Alamo Colleges District, once a top earner under Texas’ House Bill 8 finance formula rooted in student outcomes, is now expecting to receive $3.9 million less for the upcoming 2027 fiscal year.  Community colleges across Texas outperformed the state’s expectations, exceeding the funding allocations — $441 million for fiscal year 2026 and 2027 combined — which prompted changes and new limits to the funding formula.  “They just thought we weren’t going to meet the projections, which is completely the opposite of what happened,” said Priscilla Camacho, Alamo Colleges chief legislative, industry and external relations officer. “Everybody lost money compared to what they got last year, and certainly lost money compared to what they were projected to get for fiscal year 2027.” view article

On July 6, a crowd in the dozens gathered at a Caldwell City Council meeting. Those who could not find seating lined the back walls, forming a human chain that wrapped around the small office space, faced council members, and continued out the front doors. Expectant, each attendee waited for the meeting to start.  Routine agenda items, from public work updates to contractor presentations, ordered official business. For all intents and purposes, the meeting would be unintrusive. Not listed among agenda items, yet the cause for much commotion in attendees, was the use by Caldwell Police of Flock Automated License Plate Readers – known as ALPRs. view article

James T. Davis, 86, a longtime resident of the Centerville community in Trinity County, Texas, passed away Sunday, August 2, 2026, in Lufkin.  James T. was born December 25, 1939, in Pennington, Trinity County, Texas, to Lois T. Davis and Eula Mae Wright Davis. He loved East Texas and the Centerville community where he was raised, often speaking fondly of its beauty and of the freedom and adventure of his youth—riding horses through its pastures and piney woods and spending time at his grandfather Charlie T.’s home. During his years at Centerville High School, he excelled in both basketball and baseball and remained proud of those experiences throughout his life. He graduated in 1958 and later earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education from Stephen F. Austin State University. On October 17, 1959, he married Dorothy Lee, and they shared more than 66 years of marriage. view article

Earlier this summer, nearly 160,000 applicants took the entrance exam for UNAM, Mexico’s largest university. For the first time, they did it completely remotely, using a “lockdown” browser and AI-powered webcam proctoring software, over several weeks from late May through early June.  It was a disast. When exam results came in, they bore little resemblance to past results, especially at the top. Between 2021 and 2025, 3.5 percent of test takers scored 100 or more on the 120-question UNAM test. This year, 16.3 percent did so.  The story was even worse at the highest of the high end. Between 2021 and 2025, 0.9 percent of test takers scored 110 or more; this year, 5.5 percent did so.  The surge in top scores led to accusations of widespread cheating, and UNAM appointed a commission of experts to investigate the situation. view article

The deal would give SpaceX control of an 18-mile stretch of marshland southwest of Lafayette. The site, known as Pecan Island, became available as part of a legal settlement that resolves dozens of lawsuits that blame ExxonMobil for pollution and coastal land loss, the newspaper reports. No Louisiana officials publicly commented on the deal. Nor did SpaceX. In May, however, the company said in response to rumors about the Louisiana site on X, “It’s no secret that we intend to launch Starship a lot, targeting thousands of flights per year. That cadence will require the ability to launch from many different locations, so we are constantly exploring to find viable sites to expand Starship operations in the future, both domestically and internationally.” view article

It's back to work for teachers and administrators at Richardson ISD, but before they dust off the old computer, Superintendent Tabitha Branum had a different idea. She gathered staff early Monday morning and armed them with a list of names. The list was of families who were sending their children to Richardson ISD for the first time. view article

A private company built a 100,000-camera surveillance grid, wired it so federal authorities can access it, and operated it for more than a year without a license. Is that okay? view article

A recent TikTok video caught attention online this week as Houston mother Aly Matei sparked questions about whether teachers in Cy-Fair ISD are allowed to share classroom wish lists online. view article

Houston Independent School District students will head back to class in just a few weeks, but families have more to prepare for than school supplies. The district is implementing several changes ahead of the 2026-27 school year, including campus closures, the rollout of Bluebonnet Learning at some schools and changes to free meal eligibility at dozens of campuses. view article

