Kody Smith, 35, has been charged with three felony counts of possession or promotion of child pornography. La Porte police say the investigation into Smith began in Nov. 2024, when they began to explore allegations that child pornographic material was downloaded. Investigators found the downloads originated at Smith's residence in La Porte. view article

Brownsville ISD Superintendent Jesus H. Chavez has resumed his leadership role with the district amid a warm welcome upon his return, BISD announced Tuesday. Chavez had been on a previously planned leave of absence for a medical procedure since December. Chief Financial Officer Alejandro Cespedes served as the district’s point of contact in his absence. view article

On Monday, top performing educators were awarded for their phenomenal work with nearly $170,000 divided up and given to 15 teachers at Jarrell Independent School District campuses, according to the district. This is all possible through the Texas Education Agency’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), which provides those funds to “outstanding Texas teachers” with a goal of providing them with a six-figure salary, according to the TEA website. The program measures student success to gauge teacher eligibility. view article

“Serenity was a bright, loving, and compassionate young soul with a promising future ahead of her. She brought joy to everyone around her, and her kindness touched so many lives.” A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family of Serenity Baker, who is the girl fatally stabbed during an altercation at a Killeen ISD middle school on Monday, according to a relative who spoke with KWTX. “The pain of her passing is unbearable, and our family is now faced with the overwhelming emotional and financial burden of laying her to rest,” the GoFundMe states. view article

Fort Bend ISD has expanded the number of campuses offering pre-K 4, a prekindergarten program for 4-year-old children, for the 2025-26 school year. This expansion comes amid demographers projecting FBISD’s enrollment will stabilize as the district reaches residential build-out and more families opt for alternative educational institutions such as charter schools. Population and Survey Analysts demographers predict kindergarten classes will become smaller as the population ages and fewer young families join the district. view article

A Dallas Independent School District teacher is offering parents tutoring sessions to help their children improve their test scores view article

Fort Worth ISD is reducing the number of schools on its list of possible closures. The district said it has to shut down several campuses to deal with a $17 million budget deficit and declining enrollment, and the options will continue to evolve throughout the process. view article

La Porte ISD’s Business Office has received its 11th consecutive Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International. The award recognizes districts that have met the program’s high standards for financial reporting and transparency. La Porte ISD’s Certificate of Excellence is for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended 2024. “For over half a century, ASBO International’s Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting has been the gold standard in promoting and recognizing excellence in financial reporting,” said ASBO International Executive Director Jim Rowan. view article

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD decided Thursday to shut down four schools next school year, a decision also faced by two dozen other school districts across Texas. The district blamed Texas lawmakers for a lack of money for schools and declining enrollment as fewer young adults choose to have children. view article

Family members identified the victim as 14-year-old Jaquai Thompson, a Rowe Middle School student who loved playing sports and being outside. 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

Billions of dollars flow to Texas from the U.S. Department of Education — from school funding to college financial aid. President Donald Trump said he wants to shutter the department, stating the work should go back to the states. It was one of Trump’s campaign promises to close the department as he criticized it for promoting “woke” ideologies and DEI and for lagging student outcomes. view article

The Judson ISD board of trustees approved a one-time $750 retention incentive for special education and bilingual teachers and a $300 one-time retention incentive for special education and bilingual instructional paraprofessionals for the 2024-2025 school year Feb. 20. Funds for these incentives will be paid from 2024-2025 Every Students Succeeds Act Title II Carryover Funds. Funds will be paid in August 2025 for the staff working at the district effective January 2025 who are also returning in August for the 2025-2026 school year, according to agenda documents. view article

A 20% student enrollment decline. A 6% smaller staff. A 14-point gap. Arlington ISD trustees stared at the bleak, misaligned numbers underlining the district’s rapid change over the past 10 years. They came to the same conclusion: The district had too many teachers for too few students. view article

All children are unique. Each learns differently, has aspirations for different careers, and is interested in different subjects. The district believes that if all students can attend a high-quality school that matches their interests, they will achieve their academic potential. The more options suit a student’s interests, the better for the student. view article

San Antonio ISD will distribute food to families ahead of Spring Break at the Alamo Stadium, according to a press release. The school district is partnering with the San Antonio Food Bank on March 5 to distribute food to 300 families before the break, which is March 10 through March 14. view article

One day after an EF1 tornado touched down in Irving, thousands of residents and businesses are still waiting to have their power restored. Three Irving ISD schools are still without power Wednesday morning, causing officials to cancel school for the day. Hanes Elementary School, de Zavala Middle School and Cardwell Career Preparatory Center will be closed March 5, the district said. All other Irving ISD schools will operate as normal. view article

