A former long-term substitute teacher for Tyler ISD is accused of physically assaulting a special needs student earlier this month. Joacim Castro-Lacayo, 28, of Tyler, is charged with injury to a child or disabled individual after an alleged April 1 incident in a special education classroom at Moore Middle School. According to a Tyler ISD PD arrest affidavit KLTV requested from Smith County, Lacayo is believed to have thrown a female student onto the classroom floor during an altercation. view article

On Monday, the San Antonio Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a pay increase for all full-time permanent employees for the 2025-2026 academic year. The package raises entry pay for hourly full-time staff to $17 per hour, while entry salary for teachers will increase to $60,000, according to a district news release. view article

Austin Independent School District officials recommended terminating a beloved principal and her supervisor days before she turned in her resignation, according to an internal investigation report provided through an open records request. The recommendation to fire the former Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders principal, Nicole Griffith, came after an Office of Professional Standards investigation determined that she and the executive director of secondary schools, Dr. Stacie Holiday, violated multiple district policies while handling a crisis situation with a student. view article

Grace Garza said she thinks about leaving her job as a special education teacher “all the time.” Currently, Garza works at Mead Elementary School, where she has a caseload of 10 students. She’s been in special education for more than 14 years now, and for nine of those, Garza’s been the Alternative Learning Environment instructor at Mead.  Garza is one of 78% of teachers across the state who have seriously considered leaving the teaching profession in 2024, according to a Charles Butt Foundation Poll.  view article

About 7% of Houston ISD's teacher workforce was recommended for contract nonrenewal due to performance, the district shared in a Saturday statement.  Out of around 10,400 teachers, HISD determined 733 teachers will be recommended for contract nonrenewal. This number takes into account an adjustment following the district's discovery of a mistake in their teacher rating calculations on Friday. view article

The lives of some Socorro and Canutillo independent school district employees were upended late last week as they received a piece of paper informing them that their contracts would not be renewed after the end of the school year. Some of those employees who have been laid off include middle and elementary school music teachers from Socorro ISD and registered nurses from Canutillo ISD. Several SISD employees who received the notices Friday declined to comment at this time, saying they were going to first consult with their teacher unions. view article

Nearly 40 teachers will not return to the South San Independent School District in the fall of 2025. The instructors fall into two categories: 16 who were “underperforming,” according to superintendent Dr. Saul Hinojosa, and another 22 teachers who were not certified. KSAT spoke with Hinojosa on Wednesday afternoon. During the conversation, he said the 16 teachers were under contract but “weren’t performing well” or “meeting expectations.” view article

Dr. Terri D. Osborne has been named the new deputy superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and School Leadership at Killeen ISD, the district has announced. According to Killeen ISD, the Board of Trustees approved Osborne's appointment to the position at a meeting on Sept. 17. Osborne will begin working in the district on Sept. 30. view article

A former Lewisville ISD teacher has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a ten-year-old student. John Leslie Collett, who taught at Camey Elementary School in The Colony, pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection to the case, including the aggravated sexual assault of a child and an improper relationship between an educator and a student. view article

A former Nacogdoches ISD middle school teacher is going to prison for a 2023 relationship with a student despite asking for her actions to be excused. view article

Following a surprise announcement several days ago that upset many of Rock Prairie Elementary School’s parents and staff, College Station ISD is working to provide more insight into the move of the principal to another campus in the district. On Sunday, Jeff Durand sent an email to families announcing that after this current school year, he would be leaving the campus. view article

Dr. Lilly and his legal counsel released a statement to 25 News reporter Josh Crawford shortly after Killeen ISD released documentation of Lilly's resignation. view article

Nine Anthony Independent School District teachers were awarded state financial incentives for positive student outcomes, according to the school district on Friday, April 4. According to Anthony ISD, the teachers’ work met the requirements of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program, a “state initiative that rewards educators with significant financial incentives based on student outcomes.” view article

A video that has been circulating online has a Conroe father and his son frustrated, angry and confused. The video starts out with an altercation between two 7th grade students at Moorhead Junior High School. One of those students is Jace Dunaway. Jace says the fight was the result of excessive bullying by a group of students, that had reached it’s peak when one of the bullies pushed him and the fight broke out. view article

A Plano Independent School District family believes their daughter, who has a disability, was physically abused by a high school teacher. Police are investigating. Lestia Nelson said a few years ago her daughter, Saniyah was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called GRIN syndrome. "She's totally disabled," Lestia Nelson said. "She needs help with personal care, feeding, transferring, diapering, everything." view article

A fall in a school hallway ended a longtime Northside ISD educator’s career and life. Her son believes the district failed to support her during her recovery. Evangeline Riojas’ calling was working with children. The 80-year-old dedicated her life to working as a teacher and counselor for NISD. She had worked for the district for over 50 years. view article

According to Huntsville police, the first arrest was made on March 19. Officials said Demondrae Murray, a teacher at Mance Park Middle School, was picked up during a prostitution/human trafficking operation in Huntsville on March 19. view article

