Qasim ibn Ali Khan is a Houston imam. He has waged a campaign against Muslim-owned businesses that sell products forbidden in Islam, like alcohol, pork and lottery tickets.  Such talk has gone viral among right-wing activists warning of “Sharia patrols” in Texas. That talk has also caught the attention of Gov. Greg Abbott, who recently scolded the imam over the matter. view article

very day that classes are held at the University of Texas at Austin, a procession of students enter Homer Rainey Hall, which houses the Department of French and Italian. How many of them know who Rainey was? He is certainly not a saint in the pantheon of Texas history—a diverse bunch that includes, depending on who you ask, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Juan Seguín, Audie Murphy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Barbara Jordan, Larry McMurtry, and George W. Bush.  view article

The Lubbock Independent School District (Lubbock ISD) is excited to announce a series of town hall meetings designed to engage community members and stakeholders in meaningful discussions about proposed changes and enhancements in the district. Over the next several weeks, town halls will be hosted in each of the voting districts served by the Lubbock ISD Board of Trustees, beginning with District 5 on Tuesday (Sept. 30). These meetings will provide an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts and ask questions about the district. The town halls represent Lubbock ISD’s commitment to transparency and collaborative decision-making as the school district works to benefit the community and every child and family served by the district every day. view article

Canyon ISD hosted Agriculture Days for their fourth grade students this week. Students rotated through stations on agriculture, animals, crops and more. All the presentations were led by local agriculture leaders and CISD high school students. Many of these students have not been able to have this experience with agriculture before today. view article

Six months into his tenure as chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Kendall Scudder is moving the party’s headquarters from Austin to his hometown of Dallas, prompting an exodus of top staff and throwing the party into a state of upheaval ahead of a critical midterm election, according to interviews with over a dozen people familiar with the dynamics.  Every member of the party’s top staff, including the executive director, chief of staff and two communications staffers, is departing after Scudder required them to agree to move to Dallas by November — or else be laid off. A fifth top staffer has already quit, and more departures among the seven other staffers are expected. view article

Other smaller oil and gas producing regions in the state are better poised to help power the growing data center market, a new report found.  ODESSA — Big data centers that power the artificial intelligence industry demand an abundance of energy.  West Texas — known for producing 40% of the nation’s crude oil — also has an extraordinary amount of natural gas that could power those data centers. But the region lacks adequate infrastructure to convert the gas, a byproduct of pumping oil, into electricity and transmit it to the growing industry, experts said.  “Meeting this unprecedented demand takes more than production alone,” said Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, a trade group. “It requires a strong network of pipelines and infrastructure to move natural gas efficiently and ensure reliable power for end users. In Texas, expanding this network has never been more important to keep pace with growth.” view article

A new congressional report found that the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Houston have concerning connections with the Chinese military-industrial complex.   The U.S. Congress’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the Committee on Education and the Workforce published the 39-page report that found both universities have partnerships with Chinese institutions that “pose serious national security risks.”  The University of Houston partners with Dalian Maritime University to run the Houston International Institute, a joint engineering operation. view article

Christian Hardigree has a background in “diversity” and “sustainability.”  The finalist for president of Texas A&M Victoria has pervasive experience with left-wing causes such as “diversity,” “equity,” and “sustainability.”  Christian Hardigree was named the sole finalist for the presidency of Texas A&M-Victoria following a special called meeting of the Texas A&M System Board of Regents on September 18. There is a 21-day waiting period before the regents can finalize her appointment. Hardigree is the regional chancellor of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, where she has been quoted as wanting to sustain the momentum behind USFSP’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programming.   view article

Shonterrich Johnson was an assistant principal at the IDEA Parmer Park charter school in Austin.  For a second time this year, an IDEA Public Schools administrator is accused of sex crimes involving a student.  Shonterrich Jeremaine Johnson, 29, was arrested and charged with improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony, and online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony.  Johnson worked as an assistant principal of instruction at the IDEA Parmer Park charter school in Austin, which serves about 1,300 K-12 students. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott called for a student to be expelled for celebrating Kirk’s death. Legal experts say the student’s speech is likely constitutionally protected.  “Hi, my name is Charlie Kirk,” he announced, before collapsing to the ground, pretending to be shot. As he walked away, someone on video can be heard saying, “you’re going to get expelled, dude.”Gov. Greg Abbott agreed, telling the university on social media to “expel this student immediately. Mocking assassination must have consequences.” Texas State President Kelly Damphouse later confirmed that the student was no longer enrolled, explaining in a statement that the university “will not tolerate behavior that mocks, trivializes, or promotes violence.”  Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment expert at UCLA and Stanford, read those statements skeptically. view article

