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August 25, 2026
TEA printing delays leave Texas schools scrambling for Bluebonnet materials

(Houston Chronicle) The Texas Education Agency failed to deliver thousands of Bluebonnet workbooks and lesson plans to classrooms this month, leaving some school districts scrambling to print the materials themselves. The agency said demand for the Bible-infused curriculum it has pushed districts to adopt “significantly exceeded original expectations” and the vendor it hired was not able to print and distribute the materials on time.

What to know about state takeovers as Texas wrestles with the future of Austin public schools

(Texas Tribune) More districts across Texas are at risk of intervention by the state’s education commissioner. Here’s what that means for public schools.

San Perlita ISD closes campuses, offices due to rapid COVID-19 spread

(ValleyCentral) San Perlita Independent School District announced Monday that it will cancel school operations for two days due to a rapid spread of COVID-19 within the district. According to a news release, the district will close all campuses and offices on Tuesday, Aug. 25 and Wednesday, Aug. 26, as a precautionary measure to “help protect the health and safety” of students and staff. Classes are scheduled to resume on Thursday, Aug. 27. Classes began at San Perlita ISD on Aug. 10.

‘Couldn’t find a school’: Why only 76% of Texas’ school voucher recipients have used them

(Houston Chronicle). Nearly 25,000 Texas school voucher recipients declined the awards. Why didn’t families use them? Related:

A Texas Austerity Crisis Is Playing Out City by City, School by School

(Texas Observer) Texas’ local governments are facing growing fiscal pain. What’s that mean for the 2026 elections—and the 2027 session?

The Death of Government Transparency in Texas

(Texas Monthly) Our state once wanted residents to know what politicians were saying and doing behind closed doors. Now leaders are redacting most everything.

Fort Worth ISD Responds As Classroom Cameras Raise Privacy, Parental Notice Questions

(Dallas Express) Fort Worth ISD is facing questions about web cameras in classrooms after a Facebook page published screenshots it said were from district staff, including claims that ELEVATE teachers must keep the devices on throughout instructional time and grant administrators access to their Zoom links. The district told The Dallas Express that the cameras will provide live instruction, not surveillance, and will not record classroom instruction. Related:

Round Rock ISD anticipates $23.6M deficit for FY 2025-26

(Community Impact) Round Rock ISD is anticipating a larger-than-expected gap between revenues and expenses for the 2025-26 financial year as administrators work to close the books. Higher insurance costs, legislative impacts and property tax protests are behind a jump in the expected shortfall, RRISD’s new Chief Financial Officer Ludivina Cansino said in an Aug. 20 update. The district is expecting a $23.6 million shortfall that will reduce its fund balance to $43.2 million, Cansino shared in her presentation.

Little Elm ISD announces Little Elm Elementary will close

(WFAA via YouTube) Little Elm ISD announced that Little Elm Elementary will close at the end of this school year, citing a budget deficit and low TEA ratings.

Tyler ISD board adopts budget, approves decreased tax rate for 2026-27

(KLTV) The Tyler ISD school board approved a budget for the 2026-27 school year on Monday. The budget comes out to over $200 million and is roughly a $9 million increase to revenue and expenditures compared to the budget adopted during the 2025-26 school year. Tyler ISD Chief Financial Officer Kasey Russell said much of that $9 million change comes from teacher compensation increases. Russell said the district is in a good financial position.

Austin-area school district salaries: Who earned the most in 2025-26?

(Community Impact) Community Impact compiled compensation for superintendents, teachers, and staff at 15 public school districts in the Austin area to compare trends across the metro as budgeting season wraps up for most districts. According to the 2025-26 school year data from the Texas Education Agency, Lake Travis ISD had the highest-paid superintendent at $483,116, while Pflugerville ISD had the highest average teacher pay at $69,917.

Counting the costs: A running tally of every tax or rate increase San Antonians are facing this tight budget year

(San Antonio Report) Weeks out from the start of their new fiscal year, nearly all of Bexar County’s taxing entities are adjusting their budgets to account for a weakening economy that’s blown a hole in revenue projections — and might not turn around anytime soon.

New partnership aims to address rising healthcare costs for Georgetown ISD staff

(Community Impact) Georgetown ISD officials said the partnership with Next Level Medical is intended to address increasing healthcare costs.

Ponder ISD cancels classes on Tuesday due to town-wide boil water notice

(Fox 4 KDFW) Ponder ISD campuses are closed Tuesday, Aug. 25, following a town-wide boil water notice, with all school events and curriculum night canceled until further notice. The district has not announced if classes will resume on Wednesday.

Parents of Lindale ISD student who died after choking seek answers from district

(CBS19) Adrian Thompson’s parents seek answers and accountability from Lindale ISD after their 8-year-old daughter’s tragic death from choking at school.

