The country singer started the library in 1995 to boost education in one Tennessee county. It now sends books nationwide and beyond.  Dollywood, the theme park that country music star Dolly Parton branded and co-owned, announced her death on Tuesday and encouraged fans to honor her memory with a gift to the “organization she was so deeply passionate about, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.”  The Imagination Library grew out of Parton’s work to improve education in her childhood home of Sevier County, Tennessee. It aims to boost childhood literacy by simply giving young children many more books. view article

San Antonio City Council is considering new requirements for data centers built within city limits.  Officials are trying to decide if they also need a moratorium, which could halt data center development for up to six months while city officials decide how to regulate them.  More than 20 data centers — the large facilities that house the infrastructure for the internet and new artificial intelligence technologies — have already been built in San Antonio. Texas is fast becoming a hotspot for their construction, due to its available land and resources and a business-friendly environment. view article

With district enrollment roughly 2,500 students below projection for the 2026-27 school year, Fort Worth ISD leaders announced Tuesday they will begin staff leveling and reassigning positions to adjust to the enrollment drop at several campuses. view article

The new policy, announced in June, is a response to a Texas law restricting remote work for public university faculty. The Texas AAUP says it has prompted chaos and tears.  number of faculty members at Texas A&M University–Victoria have quit after the university announced in late June that full-time faculty are required to be on campus for eight hours a day, five days per week this fall. As a result, multiple classes have been canceled and some departments are nearly empty, said Teresa Klein, president of the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors.  “It’s just chaos there,” said Klein, who teaches psychology at Del Mar College. “We’re hearing tears. There’s one woman who just had a baby who quit because she said, ‘I just can’t do this. I can’t be away from my child.’ We have people who are taking care of elderly relatives, and there’s just no way they can do that and be on the road for four hours a day.”  Nearly three-quarters—72 percent—of Texas A&M–Victoria faculty have addresses in the Houston area, which is about a two-hour drive from the Victoria campus. Others live as far away as San Antonio, Klein wrote in a blog post. view article

Days after a former Klein ISD classroom aide was arrested on felony charges for allegedly injuring a student, additional concerns are surfacing regarding special education classroom safety and district transparency. view article

El Paso ISD central office administrators are heading back to the classroom this school year under a new plan the district says could save millions while also reconnecting decision-makers with the campuses they serve. The district is requiring salaried central office employees to work as substitute teachers eight days during the school year, four days each semester. view article

Little Elm ISD announces Little Elm Elementary will close this year, citing a budget deficit and low TEA ratings. view article

A group of Plano Independent School District mothers is suing the district, alleging employees attempted to take control of an independent booster club. The Jasper High School Choir Booster Club has operated as an independent nonprofit organization since 2022, allowing people with similar interests and goals to work together for a common purpose. view article

Newly released court documents detail the evidence investigators say led to the arrest of a Dickinson ISD educator accused of having an improper relationship with a 16-year-old student. The probable cause affidavit alleges the student admitted to blackmailing 46-year-old Kristi Rae Hanks for money after the two began exchanging sexually explicit messages and images. view article

Sixteen show animals are dead after two attacks at Somerset ISD’s agriculture barn in southwest Bexar County. The district said goats, sheep and pigs belonging to FFA students were killed. The first attack happened Friday, though officials are unsure what caused it. During a second attack Saturday morning, an agriculture teacher reportedly saw two dogs leaving the property. view article

What's going on: As the fall 2026 semester begins, college campuses might look and sound a little different. Last week, a coalition of university groups and labor unions filed a lawsuit to block a rule limiting how long international students can stay in the US. The rule takes effect on September 15, but some universities say the impact is already here. At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, international graduate student applications declined by over 25% from 2025 to 2026. It’s not just grad school, either: Common App reports international undergrad applications fell by 10% for the 2026-2027 academic year — the largest drop on record. Beyond shrinking campus diversity, lower international enrollment hits higher ed where it hurts: the budget. When international tuition drops, universities balance the books by cutting programs, laying off staff, or raising domestic tuition. And we know how everyone feels about that..  view article