Secretary of State Jane Nelson said voter registration data-sharing provides “a critical tool to detect and prevent potential voter fraud.” view article

Thousands gathered for the Texas Youth Summit, where speaker after speaker memorialized Kirk and encouraged young attendees to rise in his place.   James Swank Jr. traces his interest in politics to the COVID-19 pandemic. As he left middle school for high school, a mask meant to stop the spread of the virus was always on his face, except for brief moments between bites at lunch. Meanwhile, his social life — whether in the classroom or on Friday nights — was suspended with no end in sight.  “There wasn’t much for me to do at the time. It was really a difficult time,” Swank, who grew up outside of Houston, said of social distancing precautions and business restrictions aimed at preventing infections that could overwhelm hospitals. “I wouldn’t say it radicalized me but it definitely opened my eyes to what government overreach could be.” view article

DALLAS — Last year, Fort Worth gained a new distinction as Texas’ fourth city with more than 1 million people.  While other major Texas cities grew at a slower clip or struggled to regain residents it lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fort Worth boomed. The city added more than 100,000 new residents between 2019 and 2024, outpacing any other Texas city — including its neighbor, Dallas. view article

COLLEGE STATION — It was the third week of Texas A&M’s summer semester and students in the ENGL 360: Literature for Children class were reading “Jude Saves the World,” a novel that features a 12-year-old protagonist who navigates coming out as nonbinary.  On the projector screen, Professor Melissa McCoul shared a graphic of a purple “gender unicorn,” often used to teach the differences between gender identity, expression and sexuality.  As the discussion began, one student angled a phone in her lap, pressed record on a video and then raised her hand.  “I just have a question, because I’m not entirely sure this is legal to be teaching,” said the student, who went on to accuse the professor of violating President Donald Trump’s executive order, which recognizes only two biological sexes.  McCoul told the student she disagreed with her assessment, and after a short back-and-forth, captured on video, McCoul asked the student to leave. view article

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has announced that his office will investigate whether any laws were broken after a private Facebook group urged members to pressure teachers at a Spring Branch high school into refusing sponsorship of a Club America chapter.Moms for Liberty Harris County exposed the post in the “Be the Change SBISD” group, which was written by Nathalie Herpin. She mentioned Stratford High School teachers by name and called on group members to “please send an email and remind them of the following.” view article

ALLAS — Last year, Fort Worth gained a new distinction as Texas’ fourth city with more than 1 million people.  While other major Texas cities grew at a slower clip or struggled to regain residents it lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, Fort Worth boomed. The city added more than 100,000 new residents between 2019 and 2024, outpacing any other Texas city — including its neighbor, Dallas. view article

Texas now gives the largest number of school paddlings, surpassing Mississippi, a new study reports. During the past six years, 65 Texas high schools in non-urban areas have brought back paddling. Many Texas high schools are now using “opt-in” consent provisions to obtain parental support for the introduction or continued use of corporal punishment. Often these forms are also signed by the student. There is a growing use of swats in voluntary extracurricular activities, particularly high school athletics, the study notes. A district's decision to implement corporal punishment at the high-school level has often been accompanied by ending or reducing spanking in the lower grades. In districts that paddle, a high school student has a significantly higher chance of receiving swats than an elementary student. Between 2017/18 and 2021/22, 431 Texas schools ceased using corporal punishment. The overall number of corporal punishment incidents has continued to decline, the study reports. view article

Elementary school boundaries in College Station ISD will see some changes when the 2026-27 school year rolls around. Tuesday night, the CSISD school board voted to approve an updated elementary plan 7. The updated version was made with feedback from parents. The difference involved moving a boundary line up to George Bush Street. view article

In the Spring, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 10, which requires the Ten Commandments be displayed on a donated poster sized at least 16 by 20 inches come September, when most new state laws go into effect. The backstory: The bill was made by Republican Sen. Phil King of Weatherford and signed into law in late June by Governor Greg Abbott, just one day after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found a similar law in Louisiana was "plainly unconstitutional." view article

A US district court judge on Monday rejected a suit by conservation groups challenging the Federal Aviation Administration approval in 2022 of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk’s SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in south Texas.  The groups said noise, light pollution, construction and road traffic also degrade the area, home to endangered ocelots and jaguarundis, as well as nesting sites for endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles and for threatened shorebirds.  US district judge Carl Nichols in Washington said the FAA had satisfied its obligation “to take a hard look at the effects of light on nearby wildlife”. view article

Alleged comments made by a teacher regarding the death of Charlie Kirk are being looked into, according to the Texarkana Independent School District. view article

As families walked into the Edgewood Independent School District meeting Tuesday night, their chants calling for justice echoed empty halls. “Whose schools are these? Our school!” they called. Families said they have been fighting problems over transparency, bullying and special education support for years. However, conversations at Edgewood ISD have heightened over the last month. Now, the superintendent said change is coming. view article

Elementary school boundaries in College Station ISD will see some changes when the 2026-27 school year rolls around. Tuesday night, the CSISD school board voted to approve an updated elementary plan 7. The updated version was made with feedback from parents. The difference involved moving a boundary line up to George Bush Street. view article

Abilene ISD Superintendent Dr. John Kuhn posted a lengthy rant addressing the state of public education amid newly-passed legislation, coupled with his frustration towards social media commenters calling his teachers "demons," which had gone viral and been shared thousands of times as of this writing. view article

A former Westfield High School valedictorian who went viral years ago is now making history in Spring ISD. We first covered Da’Vion Tatum back in 2021 after he was accepted to seven Ivy League schools. The only one he wasn’t accepted to was Dartmouth…because he decided not to apply. Tatum ended up attending and graduating from Harvard. view article

Frisco ISD will discuss closing campuses today. Parents and teachers are concerned that the change will harm students view article

Klein ISD was named as the top education employer in Texas by Forbes based on feedback from employees, families in the district and other educators. The northwest Harris County school district with more than 53,000 students was named the best workplace for educators back in August, and was also listed as the 33rd top employer statewide. view article

The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring due to a recent acquisition view article

The Department of Public Safety has shifted from Biden-era border enforcement to helping expel people from the country, a job once exclusively done by federal authorities.  Texas Department of Public Safety officers have helped arrest more than 3,000 undocumented immigrants across the state this year, according to public records obtained by The Texas Tribune that provide the most detailed glimpse yet of how state police are shifting their focus from the border toward aiding the Trump administration’s mass deportation crusade — an effort that state officials have kept largely under wraps.  From late January through early September, DPS recorded 3,131 previously unreported arrests connected to specialty teams created at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott to help President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, the agency’s records show.  view article

Houston has the highest poverty rate among the country’s 10 most populous cities.  About 21.2% of Houston’s population lived below the poverty line last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday. That means more than 500,000 Houstonians made less than the federal poverty income threshold, which is $15,940 for one person and $32,130 for a household of four.  Houston’s high rate put the city just ahead of Philadelphia’s 19.7% and New York City’s 18.0%. Houston’s ranking above Philadelphia fell within the 1.2% margin of error, meaning the two cities' true positions could be swapped.  view article

Attorney General Pam Bondi warned that school officials will be held accountable if they threaten law-abiding parents. 
 view article

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is weighing in on the growing controversy at Texas A&M University, openly questioning the leadership of President Mark Welsh following revelations that a children’s literature course included instruction on introducing LGBT topics to minors.  In a post on X, Patrick blasted Welsh’s handling of the scandal: view article

An online campaign to fire a Goose Creek Consolidated ISD teacher has gone viral following her comments regarding the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, one of several teachers facing backlash for their response. Screenshots of Jennifer Courtemanche’s Facebook post surfaced on multiple platforms Wednesday afternoon, garnering calls for her dismissal from the school district. view article

When DaVion Tatum made history as Westfield High School's inaugural Black, male valedictorian four years ago, his college application story went viral. He applied to more than 20 universities, including seven Ivy League schools. On Ivy Day, when all eight Ivy League schools release their admission decisions for first-year students, Tatum was shocked to learn that all of his applications had been accepted.  At the time, 2021 marked a record-low acceptance rate for Tatum's dream school, Harvard University. Out of 57,435 applicants, just 1,968 students made the cut that year — fortunately, Tatum was one of them. view article

Slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Donald Trump said during a 9/11 memorial ceremony on Thursday.  Before paying tribute to people who lost their lives during and in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the president praised Kirk’s advocacy for conservatism, particularly for young people. view article