Former Lufkin ISD Superintendent Roy Knight spoke in front of a Texas House committee Wednesday, opposing the school voucher bill. The House Committee on Public Education heard testimony on House Bill 3 starting Tuesday morning and into Wednesday. "I’m too old and too tired to waste many words here," Knight said. “This bill is a skunk that we’re trying to pass off as a kitty cat.” Knight said the bill was being wrongly justified on two fallacies, the first being that private schools are needed to create competition between public schools. view article

State leaders on Thursday praised the Texas Senate for its swift passage of a school voucher bill that breezed through the upper chamber a day earlier after hours of debate over the legislation, which proposes to give up to $11,500 in public money to students who attend private schools. view article

AUSTIN, Texas — Texans are getting their first look at a bill lawmakers hope to pass this legislative session to create a school choice program. view article

In her recap of events at a special board meeting on March 10, Bottom said CISD representatives held 30 legislative meetings, which included sessions with members and chairs of the public education committee, as well as freshmen legislators and state senators and representatives. view article

House Bill 3, a bill that would allow public school children to enroll in private or home schooling with the help of taxpayer money, rests in the hands of the Texas House Committee. The committee recently heard testimony from educators and others on school vouchers, former Lufkin ISD superintendent, Roy Knight spoke against the bill. view article

Former Lufkin ISD superintendent Roy Knight did not mince words in his testimony before the House Public Education Committee in Austin early Wednesday morning. Knight was one of 734 Texans who registered at the hearing, which began at 8 a.m. Tuesday and continued until about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. 213 were in favor of House Bill 3, the House’s controversial school choice voucher bill, with 502 opposed to the measure. Nineteen registrants were neutral. view article

On Tuesday, the Texas House Public Education Committee will hear from supporters and opponents of taxpayer-funded education savings accounts. view article

A multitude of factors are pushing Fort Worth ISD to close schools. None are related to the Texas Legislature’s proposal for a voucher program. The biggest factor? Declining enrollment. Another contributor? Fort Worth ISD’s dollars and staff are spread too thin to adequately meet the educational needs of students, according to district officials. view article

The Center ISD School Board has voted to adopt a 4-day school week for the 2025-2026 school year. The district announce the news Thursday night after the school board meeting. They noted that a copy of the official school calendar will be posted at a later date. view article

This week, students in the Dallas Independent School District are on spring break while one of the district's largest teachers' unions is heading to Austin to appeal directly to state lawmakers about school vouchers. NEA-Dallas, the National Education Association-Dallas, plans to bus a group of educators to the Texas Capitol to join hundreds of others in rallying against school choice vouchers. view article

Most of us think we know the definition. Poor means, as Woody Guthrie sang, "you ain’t got the do re mi." It means struggling to afford necessities: food, shelter, clothing. But how poor is poor enough to get a hand from the government? It depends what you're asking for. view article

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is on the cusp of enacting a $1 billion school voucher program that will provide tens of thousands of students with taxpayer dollars to pay for private school tuition, providing a massive boost to the conservative school choice movement. But to finally achieve his long-sought policy goal, Abbott needs to hold together a precarious coalition of conservative and moderate Republicans in the Legislature — which he played a heavy hand in reshaping in order to usher through what would likely be the largest voucher program in the country. view article

In public hearings, during Capitol floor debates and in rooms packed with their constituents, Texas lawmakers have pitched school vouchers as a tool that will primarily benefit low-income students — and not just, as their critics argue, offer taxpayer dollars to families already sending their children to private schools. “These are parents living paycheck by paycheck,” said Gov. Greg Abbott at a recent private school event in San Antonio. Families supporting his top legislative priority, he added, do “everything they can” to provide the best educational pathway for their children. view article

The Texas Senate Committee on Education discussed two bills that could bring religious materials into public school classrooms. Senate Bill 10 would require all public schools to display a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The text specified in the bill is the same as the text on the Ten Commandments Monument behind the Texas Capitol. view article

