The State Board of Education gave final approval to changes to Texas' high school social studies curriculum. The changes involve how students will learn about Islam and Christianity. The revised social studies curriculum covers U.S. history, government and world geography. view article

As the K-12 education landscape continues to shift and change, the focus on attracting and retaining the right people to lead and shape our area's school districts through crucial changes continues to grow. There are more than 1,200 superintendents in Texas who lead either traditional public-school systems or public charter school systems, and according to the latest data from the Texas Education Agency, districts are paying salaries and total compensation packages to their top leaders that rival those of leading executives at many large corporations. view article

September is Deaf Awareness Month and starting just a few months ago, Texas residents can now get their identification cards or driver license with a new deaf or hard of hearing designation. The new option aims to improve communication between law enforcement, first responders or hospital staff and Texans who are deaf or are hard of hearing and started when McAllen ISD’s Liza Lara, director for the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf (RDSPD), brought up that there was nothing on state ID’s or driver licenses that indicate someone is deaf or hard of hearing at a conference with first responders. view article

The education system has a responsibility to cater to the needs of every student, and students with special needs require special attention. That’s where the Texas Education Agency (TEA) District SPED Leadership Council comes in. The council is responsible for providing early insight on emerging TEA priorities and policies. Moving forward, Angela Solis of the Temple Independent School District will be a member of the council, according to a news release from the district. view article

Priscilla Dilley always had an idea that she’d go into education, even if her career path led in a different direction. Dilley, who now serves as Arlington ISD’s chief academic officer, was born in Brazil and moved to the United States when she was 11. She couldn’t speak a word of English and was brought into classrooms initially with little to no support. view article

A longtime Plano ISD football tradition is looking different this season, and some band parents say the changes are leaving students disappointed. For years, Plano ISD junior varsity and ninth- and 10th-grade bands and drill teams have performed during halftime of non-varsity football games. view article

Austin Ed Fund’s Inspire the Future program granted $350,000 to be used for Austin ISD teacher-led projects on Wednesday. Austin Ed Fund, Austin ISD’s nonprofit public education foundation, said in a press release that their Inspire the Future grant program awarded individual classrooms, campuses, and teams on various projects that leave classroom and community impact. view article

Through friendly competition, Tyler High and Tyler Legacy students collected 20,000 pounds of food and $17,906 for the East Texas Food Bank as a part of the 36th Annual Pantry Raid initiative. The results were revealed at the Tyler ISD Rose City Rivalry football game Friday night. Students from both campuses worked over the past few weeks to collect food and money to benefit the East Texas Food Bank, including its programs like the Backpack Program. view article

Previous plans outlined 7,300 residences and hundreds of acres of commercial space.  The Kyle City Council voted to approve a settlement agreement that will put an end to a six-year-long lawsuit filed in 2020 by Austin's Save Our Springs Alliance (SOSA) over the development of the Nance-Bradshaw Ranch property located in the Austin-San Antonio corridor. The city council voted to remove the Blanco River bridge, a major point of environmental arguments against the development. The bridge's removal has paved the way for resolution, clearing a major hurdle for the massive development plan.  view article

In the 2024-25 school year, the most recent year data was available, 86% of NCISD’s high school students took CTE classes while the state average was 74%, according to the TEA. CTE programs offer students a chance to earn industry certifications and gain hands-on experience in various fields—whether they would like to attend college or join the workforce or military, NCISD CTE Director Brooke Lyles said. The district’s biggest CTE programs include business and health science, she added. view article

In the 2024-25 school year, the most recent year data was available, 86% of NCISD’s high school students took CTE classes while the state average was 74%, according to the TEA. CTE programs offer students a chance to earn industry certifications and gain hands-on experience in various fields—whether they would like to attend college or join the workforce or military, NCISD CTE Director Brooke Lyles said. The district’s biggest CTE programs include business and health science, she added. view article

Several Southeast Texas school districts are closing their doors for Thursday or in some cases beyond after being battered Tuesday evening by Tropical Storm Edouard. The storm officially made landfall at about 2:20 p.m. near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center. Maximum sustained winds were about 60 mph at the time the storm moved onshore. view article

North Lamar ISD welcomed community members to North Lamar High School on Wednesday for the district’s Golden Panther Program, a student-led initiative organized and carried out by the North Lamar High School Student Council. The program is designed to connect longtime Panther supporters with today’s students while creating opportunities for different generations of the North Lamar community to come together. view article

As kids grow up, finding quality time to connect as a family can be difficult, which is why many families turn to Cub Scouts.  Cub Scouts creates opportunities for parents and children to experience new adventures together, whether they are exploring the outdoors, learning a new skill or taking on a STEM challenge.  The program is open to children in kindergarten through fifth grade, with activities and experiences evolving alongside them. Kindergarteners begin as Lions, followed by Tigers in first grade, Wolves in second grade and Bears in third grade. Fourth- and fifth-graders participate as Webelos before transitioning to the next level of Scouting. view article

House members questioned nearly $100 million directed to the foundation, its real estate investments, and potential conflicts of interest.  A Texas House committee scrutinized Barbers Hill ISD’s controversial education foundation Wednesday.  Lawmakers questioned the nearly $100 million that has been directed to the private nonprofit, which has reportedly grown to approximately $250 million.  The House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight examined education foundations as part of an interim charge focused on their financial relationships with public school districts, transparency requirements, conflicts of interest, and taxpayer protections.  Much of the hearing centered on the Barbers Hill ISD Education Foundation.  Mandy Drogin, a senior fellow with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told lawmakers her organization reviewed 13 education foundations and found Barbers Hill stood apart.  “But what we found in Barbers Hill ISD is a completely different story,” said Drogin. view article

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