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Where possible, these headlines link to no-paywall or soft paywall articles, or to websites offering free trials. TexEdNews neither condones nor endorses the accuracy of this news feed.

Sept. 8, 2026
State education board finalizes anti-Islamic rewrite of Texas social studies lessons

(Texas Tribune) State Board of Education members on Friday approved a rewrite of what Texas high schoolers learn in social studies, disregarding pleas from Muslims who testified that schools should teach how people of Islamic faith positively contributed to world history. The final votes conclude years of debate over how social studies lessons should broach race and religion.

After rescoring STAAR exams, 11 Texas districts seeing A-F grades improve

(Texas Tribune) About a dozen districts will see a bump in school accountability ratings on Tuesday after a manual rescoring of thousands of STAAR tests improved some results, the TEA said Friday. The affected districts consist of Chester, Crandall, Daingerfield-Lone Star, Floydada Collegiate, Forney, Fredericksburg, Galveston, Jim Hogg County, Odem-Edroy, Southwest and Walnut Bend ISDs, agency spokesperson Jake Kobersky said.

As classes start, thousands more students gone from San Antonio public schools

(San Antonio Express-News) Across the 18 San Antonio area districts that shared enrollment numbers with the Express-News this fall, a combined 9,000 fewer students have registered than had last year.

Bracing for enrollment losses, San Antonio charter schools combine central offices

(San Antonio Express-News) The School of Science and Technology is bringing Compass Rose Public Schools under its umbrella.

Houston ISD executive who led Mike Miles’ school autonomy plan resigns after three years

(Houston Chronicle) Orland Riddick joined Houston ISD on the day of the state takeover and helped lead its school autonomy strategy. Now he is leaving with a payout. Under the resignation agreement, Riddick will receive the remainder of his salary for the month of August at his 2025-26 salary rate; a payout of his unused leave and vacation days; and any incentive compensation he earned for his performance last school year. Riddick earned $246,844 last school year; at that rate, he earned about $20,570 a month. Related:

The highest-earning superintendent in the state leads a North Texas district. It’s probably not the district you think

(WFAA) Compensation for Texas superintendents can surpass corporate CEO salaries. Dr. Gayle Stinson of Birdville ISD leads the way with $551,576/year.

School fund showdown: Southeast Texas superintendent fires back at House hearing

(KFDM) Barbers Hill ISD Superintendent Dr. Greg Poole is defending the district’s education foundation after tense questioning from Texas lawmakers about money directed to the nonprofit, its investments, and his daughter’s former job with the firm managing its portfolio. Poole told the House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight at the Texas Capitol on August 26 that the foundation’s investment fund is worth approximately $250 million.

Laredo ISD board rejects tax rate increase after tie vote

(KGNS) The Laredo ISD board of trustees held the line on taxes after a proposed rate increase failed on a tie vote. Trustees met Thursday, Aug. 20, to consider a tax rate increase of about five-and-a-half cents. District leaders said the increase would have cost the average homeowner less than two dollars a year and would have helped pay off bond debt sooner. Several trustees pushed back, citing concerns about the impact on families in higher-valued homes. Because of the tie vote, the tax increase failed. Officials say that could leave the district $2.2 million short of what they had planned to collect. The board instead adopted a lower rate of $1.07.

South San Antonio ISD still must hold board elections under takeover. Only 3 people signed up, including ‘suspended’ trustees

(San Antonio Report) Two familiar faces from South San Antonio Independent School District, currently under state takeover, are planning their comebacks to the school board. Although they’ll have no power on the dais.

Former Waco charter teacher sentenced to 20 years in prison in sexual assault of young girl, inappropriate touching of student

(KWTX) Former Premiere High School charter teacher Octavio Sanchez was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday in the sexual assault of a young child, for inappropriate behavior with a student and for violating his bond conditions.

‘It’s very painful’ — Manor father speaks out after teacher’s arrest in alleged child assault

(KVUE) A Manor family is demanding answers after a teacher allegedly assaulted their 9-year-old son at school last week. Michael Nathan, 47, a former English teacher at Presidential Meadows Elementary School, was arrested and charged with injury to a child. Manor ISD confirmed Nathan is no longer employed by the district. According to an arrest affidavit, Nathan allegedly grabbed the child by his backpack while he was walking past him. Investigators say Nathan then allegedly pulled the child back into the school, slammed him against the wall, pinning the 9-year-old with his arm, and the child reported having trouble breathing and neck pain.