Magnolia ISD declines to punish administrators over 2nd grade teacher abuse allegations

(KTRK) The parents of a Magnolia ISD student who says she was inappropriately touched by her second-grade teacher have once again failed in their quest to see school administrators punished. Tayla Craig and her husband’s grievance appeal was denied for a third time at a school board meeting Monday night. The district has long maintained it had no reports that former Magnolia Parkway Elementary teacher Jason Maldonado was engaging in sexual misconduct prior to 2025, when he was arrested and charged. But during public comments, multiple parents came forward to say they had reported Maldonado to school leaders as far back as 2022.

Garland school parking lot shooting leaves 2 men injured

(Fox 4 KDFW) A shooting Sunday night outside W.H. Bradfield Elementary School in Garland left two men injured, one critically. Responding officers found both victims lying in the school’s parking lot before 8:30 p.m. The shooter fled before police arrived, and authorities are still working to identify suspects and establish a motive.

Police: Student feud at San Antonio ISD’s Highlands High School leads to gunfire outside east-side home

(KENS) Police say a fight between students spilled into a San Antonio neighborhood, where masked teens opened fire. No one was hurt.

Faculty in uproar after Texas A&M-Victoria implements mandatory in-person policy

(Texas Tribune) A shift to daily on-campus requirements has Texas A&M University-Victoria faculty in an “uproar” at the start of this semester after years of remote work that allowed many of them to live more than two hours away, officials from a professor advocacy group said. Many professors live at least two hours away from the Gulf Coast-area campus and worked remotely for years, an advocacy group said. The new policy requires employees to work in person five days and 40 hours a week this school year, which officials said puts the campus in compliance with state law.

New hearing sought in fight over Texas law that gave undocumented students in-state tuition

(Texas Tribune) An advocacy group is seeking a new federal appeals court hearing in its effort to defend the Texas Dream Act, a longstanding state law that allowed some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

UT San Antonio welcomes thousands of students after cybersecurity breach attempt delays start

(KSAT) More than 42,000 students are starting the fall semester Monday at the University of Texas at San Antonio, including about 6,000 freshmen, after an attempted cyberattack delayed the first day of classes. The university told students and staff to reset their passwords after the attempted cyberattack.

Texas Tech enrollment tops 45,000 students for first time

(KCBD) Texas Tech’s enrollment stands at 45,812 students, an increase of more than 3,859 students from a year ago. This marks the fifth consecutive year of enrollment growth at Texas Tech. In the past two years, the university’s student body has grown by more than 12%.

Stories behind UT’s now-closed ethnic and gender studies departments

(Austin American-Statesman) Their names are gone from UT’s doors, but faculty and alumni say the academic communities they built will endure.

Austin Community College enrollment up 6 percent for 2026 as trade programs see gains

(CBS Austin) Thousands of Central Texas college students are heading back to class, and Austin Community College is seeing enrollment climb as it expands programs tied to high-demand trade careers.

Should UIL relax transfer rules after Jalen Brewster’s last-minute exit from Cedar Hill?

(Dallas Morning News) The nation’s top recruit blindsided Cedar Hill with a transfer to a powerhouse in Georgia over the weekend and is the latest in an alarming trend.

Somerset ISD community rallies around students after show animal mauling

(San Antonio Express-News) After a series of weekend wild-animal attacks at the Somerset Independent School District’s agriculture barn left around 20 show animals dead, community members are raising money to help the rural San Antonio district replace the animals that died and to help cover related expenses. Their efforts include a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $11,000 and (Facebook links) a raffle for two briskets and a plate sale planned for Saturday.

No students or staff injured in Navasota ISD bus fire Monday

(KXXV) The Navasota Independent School District says no one was hurt when a school bus caught fire early Monday. The district says a bus parked at the Circle T on Highway 6 and Spur 515 after a tire blew out. The empty bus later caught fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Childhood vaccination rates are falling, especially in Texas. Here’s what parents should know

(KERA) Childhood vaccination rates continue to decline, and a former North Texas congressman and physician says parents should no longer assume the children sitting beside their own are protected from highly contagious diseases.

5-year-old boy and father will be deported after ICE arrest on way to Austin soccer game

(KUT) Liam Tadeo’s father has chosen to return to Mexico with his son rather than risk the child being separated from his family. Liam was due to begin kindergarten in Austin this year.

Dallas to pay nearly $2 million on security for Republican midterm convention

(KERA) Dallas will pay an estimated $1.8 million for police officers to provide security at the Sept. 9/10 midterm Republican convention in September, city leaders were told Monday. Large conventions, not to mention ones that feature the president, generally require a police presence that can drive up overtime pay costs for the city, which is facing an overall $30 million budget shortfall.

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TEA Seeks Special-Ed Mediators

The TEA is accepting applications from licensed attorneys (with at least these minimum qualifications) to serve as mediators to help resolve special-ed related disputes between parents and ISDs, charters or other local education…
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