Texas senators are a step closer to bringing the Ten Commandments and designated prayer time to Texas public schools. In a committee hearing on Tuesday, senators advanced Senate Bill 10 and Senate Bill 11, which would require public elementary and secondary schools to display the ten commandments in classrooms and dedicate time for prayer and the reading of religious texts. The bills have now passed out of committee and are headed to the Texas Senate for further consideration. view article

Earlier this year, bills were filed in both the Texas Senate (SB 2) and House (HB 3) that would establish a form of school choice, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), in Texas for the first time. One major difference between the bills revolves around which Texans would be eligible to receive the accounts, known as ESAs. While access to ESAs under HB 3 would be largely restricted to Texas families in the lowest two income quintiles, SB 2 would be open to about twice as many Texas families. view article

A new proposal in the Texas Legislature is causing significant concern among free speech advocates and legal experts. view article

The League of Women Voters has consistently opposed election security laws, including voter ID requirements.   view article

THSC is warning that the Texas Ethics Commission’s actions could severely limit the ability of parents and advocacy groups to engage in the political process. view article

Sen. Mayes Middleton is taking aim at local taxing entities' long-standing ability to hire lobbyists to help them navigate the Texas Legislature. view article

The Senate also approved Senate Bill 2, which would infuse $5.2 billion to school districts to help them with teacher raises and rising costs. Gov. Greg Abbott said he would add those items to the special session’s agenda once lawmakers approve a voucher program. view article

Texas House lawmakers unveiled a business-friendly package of property tax cuts Monday, setting up a fight with the Senate over how to bring down the state’s high property taxes. view article

The measure follows faculty senate clashes with both lawmakers and a university’s board of regents.   view article

As lawmakers seek to end taxpayer-funded lobbying this session, recently-surfaced information suggests that a Democrat legislator is pocketing a six-figure salary from an organization that receives money from taxpayer-funded lobbying group Texas Association of School Boards.  view article

During the hearing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued a statement calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to expand his investigation into the commission.   view article

There's a political logjam in Texas that's preventing ambitious Republicans from moving into more prominent roles.  view article

Royal ISD Superintendent Rick Kershner, school board President Scott Hartman, Secretary Melissa Woods, Trustee Elton Foster and Trustee Rose Jones joined other education leaders for the 2025 Day at the Capitol, held Feb. 19-20 at the state Capitol building in Austin. The event provided an opportunity to advocate for increased spending in Texas public schools during the 89th Texas Legislative Session. During their visit, district leaders met with District 85 State Rep. Stan Kitzman (R-Brookshire) to discuss the needs of Texas public schools. view article

The bill would require the state to reduce the test’s length, prioritize post-secondary preparation and launch a revamped version by 2026.  Children in public schools in Texas could be taking a redesigned standardized test as early as next year under a proposal filed in the House on Thursday.  House Bill 4, by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would instruct the Texas Education Agency to modify the test, reducing its length and prioritizing post-secondary preparation. The bill says the new test should ensure Texas ranks in the top five states in preparing students for post-secondary success within 15 years. view article

Texas House unveils school voucher, $8B school finance bills: 'One size does not fit all'   view article

The proposal, filed Thursday, comes well short of the increase school administrators and education advocates have been asking for.   view article

The bill would give teachers raises based on their experience and the size of the school district.   view article

The Texas Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a $22.7 billion tax relief package, which its author called a "Texas-sized" commitment to reducing school property taxes, though senators from both parties said the Legislature needs to do more to cut down the annual levy. view article

(The Center Square) – An education package was filed in the Texas House on Thursday by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, which includes a school choice bill that is expected to pass. view article

(The Center Square) – An education package was filed in the Texas House on Thursday by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, which includes a school choice bill that is expected to pass. view article

Supporters of voucher-like education savings accounts are trying to press their advantage early and build a sense of inevitability.   view article