The Canutillo Independent School District (CISD) is grappling with a significant budget shortfall, prompting officials to consider difficult cuts to avoid a potential $6.4 million deficit. During a recent meeting, district officials received a formal presentation from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), outlining potential areas for budget reductions. view article

Students and staff at Alto ISD are safe after a Tuesday morning storm swept through East Texas, damaging classrooms and causing the school to take action. According to Alto ISD, the facility went into “secure status” until the weather passed. Images from the scene show damage to the roof of a large campus building. All students are safe, but the school said the weather emergency left parts of the elementary school damaged. Debris that appears to be insulation from the roof can be seen scattered around the property. view article

Several schools in North Texas canceled classes on Wednesday due to power outages caused by severe weather the previous day. Strong storms moved through North Texas on Tuesday morning, producing large hail and damaging winds that caused widespread damage. During the severe weather event, many residents experienced power outages, with the peak number reaching over 335,000, according to Oncor. view article

A McCollum High School employee was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation involving a former student, according to the Harlandale Independent School District. The district said on Tuesday afternoon that it is aware of an allegation involving an employee and a former student at McCollum High School. view article

The Fort Worth Independent School District is a district fighting to overcome a revolving door of superintendents, student flight, a multimillion-dollar deficit, and a literacy crisis reflected in STAAR test results. Almost two months ago, the Board of Trustees passed a strategic reading plan to help boost academic progress. However, the work toward literacy was happening in the classroom before the plan. view article

The San Jacinto Monument—the tallest monument column in the world—is about to undergo a "transformative" $142-million upgrade after the Texas legislature kicked in the funds.

On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the Aldine ISD Board of Trustees approved the closure of De Santiago EC/PK/K School, Stovall EC/PK/K School, Eckert Elementary School, Oleson Elementary School, Raymond Elementary School, and Smith Elementary School at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 school year to optimize its highest-quality facilities and continue providing our students with the best educational choices and experiences. Students will be rezoned to the closest schools. view article

The school board approved the four-day week during Wednesday night's board meeting. A new academic calendar for the 2025-2026 school year shows the fall semester beginning Aug. 12 with a five-day instructional week and the four-day instructional week beginning when the spring semester starts on Jan. 6, 2026. Once it goes into effect, students will attend classes Tuesday through Friday. To accommodate the shorter instructional week, school days will be slightly longer for both students and staff by 15 minutes. view article

The Kennedale Independent School District is moving to a four-day school week next year, officials announced. The Tarrant County district will make the switch in the spring semester of the 2025-2026 school year, according to the new calendar approved by the board members Wednesday night. Starting in January 2026, Kennedale students will attend classes Tuesday through Friday, and the school days will be 15 minutes longer to meet state requirements. view article

The Texas A&M System Board of Regents passed a resolution banning drag shows across all 11 universities. view article

State Rep. Trent Ashby laid out his priorities for the current legislative session and shared his thoughts on the controversial school choice program in an interview with The Lufkin Daily News this week. view article

The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents met Monday to decide who should lead the sprawling collection of 11 universities and eight state agencies. The board, which gathered in Houston, adjourned at about 6 p.m. without selecting a sole finalist. view article

Poll: Texans Support Increased Funding for Public Education and Policies to Regulate Educational Savings Accounts view article

We know that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are working hard in Texas to enforce the laws within our country. But it was shocking to me to find out just how many ICE detainees are currently being housed in the Lone Star State. view article

The Keystone XL Pipeline was scrapped by the previous administration.   view article

The elementary schools' staff passed tissues to one another as they sat in the school board's chamber waiting for the vote that would close their schools. It was a foregone conclusion. Enrollment had dropped to the point that this East Texas school district could no longer justify keeping the two schools open. view article

Aldine Independent School District board members voted Tuesday night to close six elementary schools, a decision that follows a decline in enrollment according to district officials. The proposal is part of year two of Aldine ISD's optimization project. Initially, the district had considered closing seven campuses, but tonight's vote focused on six elementary schools: Smith Elementary, Eckert Elementary, Stovall EC/PK/K School, De Santiago EC/PK/K School, Oleson Elementary School, Raymond Elementary School. view article

A group of around 200 parents and educators slowly entered the cafeteria at O.D. Wyatt High School. Conversation, and a sense of uneasiness, filled the room. The Feb. 24 community meeting hosted by Fort Worth ISD officials was the first in a series that could help decide the fate of neighborhood schools across east Fort Worth. Trustees first saw a slate of more than 40 options during a Feb. 11 board meeting. view article