Texas gained more new residents than any other state between 2022 and 2023. According to new census numbers, the state’s population grew by five percent during the study period, while several counties’ populations grew by more than seven percent each. State demographer Lloyd Potter told the Standard that a considerable portion of Texas’ growth is happening in counties surrounding big cities, especially in the DFW metroplex. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below. This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity: view article

Six out of the 10 fastest-growing counties in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023 are in Texas, according to recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Kaufman County, just east of Dallas, led the list with a 7.6% increase that brought its population over 185,000, Census data shows. Rockwall and Liberty counties followed closely behind, each with growth bursts of 6.5% and 5.7%, respectively. view article

Texas has one of the least hospitable rental markets in the nation for poor people. A new report finds the state has a massive shortage of available rental homes that extremely low-income renter household can afford.  The National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s annual report on the nation’s affordable housing shortage found that the nearly 907,000 renter households making less than 30% of their area’s median income are essentially competing for the roughly 227,000 available rental homes they could actually afford. That’s a shortage of more than 679,000 rental homes the state’s poorest residents, which includes families of four with annual incomes below $29,000. view article

Most cities require homes and businesses to have parking. Critics say they drive up housing costs, foster car dependency and raise carbon emissions.  In car-dependent Texas, most cities have rules on how many parking spots must be built anywhere people live, play or do business. But those requirements have come under scrutiny in recent years, with critics saying they do more harm than good.  As the nation tries to curb carbon emissions and fight climate change, climate activists and urbanists have chided the regulations for encouraging car dependency. Housing advocates and developers have also identified those minimums as a barrier to building more homes and taming housing costs.  “This is a pretty obvious target for helping to address [the housing affordability crisis],” said Tony Jordan, co-founder of Parking Reform Network. view article

A member of Dade Phelan’s leadership team says Phelan will not be returning as speaker in 2025. The comment came in an op-ed published by State Reps. J.M. Lozano (R–Kingsville) and Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington) in the Dallas Express in which the pair of lawmakers advocated for ending the practice of awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats—a practice that has been championed by Phelan. The most notable comment, however, may be in the commentary’s conclusion, in which they wrote, “The voters made clear on March 5th that Speaker Dade Phelan will not return as Speaker of the House. As we work toward defeating Democrats in November, all Texas House Republicans should make clear to our voters the practice of appointing Democrats to chair committees will come to an end as well.” view article

Carlson—who has been critical of Gov. Abbott’s handling of the border invasion in the past—had not changed his tune. FORT WORTH—Conservative commentator and journalist Tucker Carlson took a break from interviewing world leaders and newsmakers to speak at a fundraiser for the Tarrant County Republican Party, focusing on the invasion at the southern border and firing shots at Gov. Greg Abbott in the process. The former Fox News host kept his remarks brief but pointed as he described the outpouring of illegal aliens since President Joe Biden took office to the sold-out crowd at an event hall in the stockyards. “If you assess it rationally, changing the population of your country in order to win elections on the cusp of an economic downturn is the single most destructive thing you could ever do to a country. And it’s happening here,” Carlson told the crowd. “This is the port of entry for millions and millions of non-Americans. And there are a lot of ways to describe the people who come here illegally from other countries. One is ‘illegal.’ Another is ‘undocumented migrant.’ But I would just reduce it to the way I see it, which is not American.” view article

The Snyder ISD school board voted to rename Tiger Stadium to Grant Teaff Tiger Stadium on Thursday. The stadium will honor former Baylor head football coach and Snyder High School alumni Grant Teaf view article

Spring break 2024 ended last Friday, but Crowley ISD parents can now plan next year’s vacation. During a March 7 board meeting dominated by discussions surrounding the district’s potential $16 million budget deficit, trustees approved the district’s 2024-25 academic calendar. view article

