The selection of Christian Hardigree, regional chancellor for the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, was one of several shakeups at the Texas A&M System on Thursday.

The university's announcement came hours after Gov. Greg Abbott called for the student's expulsion.

Several school districts have already taken disciplinary action against staff for comments made about the Christian conservative activist’s death.

Educators worry the plan will deemphasize topics like world geography, history and cultures. The board aims to vote on what specific content social studies lessons will include by next summer.

The committees were made to honor slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk and come as university faculty have come under online scrutiny.

The guidance comes in response to confusion over a new state law requiring schools to notify parents whenever students need health care services.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Tribune reporter Sneha Dey and the Commit Partnership’s Bridget Worley about the changes to the state’s standardized test.

The new state ban took effect on Sept. 1, and Texas’ more than 1,200 public school districts have adopted policies ranging from secure phone pouches to increased monitoring.

Previously, parents had to wait for the state to mail them the exemption form. They still have to get the form notarized before submitting it to the school for enrollment purposes.

Between cracking down on abortion pills and restricting transgender restroom use, lawmakers also tackled flood safety and the STAAR test. Left untouched: Texas’ hemp industry.

House Bill 8 scraps the unpopular exam for three shorter tests at the beginning, middle and end of the year starting in the 2027-28 school year.

The endorsement comes as Texas elected officials push for more Christianity in public life and as Paxton’s office fights a legal challenge to religion in education.

The suit alleges the new state law unconstitutionally silences the viewpoints of students and teachers. The law’s supporters say DEI programs use public funds to promote political agendas.

More than 75 Texas camps have met dozens of safety standards to become accredited by the American Camp Association, which can be a lengthy and costly process.

New laws range from school vouchers and water infrastructure funding to a ban on city and county-funded abortion travel funds.

The numbers may grow as the state collects more data. Some districts adopted the plan not for its religious emphasis but for more funding and to better align with teaching requirements.

Democrats say recent changes to the bill give too much power to the TEA and fall short of meaningfully easing the pressures of standardized testing.

Senate Bill 8, which now heads to the House floor, would restrict which bathrooms in government buildings transgender people would be allowed to use.

Senate Bill 1, which would require more oversight of emergency plans and evacuation procedures at summer camps, was advanced after the emotional hearing Wednesday.

Federal funding cuts to immunization efforts and a new law that allows exemption forms to be downloaded, instead of mailed, could drive up exemptions in the future.

Test scores rose slightly after math scores previously fell last year.

The state can take control of a school district if at least one of its campuses receives a failing grade five years in a row.

More than 500 schools are using four-day school weeks, a dramatic increase from two years ago driven by fierce competition for educators amid a statewide teacher shortage.

In the 2024-25 school year, 14% of Texas school districts got an A, 71% got a B or a C, and 15% got a D or an F, new state data shows.

Sweeping and sudden funding changes this year put two revered after-school programs for low-income Texans and a rural teacher training initiative at risk of closure.

Five years ago, during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, the board voted to change the high school to Legacy High. On Tuesday, it reversed course.

Local records released this week — after a yearslong lawsuit —affirm previous reporting about law enforcement’s flawed response to Texas’ deadliest school shooting.

The Midland school district rebranded Robert E. Lee High as Legacy High in 2020, part of a nationwide trend to distance public places from the Confederacy.

The debate over whether to ask voters to cover the program comes as the nation’s third-largest county faces a projected $270M budget shortfall.

Legislators have a chance this summer to replace the STAAR test. What they come up with will decide the fate of schools like Dobie Middle School, where low test scores have pushed the Austin district to intervene.

The long-awaited vote survived objections from the panel’s most right-leaning Republicans, who criticized the lessons as “un-American woke indoctrination.”

Lawmakers added $100 million to a child care scholarship program but failed to expand access to free preschool for children with disabilities.

The mixed-bag results showed early literacy improvements, a key indicator of future academic success, but underline the challenges of preparing children for STEM-related jobs.