With America's power grid failing... billionaire tech CEOs Sam Altman and Elon Musk are pouring their money into a strange new technology that could hold answers, save the country from disaster, and send one small group of stocks soaring in the days ahead.    The Republican Party has felt like home to Rena Schroeder since her teenage years when she joined a high school club for conservative Latinos. She cast her first presidential vote for Ronald Reagan. And she’s lost friends over her ardent posts on social media, some touting her anti-abortion views.    “I’ve always been committed,” said Schroeder, 62, of her allegiance to the GOP. That is, until she learned about a massive data center, part of OpenAI’s $500 billion Stargate project, going up south of her property.  The project has been championed by her party’s standard-bearers, President Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. But the more Schroeder learned about data centers popping up across the state, the more she became convinced her party was corrupted by industry lobbyists, seemingly brushing off what she saw as an existential threat to rural Texans like her. view article

Texas is leading the way when it comes to data center development in the U.S., but local opposition and now official moratoriums may be threatening what developers see as the potential benefits from the state’s central role in the AI boom.  Data center expansion has emerged as a national flashpoint, with officials and companies themselves touting the economic value and strategic importance of securing America’s edge in the AI race, though surveys continue to chart widespread disapproval from voters across the country. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from June found that 57 percent would oppose a data center being built in their community, a figure that reached 71 percent in an earlier survey from Gallup. view article

The Texas General Land Office controls more land in Texas than the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined – 13 million acres - most of which is in West Texas and leased out for ranching, hunting and oil drilling to help fund the state's public schools. view article

Long-term interest rates hit their highest level in almost 20 years to start the trading week, signaling investors’ growing concerns surrounding persistent inflation and the government’s fiscal health.   The 30-year Treasury yield climbed more than 4 basis points to around 5.31percent—its highest since June 2007—during the Aug. 17 trading session.   The benchmark 10-year yield also ticked up to above 4.72 percent. The two-year yield, which generally tracks Federal Reserve policy expectations, was little changed at 4.18 percent. view article

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is now awaiting a final decision on whether the president’s proposal to build a 250-foot triumphal arch in the nation’s capital will advance, after a federal agency granted preliminary approval in July.President Donald Trump proposed the monument to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence.  Earlier reports suggested that the administration might have to revise the design to comply with the height restrictions of a century-old federal law. However, a source familiar with the administration’s proposal who spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity said there are no such plans. view article

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is now awaiting a final decision on whether the president’s proposal to build a 250-foot triumphal arch in the nation’s capital will advance, after a federal agency granted preliminary approval in July.President Donald Trump proposed the monument to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence.  Earlier reports suggested that the administration might have to revise the design to comply with the height restrictions of a century-old federal law. However, a source familiar with the administration’s proposal who spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity said there are no such plans. 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

Nelli and Lincoln Charles brought their Bedichek Bobcat pride into the new school year, the mom and son each wore a shirt for the now-closed south Austin middle school. “I still stride with Bedichek, and I truly miss it,” explained Lincoln. On Tuesday, they stood outside Bailey Middle School, where Lincoln wrapped his first day. view article

A Chapel Hill ISD official encourages parents to stay patient and advocate for neurodivergent students as routines return. view article

A Northside ISD cross country coach was hospitalized after he was struck by a vehicle while running off campus Tuesday morning, according to a district spokesperson. The district identified the coach to KSAT as Steve Barlow. Barlow leads the cross country program at Holmes High School. view article

Last school year, Liberty Hill Independent School District made the unusual move of teaching students on campus just four days a week, most weeks. Those Mondays through Thursdays on campus were longer, as the district still needed to meet the 75,600 instructional minutes requirement set by the Texas Education Agency. However, students had most Fridays off. view article