The Greater Waco Advanced Health Care Academy (GWAHCA) became a one stop shop on Saturday. People could get COVID-19 vaccines, blood pressure tests and information about local health insurance providers. Jeitavion Betters, 17, hasn’t been to the doctor in quite some time. “I haven’t been since 2020,” he said. view article

The Angleton Independent School District has canceled classes for Monday after surveying damage to several campuses following severe weather over the weekend. According to a note sent to parents, Angleton ISD officials checked schools and other district facilities to determine issues after a storm passed through. view article

Children in many countries are going back to school, joining millions of others who started much earlier in the year. While many Northern Hemisphere countries start school around this time of year, when it is late summer or fall, much of the Southern Hemisphere operates on a different schedule because summer occurs when it is winter in the north. Worldwide, some 1.57 billion children attend pre-K through secondary school, according to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report. But for social, economic or cultural reasons, according to UNESCO, an estimated 244 million young people do not attend school. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most children and youths out of school — 98 million. The second-highest such population is Central and Southern Asia, with 85 million, UNESCO said. And a new report by the U.N. refugee agency said more than half of the world’s 14.8 million school-age refugee children are missing out on formal education. view article

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Low-interest federal disaster loans are available to Texas businesses and residents affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire and the Windy Deuce Fire that began Feb. 26, announced Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA acted under its own authority to declare a disaster in response to a request SBA received from Gov. Greg Abbott on March 11. The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Armstrong, Carson, Donley, Gray, Hansford, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman and Wheeler counties in Texas; and Ellis and Roger Mills counties in Oklahoma. “SBA’s mission-driven team stands ready to help Texas’ small businesses and residents impacted by the Smokehouse Creek Fire and the Windy Deuce Fire,” said Administrator Guzman. “We’re committed to providing federal disaster loans swiftly and efficiently, with a customer-centric approach to help businesses and communities recover and rebuild.” view article

The school district will be hosting multiple activities for its students to promote LGBT ideology. As government schools continue to show their commitment to promoting sex and gender ideology to children, Austin Independent School District is preparing to host its annual “Pride Week” pushing teachers and kids to “celebrate LGBTQIA+ students, staff and families.” Austin ISD said the event, set for March 18-23, will “highlight the district’s commitment to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment.” According to the district’s website, each campus will receive a guide of suggested resources and activities staff can put on for students. view article

The committee is meant to collect data, review the Houston Police Department’s work, ensure transparency, and report to Mayor Whitmire.  Houston Mayor John Whitmire has announced the names of individuals staffing an independent review committee that will operate alongside the police department as they review the 264,000 incident reports that were closed using a code indicating there was not enough personnel to investigate.   “Criminal justice is a system. Any component of it that is broken affects the entire system. We have discovered a terribly broken component in our local criminal justice system,” said Whitmire.  He also said he believes this incident has manipulated the city’s crime rate reporting, and he believes previous statements about the city’s crime rate going down were “spin.” This echoes a similar statement from Police Chief Troy Finner, who the night before said the only crime rate he was confident in is homicide because “there’s a body,” but indicated he does not have faith in the statistics for other types of crime. view article

SHREVEPORT, LA – If I asked you what’s the fastest growing high school sport in the U.S. you probably would not get it right. Maybe you would if you have a daughter.  And it’s not pickle ball. I don’t think that’s a high school sport yet. But I bet that clock is ticking.  We know fishing is a high school sport (though it’s non sanctioned in Louisiana). Powerlifting is a sanctioned sport. And you have all the standard sports: football. basketball, baseball, soccer, etc.   view article

Round Rock ISD students are getting a jump start in their careers thanks to the district's career and technical education program. Round Rock High School has a Co-Op store, which is fully run by students. "What we learn in the classroom, I would say it kind of correlates to this. I mean, we learned leadership skills. We learned ways to manage a team. We learned ways to collaborate with others," says Ashlyn Mehok, Round Rock High School student. view article

