How a radical nationwide organization’s tentacles extend into Texas higher education. view article

The agreement targets the environmental review process and cuts down the time it takes for new highways to be approved.  The U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Texas Department of Transportation filed a new version of an agreement expanding Texas’ ability to conduct environmental reviews in an effort to accelerate critical bridge and highway construction projects.  The agreement, announced Friday by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is part of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, Assignment Program, which allows states to assume certain federal environmental reviewing responsibilities to streamline construction projects. Those reviews analyze contruction’s impact on ecosystems, neighborhoods and other surrounding areas and planning processes for environmental protections. The most recent report from 2024 found “inconsistencies” with the state’s construction planning for noise barriers, which block noise pollution from highways. view article

Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's name, first used in the 1890s, is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", referring to June 19, 1865, the day when Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas at the end of the American Civil War.[8][9] In the Civil War period, slavery came to an end in various areas of the United States at different times. Many enslaved Southerners escaped, demanded wages, stopped work, or took up arms against the Confederacy of slave states. In January 1865, Congress finally proposed the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution for the national abolition of slavery. By June 1865, almost all enslaved persons had been freed by the victorious Union Army or by state abolition laws. When the national abolition amendment was ratified in December, the remaining enslaved people in Delaware and in Kentucky were freed. view article

The Hereford Center for Accelerated Learning is set to open the first daycare for staff and students this fall, aiming to address a critical need for affordable childcare and attract more teachers to the district. Dr. Ray Garza, the director of the Hereford Center for Accelerated Learning Daycare, said, "We had quite a few teachers who would say we desperately need help. We have two kids in daycare. We can't afford to make ends meet." view article

After receiving multiple inquiries, the Canyon Independent School District released the following statement June 17 in regard to an accident involving a vehicle and pedestrian near West Plains High School that took place June 16: "Monday morning, a West Plains High School student was leaving campus on foot and was struck by a vehicle while crossing Loop 335 in the crosswalk. We are grateful for the quick actions of first responders and we are keeping the student and family in our thoughts as they focus on recovery. Canyon ISD continues to work with TxDOT to improve traffic and pedestrian safety in this area." view article

Four Midland ISD campuses have been selected to participate in The Holdsworth Center’s Campus Leader Program, a two-year professional development journey aimed at strengthening campus leadership and improving student outcomes. The 2025 cohort includes General Tommy Franks Elementary, Bonham Elementary, Alamo Junior High, and San Jacinto Junior High. This honor highlights the district’s dedication to growing educators and improving student outcomes. view article

His campaign announcement included praise from Trump, who described Reitz as “a true MAGA attorney” and “a warrior for our Constitution.” view article

Frisco ISD is changing its policies on who can transfer into the district. The district hopes the changes will help prevent further budget cuts. The district hopes these options will help increase enrollment and retain students in the district. view article

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. — When Bethany Jolliffe started teaching kindergarten 15 years ago, she picked up on what seemed like a long-standing pattern: Teachers mostly stayed in their lane, with general education teachers focusing on “their” students, and special education teachers homed in on students deemed to be their responsibility. Instead of keeping children with disabilities in classrooms and bringing help to them, teachers often pulled them out of the classroom, away from their peers.  Nationwide, that’s a common approach in schools, where many students with disabilities, starting in kindergarten, are segregated from their classmates for large portions of the day. At Westmoor Elementary in west Scottsbluff, where Jolliffe is now assistant principal, that’s no longer the case. In classrooms across the school, children of all abilities learn side by side. Special education teachers and paraprofessionals spend hours in the same classrooms to provide support to students who may need it. All teachers spend time planning together to figure out how to support every student who walks through their door. view article

A group of gardeners is providing food for East Texans. They’re not with an organization, though. In fact, they just finished fourth grade. “I think everybody in our community is our family,” said Kenley Collier, a fourth grade student at Frances Corprew Elementary. This group of students in Mount Pleasant put time and effort into gardening for the future. They started planting in September. Now, there’s bell peppers, crookneck squash, zucchini, strawberries and more. view article

