.  The administration also fired 20 immigration judges across the country earlier this month, bringing the total of judges who have either resigned or been fired since January to 106 — out of roughly 700 judges serving nationally. view article

ABILENE, Texas — The Abilene Adult Education facility will be closing its doors.  According to a post made by the organization on social media, the reason is due to a lack of federal funding. view article

CNN — The Supreme Court on Monday said President Donald Trump may proceed with his plan to carry out mass layoffs at the Department of Education in the latest win for the White House at the conservative high court.  In an unsigned order, the justices lifted for now a lower court ruling that had indefinitely paused Trump’s plan. The Supreme Court’s decision puts that ruling on hold while the legal challenge plays out.  Within two hours, the Department of Education sent notices to employees indicating it is immediately resuming its plans to shrink the department. view article

It’s the first time Operation Border Health has canceled in 26 years. More than 6,600 people received check-ups, dental services, diabetes screenings and more last year.  It’s the first time Operation Border Health has canceled in 26 years. More than 6,600 people received check-ups, dental services, diabetes screenings and more last year. view article

WASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Linda McMahon is expected to move quickly now that the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to continue unwinding her department.The justices on Monday paused a lower court order that had halted nearly 1,400 layoffs and had called into question the legality of President Donald Trump’s plan to outsource the department’s operations to other agencies.  Now, Trump and McMahon are free to execute the layoffs and break up the department’s work among other federal agencies. Trump had campaigned on closing the department, and McMahon has said the department has one “final mission” to turn over its power to the states. view article

The Senate passed the sweeping policy bill after a marathon debate and vote session that started late on June 28. The bill now heads back to the House.  WASHINGTON—The Senate passed its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at midday on July 1 after a “vote-a-rama” that began the previous day and continued through the night.  Vice President JD Vance broke a 50–50 tie to secure passage of the bill.  Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted in opposition. view article

Established in the 1940s, the original Buena Vista school building in Imperial, Texas has served generations of students, teachers, and staff. But with growing enrollment and aging infrastructure, the district is preparing for a much-needed transformation. From pre-K through 12th grade, Buena Vista ISD had 215 students last year—a number that continues to grow. To mark the end of an era, the district hosted a walk-through of the school building, giving the community one final opportunity to say goodbye to a space filled with decades of memories. view article

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It's the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility. Susan Jacoby, author of The Age of American Unreason, says in an article in the Washington Post, "Dumbness, to paraphrase the late senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, has been steadily defined downward for several decades, by a combination of heretofore irresistible forces. These include the triumph of video culture over print culture; a disjunction between Americans' rising level of formal education and their shaky grasp of basic geography, science and history; and the fusion of anti-rationalism with anti-intellectualism."  view article

A Mississippi school district has been ordered to desegregate its schools after what the Justice Department called a five-decade-long legal battle. The Cleveland School District, about two hours northwest of Jackson, was told that it must consolidate its schools in order to provide real desegregation for students in the city of about 12,000. view article