The Hallsville ISD Career and Technical Education Department hosted an advisory council meeting Feb. 29 to celebrate the department's success. The meeting took place at the high school campus to bring National Career and Technical Education Month to a close. The event welcomed community members, local professionals and students to celebrate the CTE program and the opportunities it can provide. Culinary arts students provided lunch for the meeting. view article

For 10-year-old Hudson ISD student Logan Pillows, defying the stigma of what he can and can’t do isn’t anything new. “I don’t usually think of the downsides, I just think of the upsides of everything,” says Pillows. Pillows is legally blind, and has been since birth, only being able to see shapes and primary colors, with four inches of peripheral vision. view article

In January and February, Round Rock ISD announced an expansion of a program offering free associates degrees to students, as well as a new advanced science course coming in the 2024-25 school year. Starting this fall, Round Rock ISD students will be able to pursue associate degrees free of charge through a new partnership with Austin Community College. view article

Artificial intelligence is supercharging the threat of election disinformation worldwide, making it easy for anyone to create fake – but convincing – content aimed at fooling voters. People in countries with low literacy rates, such as Bangladesh and India, are especially vulnerable to social media misinformation.  It marks a quantum leap from a few years ago, when creating phony photos, videos or audio clips required teams of people with time, technical skill and money. Now, using free and low-cost generative artificial intelligence services from companies like Google and OpenAI, anyone can create high-quality “deepfakes” with just a simple text prompt.  A wave of AI deepfakes tied to elections in Europe and Asia has coursed through social media for months, serving as a warning for more than 50 countries heading to the polls this year. view article

"Don't come back," the politician wrote to angry artists, while South by Southwest's organizers distanced themselves from him  Organizers of the music festival South by Southwest, which takes place annually in Austin, sparred with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on social media Tuesday. After the governor criticized bands that had pulled out of the festival over objections to the U.S. Army sponsoring it, writing “Don’t come back,” the festival’s official X, formerly Twitter, account responded, “SXSW does not agree with Governor Abbott.” The music component of the festival started on Monday and will run through Saturday.   view article

Things got personal at the most recent Spring Branch ISD board workshop as discussion turned to the possible renaming of the district’s education center, currently named after former Superintendent Duncan F. Klussmann. “Some districts have policies where they don’t name buildings after people who are alive,” board member Lisa Andrews Alpe said at the meeting. “And maybe there’s a darn good reason for that.” view article

Richardson ISD is trying to help students reduce the fear of transitioning from high school to college. Mia Frederking is a senior at Pearce High School in Richardson ISD, where students are taking college-level pre-calculus. "Math is really more of a puzzle to me," she said. "Figure out which one goes into which spot." If that isn't hard enough--kids do it when they're adjusting to being away from home-- living and working on their own. view article

Round Rock ISD students are getting a jump start in their careers thanks to the career and technical education program. FOX 7's Jessica Rivera shows us what they're learning. view article

During TSPRA’s annual conference last weekend, which included the Star Awards banquet, the organization recognized outstanding contributions in school communications. This includes individuals, school districts and education foundations. RISD earned a Gold Award in the Best of Category for its “Calling All Retired Teachers” postcards and flyers. The district also received accolades for its RISD brand package, booklets, programs, postcards and posters. Additionally, the team’s event portfolio for the Richardson ISD Prom garnered a “Crystal Commendation Certificate of Merit.” view article

More than 80 music artists and multiple panelists have canceled appearances at South by Southwest Festival over the U.S. Army’s sponsorship of the event. Gov. Greg Abbott’s response is “Bye. Don’t come back.” view article

Community college leaders hope free tuition programs will help change the conversation about the affordability of higher education amid a growing skepticism over the value of a college degree.   Texas community colleges know many high schoolers are skeptical of higher education because of the price tag. Some want to change that conversation by using new state dollars to waive tuition for some of their youngest students.  Austin Community College, one of the most populous junior colleges in the state, is set to waive tuition for this year’s graduating high school seniors through 2027. ACC’s Board of Trustees will vote on the proposal in April. If the proposal passes, the school would use the $6.8 million it received this year through House Bill 8 — the legislation passed last year that expanded the pot of money junior colleges get funding from and tied future funds to positive student outcomes — to pay for this benefit. view article

