Texans will choose their party's candidates for Congress, governor and many state offices in March. Tell us how we can help you learn about the candidates. view article

A Beaumont ISD program is helping students take the next step from the classroom to the workforce by offering hands-on training and professional certifications designed to prepare them for real-world success. The district’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program allows students to graduate with industry-based certifications and licenses, helping them qualify for jobs immediately after high school. BISD leaders are now inviting local businesses and industry representatives to see the program in action during an upcoming “Industry Insights” event. view article

Texans will head to the polls this November to weigh in on 17 additions to the state constitution, including propositions that stand to reduce property taxes, shake up the criminal justice system and create massive new funds for water infrastructure and dementia research.  Each of the 17 amendments passed the Texas Legislature earlier this year by at least a two-thirds majority, the requirement for constitutional amendments. Now, voters have the final say, with each proposition needing a simple majority to pass.  The propositions will appear on all ballots statewide, though some voters may also see local elections or propositions on their ballots too. view article

Texas Scorecard has obtained a letter Dawn Buckingham sent to members of the Alamo Trust Board following the incident.  Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is blasting the Alamo Trust after the official social media accounts for the historic site posted a message this week recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day rather than Columbus Day.   The since-deleted post read, “Today, we honor Indigenous Peoples and their communities, recognizing their history at the Alamo. Opening in 2027, the Alamo Visitor Center and Museum will feature an Indigenous Peoples Gallery, celebrating the bands, clans, and tribes that shaped the region. #IndigenousPeoplesDay.”  The message drew swift criticism online from Texans who accused the Alamo Trust of promoting a political narrative at odds with the Alamo’s history. Within hours, Buckingham—whose office oversees the Alamo—repudiated the post and announced an internal investigation. view article

Students in sixth through 12th grade in the New Braunfels Independent School District are currently unable to visit their school libraries or check out books. According to district officials, the New Braunfels school board voted Monday evening to “temporarily suspend student access to all secondary libraries and all secondary library materials effective immediately while the district ensures compliance with Senate Bill 13.” view article

All Northwest ISD students receiving dyslexia instruction are now identified through special education. Micah Gierkey, the district’s executive director of student support services, told school trustees Oct. 7 that the district met new Texas dyslexia guidelines nearly a year before a May deadline. view article

Dallas ISD students are gaining real-world dental experience through hands-on training at Career Institute North’s dental assistant program. The program draws students from multiple Dallas ISD campuses who practice patient care, polish teeth, and take X-rays in the dental lab. The pathway offers students early career exposure and certification opportunities while still in high school. It represents a crucial bridge between classroom learning and professional healthcare careers. view article

Austin ISD families are demanding a stronger voice in a proposed consolidation plan that could affect nearly every school in the district. The district held the first of four community meetings Tuesday night, most of which will be virtual, prompting concerns from some parents who say the format makes it harder for them to be heard. view article

While Beaumont ISD’s future hangs in the balance after low TEA ratings and a recent exploratory visit by state commissioner Mike Morath, the district remains committed to bringing the community onboard with its mission to better the future of students and staff. view article

Austin ISD is one step closer to building affordable housing for its staff and community members in East Austin. At an Oct. 7 meeting, the AISD Public Facility Corporation, or PFC, approved construction of the first of two income-restricted apartment buildings near East Seventh Street and Airport Boulevard. Developers are expected to break ground on the 341-unit East apartment building in December for a projected completion date of 2028, said Nick Walsh, vice president of development for The NRP Group. view article

Navarro ISD is turning the page to the future –but not before preserving every chapter of its past. Chelsea Ormond, Navarro ISD director of communications, marketing, and public relations says the district is excited to announce the formation of the Navarro ISD Historical Committee. She says the initiative is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history and traditions of the Panther community. view article

More than a hundred students gathered in front of the UT Tower to “stop the compact.”  AUSTIN—University of Texas students staged a protest on Monday in opposition to university participation in the Trump administration’s new higher education reform initiative, the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.  The rally, organized under slogans like “Our Campus Not Trump’s” and “Rally for Academic Freedom,” drew a crowd of around 100 in front of the UT Tower. While decrying President Donald Trump as a “fascist” and comparing conservatives to “Nazis,” protestors called for the university to reject the compact.  Trump has condemned such language, stating, “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.” view article

The City of Houston is spending $16 million to turn a former migrant shelter into a homeless “super hub”—a facility officials say will streamline access to services, but critics warn will damage the city’s image ahead of international events. view article

Cell phones have officially been banned in classrooms during this legislative session, and all public schools have their own rules on what to do with the phones, like lockers or pouches. While some school districts have funding for pouches for their students, most school districts we spoke with adopt their own rules and disciplinary actions when funding isn’t readily available. view article

Austin ISD announced a preliminary plan earlier this month to close 13 schools and redraw boundaries. It comes as the district faces a nearly $20 million budget shortfall and a decline in enrollment, leaving some schools under capacity. view article

Subscribe Grapevine-Colleyville school board president Shannon Braun said the district will close elementary campuses, but no decisions have been made on how many will be on the chopping block. The district’s Education Master Planning Committee will submit recommendations to the board later this fall. view article

Austin Independent School District revealed plans on Oct. 3 to close 13 schools and consolidate academic programs due to growing budget concerns. In anticipation of the changes, which will take effect for the 2026-27 school year, the district is hosting open houses to answer questions and offer a deeper look into consolidation plans. view article

Katy ISD community members are condemning the district for a post published on its Facebook account on Monday in commemoration of "Christopher Columbus Day." "In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail across the Atlantic, beginning a voyage that would connect distant worlds and change the course of history," the social media post read. "Today, Columbus Day commemorates that journey of exploration and discovery that shaped the modern era." view article