Advocates say the bills will give parents more power over their children’s schools. Critics say they don’t give parents anything they didn’t already have and will only strain their relationship with teachers.

Education policy experts say the results align with Texas’ workforce goals but note that students still need help.

The program would give low income families an extra $120 per child for summer lunches, but federal debate about food benefits could endanger the program.

Lawmakers sought to close gaps in education and support funding for agriculture, disaster preparedness and health care this year.

Within hours of a federal lawsuit targeting Texas’ policy of letting undocumented students qualify for lower public tuition rates, the 24-year-old law was no more.

The spending package will give schools more money for staff pay raises, operational expenses, special education and more.

An agenda driven by conservative priorities, schools’ financial duress and teacher needs led to an $8.5 billion boost, new discipline rules, more Christianity in classrooms and a DEI ban.

The Legislature wrapped up without the same drama that defined the end of the last two sessions, with state GOP leaders checking off nearly everything on their to-do lists.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath applauded the district for its improvements while citing the need for more time to “achieve lasting success for students.”

Texas is poised to lead the country in an initiative to inform denizens of what’s in their food. Food industry experts say it’s going too far.

The state standardized test has long been criticized for taking instructional time away from teachers and putting unnecessary pressure on students.

Tensions flared and the debate turned personal as Republicans said their bill empowered parents and denied predictions that the ban will endanger children.

A boost in public school spending, school vouchers, and money for water systems are other highlights of the state budget, which was bolstered by a $24 billion surplus.

Research shows cellphones interfere with students' ability to focus in class. Texas would join at least nine other states that ban students from using their phones during the school day.

Gov. Greg Abbott has already said he intends to sign the bill, which will give schools funding for salary increases, special education, teacher preparation and operational costs.

Reallocated funding for the program that will go to providers will benefit nearly 95,000 children on a waitlist for scholarships.

House Bill 6, which now heads to the governor, targets the increase in violence that has plagued schools since the pandemic.

In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor talk with politics reporter Jasper Scherer about education funding, a THC ban and the success of conservative priorities this year.

The schools were closed last week after years of declining enrollment. The school communities said increased choices were to blame.

Senate Bill 13 would require school boards or advisory councils to approve new books and review complaints. In most cases only 50 parents’ approval would be needed to create the oversight councils.

SB 3070, which awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, would move the lottery game to Texas’ Department of Licensing and Regulation and includes new restrictions on ticket purchases.

Senate Bill 12’s supporters say DEI programs use class time and public funds to promote political agendas.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 10, even though a similar Louisiana law was deemed unconstitutional. Supporters say Christianity is core to U.S. history.

The chambers differ on how much power districts should have to push back in courts over their accountability ratings. They risk keeping STAAR by default if they don’t reach an agreement.

The legislation includes new pots of money for teacher raises and other school costs like insurance and transportation. It now heads to the House, where leaders say it will pass.

The Texas Senate had previously proposed more severe consequences in the bill.

A House vote showed broad support for the measure that would let districts set aside time for prayer or religious study.

Texas lawmakers are poised to make it easier to suspend disruptive students. But some teachers and school psychologists say discipline alone won’t meet the mental health needs at the root of their behavior.

The bill won bipartisan support despite efforts from multiple Democrats that would have also required students to learn about fascism and Nazism.

The deal appears to strike a face-saving compromise for both chambers over how to increase funds for the state’s public schools, with money earmarked for teacher pay and overhead costs.

The proposal would heavily invest in teacher pay and special education. It includes a modest $55 increase to schools' base per-student funding, significantly lower than what the House had sought.

Senators will hold a hearing Thursday on their counterproposal to the House's school funding bill. House Democrats and public education advocates have criticized the upper chamber for not moving faster to advance the legislation.

A raft of social conservative priorities backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hang in the balance, including efforts to infuse more religion into public schools.

Conservative lawmakers say DEI efforts are discriminatory and push liberal ideologies on children. Critics point to research showing a diverse teacher body helps students succeed academically.

Student discipline, uncertified teachers and school bans on DEI and cellphones are some of the topics being debated at the Texas Legislature this session.

House Bill 4 would make the test shorter and base scores on how students’ performance compares to national averages.

The bill would bar those under 18 from checking out books with sexually explicit material without parental permission.

Students who are behind in third grade rarely catch up. Texas lawmakers want to intervene earlier.

The Teacher Incentive Allotment gives raises to teachers based on performance. But it leaves out many educators and school staff who contribute to students' success.

Issues about control of book purchases and how curriculums teach race and gender have led to change on many boards, including Keller, Katy and Mansfield ISDs.

Texas will give participating families about $10,000 to pay for their kids’ private schooling. Other details about the program, set to launch in 2026, are unclear.

A fiery debate on the House floor Friday gave way to the Senate Bill 412’s final vote. Supporters say it’s needed to protect children.

Abbott tapped into a powerful national conservative movement and his own campaign war chest to turn turned legislative races into multimillion-dollar affairs.

Officials at a rural school district voted on Tuesday to begin developing a tax break agreement intended to draw Exxon to their stretch of the Gulf Coast north of Corpus Christi.

Dozens of people who signed up to speak were ready at 4 a.m. to debate whether public school classrooms should have to display the Ten Commandments.

The bill, which would require schools to use a definition of antisemitism when considering discipline for students, will soon head over to Abbott’s desk.

A House bill would require school districts to hold an election before breaking into smaller entities.

Students are concerned the legislation could silence supportive teachers, dismantle safe spaces, lead to overenforcement and prevent honest conversations about identity.

The program will officially launch at the start of the 2026-27 school year.

The Texas Education Agency released the 2022-23 school year ratings on Thursday after a 19-month legal battle over how those ratings are calculated.

Failing grades for districts were made public for the first time since 2019. They showed schools with the poorest students were more likely to get a low score.

School leaders have privately criticized a bill that would make it harder to contest their performance ratings in court. But they did not testify against it to avoid lawmakers’ ire.

Texas Republican lawmakers in regions known for support of public schools defended voting for vouchers, saying they gained leverage to seek concessions.

The lieutenant governor proposes that the Texas Senate adopt the House bill, which would eliminate a negotiation over the two versions and cement the victory for supporters.

Anti-voucher Republicans said they voted for the bill so they could fight to improve it, and also to fend off political retribution.

The House approved historic legislation that would implement school vouchers in Texas. Here’s how each representative voted.

The bill would let families use taxpayer dollars for their children’s private schooling. Lawmakers also signed off on a sweeping $7.7 billion package to boost public school funding.

The lower chamber overwhelmingly voted in favor of House Bill 2, a sweeping $8 billion piece of legislation that would also limit schools’ reliance on teachers without formal classroom training.

House Bill 6 is a response to reports of more violent classroom disruptions after the pandemic. It lowers the bar for when schools can discipline for the state’s homeless and youngest students.

The Texas House also approved more money for schools in a bipartisan vote.

In this week’s episode of the TribCast, Matthew and Eleanor ask the question: Are Texas teachers OK?

From The Blast: More than 50 House Democrats have signed on to a plan to spike all constitutional amendments unless the House allows voters to decide whether school vouchers will be legalized.

For the first time since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions, lawmakers are clarifying the “life of mother” exception. But they don’t plan to address cases where the fetus won’t survive.

In a state with a checkered history with federal special education law, advocates say Texas students will see an erosion of their disability rights protections.

The House Public Education Committee voted to advance a pair of priority bills to create education savings accounts and to raise how much state money public school districts receive.

Paxton’s office launched an investigation into the district’s policy after an administrator was caught on tape discussing a possible loophole in the state’s ban.

A Tribune analysis also found the state’s share of the funds that schools receive per student significantly decreased in the last decade until recently.