It's summer at TexasISD.com and for most of you as well. Summer tends to be slow for normal school news so we are adjusting our posting calendar for Monday through Thursday. In the event of special news or new superintendent vacancies those could still appear throughout the week.

In an open letter to school districts by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, American Federation of Teachers union affiliate Texas AFT joined a coalition of student activists and more than 30 organizations urging superintendents to support the Biden administration’s radical changes to Title IX. According to the letter released on Wednesday, the groups claim Texas has “wasted taxpayer dollars on frivolous federal lawsuits.” view article

It was late into the night when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius nearly 2,000 years ago sent volcanic material over the beach at the ancient city of Herculaneum, where hundreds of men, women and children — and even a soldier — huddled in and around stone boat houses, awaiting rescuers who would never arrive. The A.D. 79 volcanic eruption had buried the seaside and left the beach out of reach to visitors, until now — when newly-completed restoration works mean visitors can set foot on the beach, as it appeared before the disaster, for the first time. The restoration of the beach allows people to see the site “from the same position” as “the ancient Roman people,” Francesco Sirano, the director of the Herculaneum archaeological park, said in an interview Thursday. “The visitors have to go down through a tunnel … and it’s like we go back two thousand years, and then suddenly you have the beach.” While Herculaneum is often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor, Pompeii, it was also destroyed by Mount Vesuvius — and the beach area is known for holding the remains of at least 330 people who died there, sheltering in the boat houses in hope of being rescued. Those remains, discovered in the 1980s, ’90s and 2000s, were mostly related women, children and babies, along with their dogs and sheep, while adults and young men were thought to have perished on the beach itself, according to researchers. view article

Flag Day 2024 is Friday, June 14. The date commemorates the adoption of the American flag's design, as well as the symbolism and history behind it. Many Americans are unfamiliar with the observation, especially compared to other patriotic days like the Fourth of July.  So, why do we celebrate Flag Day? What's the origin story behind it? Here's a brief rundown. view article

The library at Askew Elementary School is being transformed under Mike Miles "New Education System" into a "team center." A photo of the former library at Askew Elementary School, a Houston ISD school on the west side of town, that has transformed its library into a "New Education System" prototype with book shelves pushed to the side in favor of individual desks, has sparked outrage on social media as hundreds of parents and community members react to the shocking photo. It was posted on the Supporters of HISD Magnets and Budget Accountability Facebook group with the caption: "NES library is ready for next year." view article

New footage recently posted to X reveals human smugglers’ tactics for returning to Mexico and evading capture by law enforcement. Texas Department of Public Safety Spokesman Chris Olivarez posted two videos to X on Friday, explaining that “The videos show recent smuggling events captured by @TxDPS in the #RGV. Criminal cartels & smugglers coordinate with each other as they evade law enforcement to avoid arrest.” The videos are posted below. In the first video, a smuggler in a black pickup truck can be seen fleeing local law enforcement in a high-speed chase. The smuggler then pilots the vehicle straight into the Rio Grande, bails out, and swims the remainder of the distance back to Mexico. view article

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation Monday into Katy Independent School District to determine if its controversial gender identity policy discriminates against students, according to records obtained by the Houston Landing. The investigation comes after the Landing reported in November 2023 that Katy ISD revealed the gender identities of 19 students to their parents in the two months after the policy passed. Several weeks later, student advocacy organization Students Engaged in Advancing Texas used the report’s findings in a federal Title IX complaint alleging Katy ISD discriminated against these students on the basis of sex. view article

Last night's lightning storms have us scrabling this morning. Please bear with us while we get things sorted out.

   Talia Natterson is a sophomore at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, a private school in Los Angeles, California. She writes for her school publication, Crossfire.