Who says you can't mix two passions together? For Dallas Independent School District softball Coach Mark Stout, he's done it weekly this season. Stout warms up his team at W.T. White High School every home game and then, for a brief moment, plays the national anthem on the trumpet to get to that exciting umpire line: play ball! He started doing it before games last season. view article

In some voting locations where a party’s appointed polling judge didn’t show up, election officials allowed the other party’s judge to operate both parties’ voting machines in an effort to keep the polling place running. view article

The Lewisville ISD board of trustees approved the district's 2022-23 academic calendar, which includes 177 instructional days. The 2022-23 calendar, which was approved during a Jan. 10 board meeting, will have an Aug. 10 start date with exams for the first semester to be completed before winter break, which runs Dec. 19-Jan. 4, 2023, according to the calendar. view article

Fort Worth ISD is moving forward with plans to establish four early learning centers across the district in areas where affordable, high quality child care is hard to come by after voters narrowly approved a November bond to fund the project along with other improvements. Three other bond measures were defeated in the same election after opposition groups lobbied against them, pointing to the district’s lackluster academic performance and what they called limited information about the bonds in the weeks leading up to the election. view article

An online petition created by the 'Students of KATYISD' group is demanding change to allow access to LGBTQ+ resources and websites, including a suicide prevention hotline. Katy ISD student, 17-year-old Cameron Samuels, spoke out at a school board meeting last week and told ABC13 that students cannot access LGBTQ+ youth resources and websites while on the district's internet server. view article

The Northwest ISD Education Foundation last week held a grand opening event for its new free store and library for teachers to get resources and educational materials for their classrooms. Teachers can “shop” for school and classroom supplies, snack packs, clothing items and books. All items are free to district educators, who will use them in their classrooms to support students, according to a news release from Northwest ISD. view article

When you were in school, did you ever wonder to yourself, "what if I were principal for a day?" On Wednesday, WFAA's Cynthia Izaguirre and our station general manager, Brad Ramsey, got that chance thanks to the Principal for a Day Program (PFAD) with the Dallas Independent School District. The program is meant to help people who don't work in education understand the strengths and challenges Dallas ISD schools face. view article

It’s 4 p.m. at S.S. Conner Elementary School’s district-run afterschool program, and cheerleaders are pumping up a group of 70 students as they enjoy a healthy snack. Now with full bellies and high spirits, the students go into classrooms and center themselves with deep breathing exercises and social and emotional learning practices. Then it’s on to fun, hands-on learning and, at last, an epic game of kickball in the gym. view article

The McAllen Independent School District (McAllen ISD) is considering closing Bonham Elementary School due to low student enrollment. Since 2010, McAllen ISD has closed down three schools: David Crockett Elementary in 2011, Jose Antonio Navarro Elementary, after the 2017-18 school year, and Abraham Lincoln Middle School the same year. view article

Calallen ISD's superintendent apologized for a video that surfaced on social media of a high school pep rally during which students portrayed former President Donald Trump and Jesus Christ while making racist remarks. The video, captioned "i'm so scared #saveme," has garnered close to 34,000 views and has been shared over 550 times since being posted. It is a screen recording from someone's Snapchat account. That person recorded the pep rally, which took place at Calallen High School's gymnasium. view article

The national outcry over efforts to foster diversity and inclusion initiatives in schools has added fuel to a heated Grapevine-Colleyville ISD runoff election. The incumbent, Mindy McClure, said she is fighting a campaign of “misinformation” from her opponent, community volunteer Shannon Braun. view article

For Granger ISD officials, they have been working since the spring of last year, planning on getting kids back to campus for the start of school. School for the Lions has been fully on campus since the start of the school year. The district says this is due to the COVID-19 safety protocols that are in place, as well as teachers who have gone above and beyond. view article

Austin ISD hosted its Operation Reconnect block walk door-to-door event to ‘reconnect’ with existing district families and help recruit new ones to its schools. The event specifically aimed at attracting families to schools in its northeast corridor, including (among others) Andrews and Harris elementary schools, Garcia’s Young Men’s and Sadler Means Young Women’s middle school leadership academies, and Northeast High School. view article

ABILENE – The Abilene ISD is opening baseball and softball contests at both high schools to 50 percent capacity at all four fields for the 2021 season. Fans will be allowed to enter this weekend’s baseball tournament games at Blackburn Field (Abilene High) and Cougar Field (Cooper) at no charge, but beginning with next week’s home games, all games for baseball and softball will be $4 for adults and $2 for students. Full-time AISD employees will be allowed to enter for free, but only with a district-issued ID, and that ID only gains entry for the employee. view article

This week, Westex Federal Credit Union stopped by Lubbock ISD’s Wolffarth Elementary School to surprise one of its teachers. Melissa Catano nominated her daughter, Vanessa for this Week’s Pay It Forward. “She is so devoted to her students and she sincerely cares about each one of her students and goes above and beyond to fill that need,” said Melissa. “Vanessa believes in her students and she has high expectations for each and every student to succeed in her classroom and outside of her classroom. She does everything power to help her students.” view article

After months of online learning, most students who go to schools at Poth ISD will be required to return to the classroom starting Monday, except for those with certain medical issues or those who have high-risk family members in their home. School officials said productivity was low with virtual learning. Their decision to bring students back to campus was made with consideration of research in collaboration with health officials and a low number of coronavirus cases in Wilson county. view article

She's a first-year educator and the leading instructor of the Principles of Architecture course at the new Career Institute East. After earning a masters in Architecture at Texas A&M University in 2004, Toffer began working for Corgan – a leading architecture and design firm based in Dallas. She was ultimately promoted to senior project manager, where she fully supervised projects from first sketches to construction. view article