Latest TexEdNews:

Reported Elsewhere:

Having problems?
Please refresh your browser.

Reported Elsewhere

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.

July 27, 2026
National teacher certification board told to scrub DEI mentions to comply with Texas law

(Texas Tribune) If National Board officials don’t show compliance with state law, they risk Texas excluding educators with the credential from a pay-for-performance program.

Why Texas public schools are competing for voucher dollars

(Dallas Morning News) Offering classes through the Texas Education Freedom Account program is a way to attract new students and stay competitive, some school officials say.

TEA tells Houston ISD to meet with families as district presses forward with special education overhaul

(Houston Chronicle) The Texas Education Agency has ordered Houston ISD’s state conservators to review its plans for 5,000 special education students, highlighting tensions over the treatment of students with disabilities in the state’s largest district. The district has announced plans to consolidate special education services in fewer school campuses. But in a July 7 letter obtained by the Chronicle, the state agency told HISD to review thousands of students’ individualized education programs and meet with families before reassigning students.

TEA reassigns former Beaumont ISD superintendent Dr. Shannon Allen

(KFDM) A TEA spokesman tells KFDM that former Beaumont ISD superintendent Dr. Shannon Allen has been reassigned to the position of Advisor Emeritus and will retire on January 31, 2027. The total amount of pay is $245,195.27, which represents nine months of salary and benefits. The district is responsible for paying Allen, according to the TEA. Sandi Massey was hired by the TEA as BISD superintendent when the agency took over the school district. Related:

Why Fort Worth ISD wants to ban campaign donations to trustee candidates by its vendors

(Fort Worth Report) FWISD board of managers wants tougher ethics rules that members say would strengthen public trust in the wake of Texas takeover. Related:

Dallas ISD ADSY schools start early Tuesday under extended school year plan

(CBS Texas) If you’re starting to feel like summer is “flying by,” hold on to your wings: students at several Dallas ISD campuses start the new school year on Tuesday. It’s part of a district plan called Additional Days School Year, or ADSY. Students at 13 elementary schools – and sixth graders at select middle schools – will follow an extended calendar that includes additional instructional days, some of which fall on Saturdays.

Laredo Police Department: School counselor’s child abuse report leads to woman’s arrest

(Laredo Morning Times) A woman was arrested after a school counselor reported suspected physical abuse of a 9-year-old boy, according to the Laredo Police Department. Officers responded May 18 after the counselor reported the child had visible injuries to his right elbow and the right side of his back. There was no indication the injuries occurred on school grounds, police said. The boy was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Parents Say United ISD Knew About Abusive Special Ed Teachers

(Texas Scorecard) Three Laredo teachers were barred from working in Texas schools after they were arrested for intentionally injuring special education students. Parents claim school administrators knew about the abuse for months but failed to act—putting more students at risk of harm and the school district at risk of a lawsuit. The educators worked together at Nye Elementary in the United Independent School District. The alleged abuse occurred in March and April and was captured on classroom surveillance camera video.

Socorro ISD Trustee Ryan Woodcraft arrested for assault

(KTSM) Socorro Independent School District Trustee Ryan Reid Woodcraft has been arrested and is facing an assault charge, according to jail records obtained by KTSM. Woodcraft was arrested on Saturday, July 25 and was booked into the El Paso Downtown Jail on a charge of assault causing bodily injury, according to jail records. The incident happened on Thursday, July 23, according to the document. Woodcraft posted a $3,500 surety bond and was released from jail on Saturday.

Houston ISD teacher charged with improper relationship with a student

(KPRC) A high school teacher is facing charges tonight that he had a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old female student. According to court documents, Jesse David Sifuentes is charged with 2 counts of improper relationship with a student. Sifuentes was an English teacher at the High School for Law and Justice when the alleged relationship took place.

Austin FC Academy soccer players under investigation for sexual abuse

(KUT) Players in the Austin FC Academy are under investigation by the Austin Police Department and the FBI, following allegations of sexual abuse within the club’s youth system.
In a statement, the Austin FC Academy said it became aware in December 2025 of allegations involving youth-on-youth misconduct among a group of academy players.