Child advocates from Texas and across the country are voicing strong opposition against proposed changes to Head Start.  The nonprofit Children At Risk held a press conference Thursday with child advocates and early childhood stakeholders to discuss the proposed overhaul and its state-by-state impacts.  Head Start programs provide free learning and development services to children from low-income families, from birth to age five.   Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families announced proposed sweeping changes to the program’s regulations. This includes removing significant federal regulations and shifting standards towards state and local requirements, decreasing allowable administrative costs from 15% to 5%, and emphasizing English-language instruction in most programs. view article

The leader of North Dakota’s public schools last week advised lawmakers to focus artificial intelligence regulations on companies providing AI and chatbots, but leave AI use in the classroom up to school boards and educators.  Levi Bachmeier, the state superintendent of schools, testifying in front of the Legislature’s artificial intelligence and data center committee, expressed concern about young students and their exposure to AI, especially chatbots, but recognized AI can be a valuable tool. His main concern stems from chatbots that act as companions and advisors to age groups that can be easily influenced.   “If I had to pick a villain, it would be companion chatbots,” Bachmeier said Thursday during a meeting held at Minot State University.  view article

As students return to school this week, Dallas ISD is hoping to fill more preschool classrooms. For the first time, every 3- and 4-year-old who lives within the district can attend pre-K for free, regardless of family income.  The expansion is part of the district's effort to attract more families while giving children an earlier start before kindergarten.  Up until this school year, free pre-K in Dallas ISD was only available for military households, low-income families, non-English-speaking learners, and children of Dallas ISD teachers. Of the more than 10,000 preschool students in the district, only, 267 families were paying for preschool last year because they did not meet the eligibility requirements, according to district. view article

Former Harmony ISD head football coach Jeremy Jenkins and his wife Brandy were killed in a car crash Saturday night. The pair’s deaths were confirmed in a statement by Courtney Hudgins, the superintendent of East Bernard ISD, where Jenkins worked as head football coach and athletic director. view article

East Bernard ISD is mourning the deaths of Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Jeremy Jenkins and his wife, Brandy Jenkins, a teacher at East Bernard Junior High School. According to a message from Superintendent Courtney Hudgins, the couple died in a car crash Saturday evening, view article

It is with profound sorrow that we learned of the passing of Tom Luce, Texas 2036’s founder and chairman emeritus. Tom was a visionary leader whose dedication to public service transformed the lives and opportunities of millions of people across our state. He firmly believed in the power of Texans coming together to address the big challenges vital for future generations to thrive, inspiring significant action and driving meaningful change across his lifetime. view article

Dallas ISD welcomed students back to school on Tuesday – but fewer than last year.  The state’s 2nd largest school district started the fall semester with about 132,000 students, down from about 134,300 last year.  Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde, visiting blue ribbon Hexter Elementary School in East Dallas, said federal policies are partly to blame.  “Certainly, some policies regarding immigration have had an impact,” she said. “We think this year we're probably going to level off. We won't know until a few days from now.” view article

Buena Vista ISD is mourning the death of a student, according to a statement released by the district. The district announced the student’s passing Thursday, saying its thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family, friends, classmates, teachers and others affected by the loss. view article

Students in Aldine ISD can get some realistic experience working at a hospital while still in high school. That’s what HEAL High School provides for high school students in the district as the school started its third school year on Wednesday. Aldine ISD staff and Memorial Hermann mentors welcomed the students for the first day of school. view article

The biological parents won a temporary restraining order against the surrogate, who tried to claim parental rights, and are with their baby, their attorneys say.  The baby boy at the center of an out-of-state surrogacy battle that is pitting the Texas attorney general against the California biological parents was born in Dallas on Wednesday, lawyers for the birth parents and the surrogate confirmed.  view article

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As Bryan ISD welcomes students back for the first day of school, Superintendent Ginger Carrabine sat down with KBTX to discuss the district’s momentum, upcoming changes, and key challenges for the new year. view article

Sixteen school districts across the Greater Houston area are welcoming students back to class Wednesday, with more districts set to begin the school year Thursday. In Spring Branch ISD, district police are using the final hours before the first bell to make sure campuses are secure, and officers are prepared for the return of students. view article