Many of the roughly 80,000 Texas residents in the program are facing renewal delays that can leave them undocumented, unable to legally work and exposed to possible deportation.  Growing up in Austin, all the kids in Itzayana Mondragón’s neighborhood looked pretty much like her — and spoke Spanish too.  Soon after Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, Mondragón noticed that some of her friends had stopped attending class. She would learn later that those classmates were undocumented and had returned to their home countries — some out of fear, some against their will, as Trump delivered on his campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration. view article

China has worked for years to drive climate activism in America with a goal of slowing down American energy independence and making America dependent on Chinese energy technologies. Now it’s using the same playbook for Artificial Intelligence. Texans shouldn’t fall for it.   For generations, Texas has been America’s energy capital. The state’s abundant resources, entrepreneurial culture, and willingness to build made it an economic powerhouse and strengthened America’s security.   Now Texas stands at the beginning of another historic opportunity, and America’s national security depends upon Texas’ continued willingness to build.   Artificial intelligence is becoming the defining technology of the 21st century, and Texas is rapidly emerging as its center. The companies building the future increasingly need the same things that built the energy industry like abundant electricity, reliable infrastructure, investment capital, and policymakers willing to embrace growth instead of obstructing it.   Just as Texas became synonymous with energy, it is increasingly becoming synonymous with AI. view article

Judge Terry Johnson allegedly retaliated against a critical journalist by publishing his personal identification information.  Dhillon Law Group has filed a federal lawsuit against Midland County Judge Terry Johnson on behalf of a citizen journalist who says he was retaliated against after posting records critical of Johnson.   The suit alleges that Johnson responded the next day by posting Christino Rodriquez’ full name, Social Security number, date of birth, and driver’s license number to Facebook.   view article

As Texas struggles to increase water supply, questions arise about Oncor’s due diligence on the intersection of proposed transmission lines and water.  Local officials grilled Oncor on its proposed extra-high-voltage transmission line’s impact on both known and unknown local water supplies, whether the company will inform landowners if it discovers a new well while building on their property, and who would pay for relocating it if needed.   Multiple government water agencies stated that Oncor had not contacted them.  view article

Conroe ISD parent and volunteer Ryan Tsamouris has launched a monitoring app to help other parents get the information they need, from a list of challenged or banned library books to board meetings. Tsamouris, who has a background in information technology and is eyeing a spot on the board of trustees, went live with the CISD Library Books Tracker in May. Since then, he has expanded it to include board meeting summaries, student performance, district finances and policies. Navigating the district's information on its website, he said, can be difficult. view article

Katy ISD board members have approved the development of a virtual high school after a board meeting vote. The creation of Legacy Virtual High School was discussed at board meetings on July 20 and 27. view article

The Houston-area district, which serves nearly 100,000 students, is banning the use of generative artificial intelligence chat tools in kindergarten through sixth grade while gradually introducing its use for older students. view article

(Video) Former Lubbock Cooper ISD superintendent Pat Henderson passes away view article

Tiffany Spicer is regularly up before dawn. As Waco ISD’s superintendent, she has to be ready before the school day begins. And last Wednesday she was up particularly early — 4:30 a.m. — to swim as part of her training for the upcoming IronMan. view article

The Socorro Independent School District returns to school on Monday and joins Good Morning El Paso live with the latest updates and highlighting achievements and academic and community programs. Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Trejo and O'Shea Keleher Whole Child Academy Principal Laura Garcia join ABC-7's Nicole Ardila from the school on July 27. view article

A simple walk into just about any retailer in South Central Texas will tell you what is coming. Back-to-school. view article

Goliad Independent School District will enter the 2026-27 school year with a new middle school, expanded curriculum resources and additional safety measures. Superintendent Holly Lyon said the district is building on its traditions while introducing new programs, facilities and instructional practices. view article

With summer break winding down, school districts are getting ready to welcome students back for the new school year. KSAT has compiled back-to-school start dates for all the Bexar County and surrounding school districts. view article

In a new filing to Gov. Abbott, Texas regulators lay out rules to make massive data centers pay for their own grid upgrades and curb their impact on residential power bills. view article