Southwest ISD resource officer arrested for child endangerment, resigns from position at district

(News4SA) Melanie Miriam Gonzales, 23, a now former-Southwest ISD school resource officer, was arrested Sunday after San Antonio police responded to a 3:45 a.m. report Sunday of a crying child left alone in a hallway on the Southeast Side. Officers found a 5-year-old boy who said he’d been left alone; he was unharmed. Gonzales returned hours later and was arrested, then charged with abandoning or endangering a child without intent to return, a state jail felony.

Educators Resign After Admitting Misconduct, Still Free to Teach

(Texas Scorecard) A husband and wife who taught in the Killeen Independent School District resigned after admitting to sexual misconduct involving their own child years earlier, but both remain free to teach in Texas.

“I Haven’t Seen Anything Like This In A Long Time”: 100-Degree Chaos Causes Spectators To Collapse At Texas Longhorns Season Opener

(Total Pro Sports) Paramedics rushed stretchers into Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium during Saturday’s season opener. The 2:30 p.m. kickoff collided with temperatures above 100 degrees in Austin. Hunter Schuler posted a photo of hundreds packed under the concourse for shade. Spectators sat on concrete stairs and filled the tunnels instead of the bleachers.

Man arrested at Texas A&M football game after police catch him secretly recording woman

(KBTX) An arrest report from Saturday’s Texas A&M football game reveals a disturbing incident on the third deck of Kyle Field, where a Brazos County man was caught allegedly taking non-consensual “upskirt” videos of a female fan. Manuel Ramirez, 61, was arrested on September 5, 2026, and charged with Invasive Visual Recording, a state jail felony in Texas.

Family demands answers, woman faces felony after child found trapped on Forney day care bus for hours

(NBC DFW) A 5-year-old girl in Forney fell asleep on an Arka Montessori after-school daycare bus on Aug. 14 and was left trapped inside for about two hours in triple-digit heat, only discovered after staff couldn’t find her when her sister came for pickup and her mother heard banging from inside the bus. The girl was treated at a hospital for dehydration and has since recovered. Forney police confirmed one arrest has been made, and the family’s attorney says Texas law requires every child to be accounted for during childcare transport.

Trinity Valley School should pay $10M in damages to former employee, jury decides

(Fort Worth Star-Telegram) A federal jury on Friday ordered Trinity Valley School (a private school) to pay former HR director Carrie Skains just over $10 million after finding the school defamed and retaliated against her for speaking up about sex discrimination tied to the Trent Muse piano teacher abuse scandal.

The Dallas Public Library is getting rid of English classes. A volunteer calls the cuts ‘baffling’

(KERA) The Dallas Public Library is cutting its adult education programs, including classes for English language learners, as the city tries to deal with a $51 million budget shortfall. Similar resources will now be much harder to find, especially for undocumented students, one library volunteer said. The Dallas Public Library’s classes didn’t ask participants for identification. Undocumented students now have few options, said Kathy Wooten, who was a volunteer English teacher this summer at the Hampton-Illinois Branch Library.

McAllen ISD educator spearheads new driver’s license designation

(myRGV) Just in time for September’s Deaf Awareness Month, Texas residents can now add a deaf or hard-of-hearing designation to their driver’s license or ID card, a change that took effect a few months ago. The option is meant to improve communication between law enforcement, first responders, or hospital staff and Texans who are deaf or hard of hearing. It originated with McAllen ISD’s Liza Lara, director of the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf, who pointed out at a conference with first responders that state IDs and driver licenses had no way to indicate someone is deaf or hard of hearing. Lara helped write and advocate for House Bill 3132 during the 2023 legislative session, which led to the new designation.

Houston-area teacher creates a ‘fart corner’ for students in her fourth-grade classroom

(Houston Chronicle) On the top shelf of a bookshelf in Valecia Broussard’s classroom sits a bottle of Lysol spray with a yellow construction paper sign above it. In all capital letters are the words “fart corner.” It’s the Alvin ISD teacher’s first year with an area specifically for students to pass gas without interrupting class, and it’s been a success beyond her classroom. A video of Broussard showing her fourth–graders how to use the corner has more than 6.3 million likes on TikTok. 

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