Hope was dwindling for a group of Taylor residents after City Hall and the courts rejected their attempts to halt an artificial intelligence data center planned on land donated to the city for a public park.  “I will not allow any person or entity to disregard the rule of law or obligations owed to the public,” Paxton said in a statemen. “If the Taylor data center development is unlawful, I will do everything in my power to stop it and hold those who have violated the law accountable.”  Pamela Griffin and other Taylor residents first raised concerns about the project last year after Griffin learned the property next to her home was slated to become the site of Blueprint’s proposed $1 billion, 135,000-square-foot project. Taylor approved the project in 2024.  “I’m coming up here begging for a whole year, asking y’all to stop this data center because it’s going to harm human lives,” Griffin told Taylor City Council in July. “Do you all care about human lives?”  view article

The board is taking up the final reading of the new high school history standards this week.
The Monday press conference comes as members of the state board prepare to amend and give final approval of the new high school Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills social studies standards, which were postponed following the passage of the elementary and middle school TEKS during the June board meeting.  The high school TEKS are divided into five separate subchapters—U.S. History, Government, Geography, World History, and Personal Financial Literacy.  Pickren told attendees that the Declaration of Independence recognizes that our rights come “from our Creator” and that to erase this from history is not neutrality, but historical revisionism.  “Our schools must never become laboratories for political indoctrination, teach students what Marxism and communism actually produced: the destruction of private property, the destruction of economic freedom, and the destruction of individual liberty, and the death of millions of people under totalitarian regimes,” said Pickren. view article

In political campaigns and the party’s platform, Texas Republicans condemn “sharia law” as a dangerous system of extremist Islamic rules and restrictions that threaten democracy, religious freedom and personal liberty — an affront to American values that must be stamped out.  But when Shaimaa Zayan considers what “sharia” means to her, the Austin resident doesn’t see a hot-button political issue or a legal code that undermines the U.S. Constitution. She sees a set of daily practices that gradually lead Muslims like her closer to Paradise. view article

The board is taking up the final reading of the new high school history standards this week.
State Board of Education Members Julie Pickren and Brandon Hall are urging the complete rejection of attempts to rewrite history, specifically the exclusion of how the Bible influenced both the values and founding of America and Texas.  The Monday press conference comes as members of the state board prepare to amend and give final approval of the new high school Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills social studies standards, which were postponed following the passage of the elementary and middle school TEKS during the June board meeting.  The high school TEKS are divided into five separate subchapters—U.S. History, Government, Geography, World History, and Personal Financial Literacy.  Pickren told attendees that the Declaration of Independence recognizes that our rights come “from our Creator” and that to erase this from history is not neutrality, but historical revisionism. view article

Kay Granger, the first Republican woman from Texas to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and who served for nearly three decades, has died view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) today announced the resignation of Houston ISD School Board Member Michelle Cruz Arnold following three years of dedicated service to the district and community.   read more

Texas may change how your child understands biology when taught in a public high school classroom. The Texas' Board of Education tentatively approved changes to portions of the states Biology curriculum. Instead of asking Texas public school students to “evaluate” scientific explanations for the origins of DNA and the complexity of certain cells, the state will now ask that the students "examine" the scientific explanations for the origins of DNA and complexity of certain cells. In the past, some educators have argued that the word "evaluate" encouraged students to challenge the scientific theory of evolution and opened the door to teaching creationism. view article

The Georgetown Board of Trustees has hired Fred Brent as the district's newest superintendent. view article