The Killeen ISD Board of Trustees will meet to consider the proposed termination of the principal of Roy J. Smith Middle School following a deadly stabbing at the school in March. Principal Fredrick Lilly II and another administrative staff members from Roy J. Smith Middle School have been on administrative leave pending the internal investigation by KISD. view article

Christian Aleman is the new director of communications for Taylor Independent School District, replacing Tim Crow who retired last week after serving in the position for 11 years. Aleman steps into the position in early April. He has big shoes to fill, but he brings a new level of energy and experience to Taylor ISD. “We’re excited to welcome Christian Aleman to the Taylor ISD Duck family,” said Taylor ISD Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen. “His skills and knowledge in strategic communications and his passion for public education will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our ties with the community and celebrate the remarkable successes of our students and staff.” view article

Elysian Fields ISD announced their new athletic director and head football coach that has years of experience on Tuesday evening. According to Elysian Fields ISD, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Azle High School Bo Maines was officially selected on Tuesday when the Elysian Fields ISD Board of Trustees approved the recommendation from Superintendent Monica Simmons and the coaching search committee. view article

We all know that teaching is hard work. And teaching in a major urban district where many kids come from lower-income homes is only that much more challenging. So you might think that Dallas ISD teachers call it quits in higher numbers than their suburban peers, right? No, indeed. Just the opposite. DISD is retaining teachers at a higher rate than both its region and the state overall. view article

The Canutillo Independent School District plans to lay off employees, increase classroom sizes and redesign its programs to cut its budget as it faces potential financial exigency — the equivalent of bankruptcy for education institutions. The Canutillo ISD school board took several votes Tuesday to approve changes across several departments and cut staff, including teachers, librarians, nurses and administrative employees. view article

New Caney ISD juniors and seniors will get the opportunity to meet with potential employers at the Career Kickstart NCISD Student Job Fair on April 25. In partnership with the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber, the job fair will give local businesses seeking seasonal help, interns or entry-level candidates the opportunity to conduct on-the-spot interviews with high school juniors and seniors, according to information included in the event registration form. view article

Superintendent Karen Molinar’s plan impacts instructional coaches on school campuses. These are the people who help train teachers to better help students succeed. Now, those coaches will be required to teach in the classroom and work directly with students. They’ll still work to coach their peers but will also have to do hands-on work in the classroom. view article

A North Texas school district says it was left in the dark when it hired an educator who was under investigation for child abuse. Paxton Bean was one of two educators arrested for mistreating a boy with autism in a special needs classroom. view article

In the district’s special meeting Monday morning, Superintendent Dr. James Hockenberry submitted his recommended list of employment areas to be affected by a reduction in force of employment contracts or positions based upon the determination of a program change. The reduction could include some members of staff in the following positions as approved by the board: view article

After a career spanning four decades, Tim Crow is riding into the sunset. He recently announced his retirement from Taylor Independent School District and officially hung up his education hat at a retirement party on Tuesday. Crow has been a Taylor institution all unto himself. Those under the age of 40 have never known Taylor ISD without him in it. view article

Throughout her son's life, Carissa Cornelius has been her 10-year-old’s voice. "He has autism and he's non-verbal,” said Cornelius. But there’s never been a time that she needed the persistence or volume used since she said she first saw a video of what law enforcement is calling an assault in his special education classroom at Millsap Elementary School back in February. view article

Millsap ISD Superintendent Mari "Edie" Martin, Special Education Teacher Jennifer Dale and Paraprofessional Paxton Bean have all been arrested on charges connected to a viral video showing an autistic 10-year-old being abused. view article

The Millsap ISD superintendent and two former faculty members were arrested after a video surfaced showing educators allegedly abusing an autistic child in a classroom. Superintendent Edie Martin, 44-year-old Jennifer Dale and 25-year-old Paxton Kendal Bean were arrested Thursday. Martin and Bean have since bonded out of jail. Dale is currently in the Palo County Jail and being held on a $2,500 bond. view article

Houston ISD teachers will be evaluated and ranked through a new locally designed system which — in addition to classroom observations and student's test scores — will factor lesson plans, professionalism and "campus action plans" into their annual scores. view article

The Lufkin ISD board is considering the non-renewal of employee contracts in the wake of campus closures. Almost a month after the Lufkin ISD School Board voted to close Coston Elementary and Kurth Primary School, board members are back in session, with another tough decision to make. “It’s scary for people because you don’t know am I going to be affected, is somebody that I care about going to be affected,” said LISD Board President, Kristi Gay. view article

Denton ISD offered employment to 21 UNT and TWU students in its teaching residency program.  view article

The Texas Education Agency’s Educator Investigations Division began reviewing former La Joya ISD Rut Damaris Kazmierczak’s Texas educator certificate Friday after the Progress Times published a story about allegations that she’d inappropriately messaged a former student in 2023. view article

Over 1,500 Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PSJA ISD) educators came together for a momentous celebration at the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) event on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the PSJA Stadium. The event honored the more than 1,500 exceptional educators who earned a TIA designation, marking a significant milestone for the district. view article