A perfect season is the most impressive single season accomplishment in all of sports. The Plano East boys basketball program completed one at the Alamodome on Saturday, defeating Round Rock Stony Point 53-41 in the Class 6A state championship. Plano East is the first school to reach perfection in Texas’ largest classification since Duncanville in the 2007 season.  What would Plano East head coach Matt Wester have done if you told him Plano East would complete a perfect season?  “I probably would’ve laughed,” Wester said. “Going into the final four we had a 27-point margin of victory average. That’s just silly, right?”  It took 16 years for anyone to match Duncanville, and Plano East arguably one-upped the school by winning 40 games.  Reaching perfection “means everything” to Plano East guard Narit Chotikavanic.  “We put in so much work and practiced so hard,” Chotikavanic said. “It means the world to all these fans who came out here to support us. It means the world to us.”  Wester said he knew the Panthers had a good chance to win state, but the way they did it – winning both tournament games by double figures and reaching perfection – spoke volumes. view article

Students learned about farm equipment used to plant corn through Texas Farm Bureau’s (TFB) Farm From School program. Kindergarten through fifth-grade students virtually “meet” with a farmer or rancher once a month through Farm From School on a video conferencing app. This month, Colin Chopelas, a farmer in Corpus Christi, showed students the equipment used to plant corn. “Students across the state tuned into our first Farm From School visit of 2024 to learn about tractors, planters and combines from Colin,” said Jordan Bartels, TFB associate director Organization Division, Education Outreach. “Students asked Colin many questions about the equipment used on the farm and how corn is planted.” view article

Student population growth in Humble ISD is expected to level off in the coming decade as the area faces a shortage of land for additional development, according to a January report issued by demographic firm Population and Survey Analysts. view article

Neighborhood Schools at Dallas ISD offer engaging extracurriculars for students year-round. view article

Officials at Princeton ISD have removed more than 100 library books deemed “inappropriate” for review. The move came after the nonprofit Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF) conducted an audit that found “148 inappropriate books in the school’s libraries,” according to a press release from the organization. “For decades, districts and parents have relied on these institutions to recommend quality educational material. Most people don’t realize those same institutions have dramatically shifted against the values of most parents,” said Shannon Ayres, CDF education division lead. read more

Karnack ISD recently celebrated Texas Public Schools Week with several districtwide activities for students on campus, including a Read All Day event. The celebrations lasted over a week as KISD hosted many different activities for students to participate for Texas Public Schools Week. The events brought students, staff, and faculty together to engage with one another as part of the festivities. On Friday, the KISD students were given the opportunity to participate in the Read All Day event. view article

Julius Gordon Obituary

March 1208:44 AM

 

Julius "Sonny" Webb Gordon was born on March 23, 1939, to Julius and Celia Gordon in Austin, Texas. Growing up, Julius loved playing in the creek behind his house. He also played basketball with a net hung from a tree, where he had to dribble uphill to score. His favorite subjects in school were biology, P.E., and lunch. Some of his favorite childhood memories were hunting and fishing with his father, where they would talk freely and frankly with each other. Julius graduated from "Old Anderson" High School in 1956. He then served in the Navy at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California, for two years before returning to Austin, where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Sociology from Huston-Tillotson College. Julius went on to earn a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling and Guidance at Prairie View A&M University. He was initiated into the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in 1970. view article

An Edinburg student placed 1st place at the Regional Spelling Bee and advanced to nationals. Caleb Giuoco competed on Saturday at the Regional Spelling. Giuoco advanced to the National Scripps Spelling Bee where he will represent South Middle School. view article