While the days of building new schools left and right to keep up with a booming population are mostly behind San Antonio’s school districts, the school-naming processes established in that era are not entirely obsolete. San Antonio has more than 1,000 schools named after aspects of local and national history, honoring famous residents — and in some cases, they have been renamed following community pressure. From John Jay High School to Tradition Elementary, here’s a rundown of how some of the community’s schools got their names.  No school naming policy is the same throughout the city’s more than a dozen school districts, but they do follow similar patterns.  view article

Beaumont ISD is ending its Yondr pouch program one year after the district implemented a strict no-phone policy, shifting to new rules that will allow students to bring phones to school for the 2025-2026 academic year. Superintendent Sandi Massey said the district is moving away from requiring students to lock their phones in pouches, saying, “Students are better off without forcing a phone into a bag to keep them away from it.” view article

Beaumont ISD is ending its Yondr pouch program one year after the district implemented a strict no-phone policy, shifting to new rules that will allow students to bring phones to school for the 2025-2026 academic year. Superintendent Sandi Massey said the district is moving away from requiring students to lock their phones in pouches, saying, “Students are better off without forcing a phone into a bag to keep them away from it.” view article

The program is open for 4-year-olds across the metroplex view article

he Bar W Ranch-area Kumon tutoring center in Leander has moved to a new, permanent location on Ronald Reagan Boulevard, owner and instructor Atlantis Frost said. What parents need to know  The learning center, which opened in October 2023, moved from a temporary location at Larkspur Elementary School to its new location in May, Frost said. The center will host a grand opening Aug. 1.   The center is a franchise of Kumon, a global education company that started in Japan in 1958. view article

Close to a fifth of jobs in the D-FW area are significantly exposed to AI, according to 2025 employment data and job exposure analysis from OpenAI and UPenn researchers in 2023.  Common D-FW occupations with especially high exposure to AI automation include customer and sales representatives, as well as computer user support specialists, according to a Dallas Morning News and Hearst DevHub analysis of the data. view article

Summer break has ended for at least two school districts in the Coastal Bend. Last week, the Tuloso-Midway Independent School District welcomed students back to the classroom. Today, it was London ISD that opened its classroom doors to a new academic school year. London ISD is also saying hello to its new leader. Acting Superintendent Amanda Barmore was appointed to the role this week. Dr. Bill Chapman announced his retirement, set for June 30. He will, however, stay on as a district employee until August 31. view article

A rising senior in Houston ISD who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Friday was released from detention on Monday, according to U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston. An ICE spokesperson over the weekend confirmed the arrest of Alim Garipov, an 18-year-old student from Russia who attends Bellaire High School. The agency said Garipov was allowed entry into the U.S. in May 2022, but was permitted to stay in the country for only six months. view article

When students return to Dallas ISD classrooms this August, they will be handed a pouch that can only be unlocked with a specific magnet and told to drop all cell phones, tablets and AirPods inside. It will be the second year the district complies with Texas’ statewide ban on electronic devices in the classroom. The mandate, known as House Bill 1481, was passed by the Texas Legislature in May 2025 and received bipartisan support. Nearly immediately, educators noticed a difference in student behavior. view article

Back-to-school shopping can add up fast, but families in Moody ISD are getting a major break. The district is providing all necessary school supplies for students — marking the 10th year in a row it has covered the supplies list. On the first day of school, students only need to bring a backpack. view article

Eight Midland ISD students participated in a week-long immersive summer program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston through the STEM+M Doc-Prep program. Audrey Ware, a Lee High School student and aspiring pediatric nurse practitioner, was among the eight selected. “For me personally, my ‘why’ is I wanna help kids and be a safe place for them as I help them and heal them,” Ware said. view article

The beaming smile, the boundless joy with which Louis Fite ran on Friday nights masked a secret.  In the autumn of 1990, Fite seemingly had the world at his feet. The Waco High School running back was the Tribune-Herald’s Super Centex Offensive Player of the Year. He had been named the Texas Sports Writers Association Class 5A Player of the Year. He won Parade All-American honors. His highlights led nightly newscasts. His name graced headlines all over the state. view article