This week we turn our focus on two Canyon ISD schools that caught the public’s attention. West Plains Junior High Arden Road Elementary Over the past two weeks, the community reached out sharing images and videos showing water pooling on sidewalks and irrigation systems spraying onto streets rather than school lawns. We reached out to Canyon ISD and Lisa Johnson, the director of district communications, said they’re working to correct it now. view article

New data from the Ysleta Independent School District reveals significant disparities in school enrollment versus capacity, highlighting a pressing issue as the district grapples with a $35.2 million budget deficit. Ysleta ISD Superintendent Dr. Xavier De La Torre echoed these concerns, noting a consistent decline in enrollment for over two decades. view article

A non-profit will host a school choice forum Monday evening to help parents learn more about the state’s new voucher program. view article

Dallas ISD launched its first girls’ flag football league this spring, partnering with the Dallas Cowboys. All 22 district high schools fielded teams in the inaugural season. The program marks a significant expansion of opportunities for female athletes in Texas. Two players have already secured college scholarships, signaling the sport’s growing legitimacy. view article

Julie Hinaman had questions. Lots of them. She dropped a three-ring binder on the dais, her blond bob and dark-rimmed glasses peeking over the edge of the tome that felt to her like contraband: thirteen chapters of science and career-tech curriculum her fellow board members had stripped from textbooks the year before, citing concerns over pro-vaccine propaganda and climate science’s implication that “humans are bad.” view article

The Socorro Independent School District has finalized a plan to reduce its workforce as part of efforts to address a multi-million-dollar budget deficit. The district's board approved the non-renewal of contracts for several fine arts employees, a decision that affects teachers with term contracts who did not file an appeal. view article

Austin ISD is expected to decide on some changes for the upcoming school year during a virtual meeting Thursday. The district said it planned on consolidating schools beginning in the 2026–27 school year, which could include school closures, boundary changes and more. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed into law a bill providing roughly $8.5 billion in new funding for Texas public schools, offering relief to districts for teacher and support staff pay, operational expenses, special education, educator preparation, early childhood learning and campus safety. The new dollars in House Bill 2, which lawmakers have dubbed “historic” because it marks the largest one-time public education investment in recent memory, will arrive after years of stagnant funding. That includes 2023, when the state gave schools targeted money in areas like school security but left billions more on the table due to the political fallout over private school vouchers. view article

Ogg publicly accused one of the men charged in Nungaray’s murder of previously assaulting someone in Costa Rica. view article

Hutto ISD has launched a new First Offender Program (FOP) aimed at addressing vaping incidents on campus. The initiative, in partnership with Williamson County Juvenile Services, provides students with an opportunity to avoid criminal charges through education, mentorship and structured intervention. Under the program, students caught vaping or possessing nicotine or THC products can participate in a structured intervention rather than facing immediate legal consequences. The program includes an online educational component, a written reflection and weekly mentorship meetings with an officer. view article

Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill last month allowing a referee, judge, or other official of an extracurricular athletic activity to remove spectators without warning. The bill, SB 2929, was approved by the House and Senate and sent to the governor's desk during the last session. The bill allows officials at scholastic athletic events to remove spectators, without warning, from events sponsored or sanctioned by the school district or the University Interscholastic League starting in the 2025-2026 school year. view article

As a parent of three students at Faubion Elementary School, Lindsey King cherishes her close connection to the campus. "I live two blocks from Faubion, and so my kids walk to school and I know people in this neighborhood do as well," King said. view article

[In this week's edition: A federal agency funding museums and libraries faces a legal battle seeking to shutter it. The Education Department misses a key deadline to deliver its annual statistical report. Pathways to climate careers have diminished for the class of 2025. Students at Hamlin Elementary are silhouetted against the screen of a traveling planetarium. Federal support has allowed the South Dakota Discovery Center to update the exhibit to give the impression of flying through space. Credit: Anya Kamenetz for The Hechinger Report 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