Universities can use conservative-favored entrance exam as Texas eyes wider use, agency chief says

(Texas Tribune) Texas’ higher education commissioner signaled last week that the state could expand the use of the conservative-favored Classic Learning Test in public university admissions even though an independent review found far less evidence linking the exam’s scores to college performance than SAT and ACT scores. In a letter to campus leaders on Thursday, Commissioner Wynn Rosser clarified that universities can immediately consider CLT scores for any applicants who fall outside the top-10% automatic admissions window.

UT Rio Grande Valley, IDEA Public Schools partner for new autism intervention program

(myRGV) UTRGV and IDEA Public Schools are partnering to launch an early autism intervention program dedicated to researching education delivery models, impacts of accelerated learning and that will serve as a blueprint for training educators in the Valley. The program is called Classroom IDEAL which stands for individuals dedicated to excellence, achievement and learning for children with autism spectrum disorder. IDEA Quest Academy in Edinburg is set to debut the new program this coming school year.

Texas State launches new engineering program with $1M grant

(Community Impact) Texas State University in San Marcos will begin to offer a new program for students in the Department of Engineering Technology with the issuance of a $1 million grant. The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, has awarded Texas State University a three-year grant to establish the Metallurgical Engineering, Trades Apprenticeship and Learning, or METAL, program, according to a news release.

Texas A&M-Texarkana school building $35M complex, new football stadium ahead of NCAA Division II move

(Houston Chronicle) Fresh off its move to NCAA Division II, Texas A&M-Texarkana is investing nearly $35 million in an athletics complex designed to bring several Eagles teams on campus.

University of Texas at Arlington lands Hollywood director at crucial moment

(Houston Chronicle) The University of Texas-Arlington (UTA) is adding some Hollywood power to its teaching staff this fall, and it comes at an interesting time. The region is awash in TV and film production as of late. On Thursday, UTA announced that it had appointed Dr. Rachel Raimist as the Morgan Woodward Distinguished Professor of Film and Video in the Department of Art and Art History. Raimist, who holds a Ph.D. in feminist studies from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, has worked on major network TV productions over the years.

Texas A&M Maritime Academy Celebrates Christening of New Training Ship

(Maritime Executive) Texas A&M University at Galveston celebrated the christening of the TS Lone Star State, a new state-of-the-art training vessel that will become the Texas A&M Maritime Academy’s primary training ship after a 21-year wait for a large vessel of its own. The ship was christened July 17 at Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia before its eventual arrival in Galveston.

Family mourns the loss of Jasper ISD coach who was killed 2 years ago by a stray bullet

(KBMT) Ayden Burt was killed by a stray bullet two years ago in San Antonio while attending a coaching convention.

Discord agrees to court-ordered safety measures for Texas kids after temporary injunction

(KVUE) Texas has secured a temporary injunction requiring Discord to activate UK-level safety measures for children in Texas within 90 days. Related:

Tom Luce, one of the state’s most influential behind-the-scenes leaders, dies at 86

(WFAA) Tom Luce, a Dallas attorney and one of the state’s most influential behind-the-scenes leaders in education, public policy, and civic philanthropy over the past half century, has died. He was 86.

Texas ag commissioner says Abbott has ignored calls, emails since 2014 election

(KVII) More than a decade after he was first elected, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says he still has not met privately one-on-one with Gov. Greg Abbott. Miller also said the governor has never returned his calls or replied to any of his emails, and that the only responses he has received have come from the governor’s staff. Miller said he believes he is not the only statewide official who has been unable to meet with Abbott.

Former Lubbock-Cooper ISD superintendent Pat Henderson passes away

(EverythingLubbock) Former Lubbock-Cooper ISD Superintendent Pat Henderson passed away Saturday morning at the age of 73-years-old. Henderson was superintendent of the district for nearly 20 years and retired in 2014 as the longest serving superintendent in the history of the district. Henderson was previously named Region 17 Superintendent of the Year twice during his tenure.

Click for Earlier
“Reported Elsewhere” Dates

Latest from TexEdNews!

$ = Subscribers Only

TexEdNews Article Archives

$ = Subscribers Only

Commissioner’s Decisions
(Through June 2026)
SY 2025-26
PEIMS Articles: