Texas Schools

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has requested legislators double the money behind the state’s private school voucher program to $2 billion. More than 100,000 students sit on the waitlist, but critics argue there is little evidence vouchers are delivering on their promises to justify expanding the program.

Following Superintendent Peter Licata’s recent engagement sessions, Fort Worth ISD parents hope he repairs community relationships.

The preliminary votes occurred after hours of debate Monday and Tuesday, with final decisions expected Friday.

“We’re coming for the books,” the lieutenant governor said in announcing plans to lower the performance rating of Texas schools that violate a recent law targeting obscene titles in school libraries.

Some districts use the temporary work permits to fill critical teacher shortages in roles such as bilingual education.

Civil rights advocates have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring the state's public schools to display the Ten Commandments. Monday's petition tees up a case that could set a new national standard for the limits of religious expression in classrooms. Posters with the Ten Commandments began going up almost a year ago in classrooms across Texas, a state that educates about 5.5 million students. An appeals court earlier this year cleared the way for the Texas law and one in Louisiana, and similar laws have been passed in Arkansas and Alabama.

Applications will close March 17, with funding notifications sent to families beginning in early April. The rollout follows a years-long battle at the Capitol and marks a major victory for the governor after repeated failed attempts to pass similar legislation.

School district leaders said the state’s increasing reliance on takeovers to improve academic performance threatens local control. The emergence of private school vouchers could pose another challenge.

Voters elected sisters-in-law to the Lake Worth ISD board as the district faces possible state intervention, according to unofficial early voting results.

As the nation prepares for SNAP benefits to halt on Saturday, leaders turned their attention to public schools. For millions of students, school is the most reliable source of meals.

A shuttered Richardson preschool reimagined as a catch-all resource center has become reality in the historic Esperanza neighborhood.

Fifth grader Jesus Cruz squinted at an image of a spiral galaxy, his voice rising just enough to catch the visitor’s ear.