Education
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Higher education advocates call on lawmakers to fight for academic freedom in Texas
A coalition of educators and union members are calling on Texas lawmakers to adopt a new policy platform that centers the needs of workers and students over billionaires and corporate interests at higher education institutions.
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Democrats on the Texas Board of Education demand investigation into undisclosed grant from conservative group
Democrats on the State Board of Education are asking to pause deliberation over an overhaul to the state’s social studies curriculum after a content advisor in charge of the rewrite received a financial contribution from an influential conservative group in Texas without disclosing it to the board.
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Inside Texas’s controversial social studies overhaul
The politicization of Texas classrooms continues as the State Board of Education (SBOE) will deliberate rushed social studies teaching standards next week that put a greater emphasis on Western and Texas history at the expense of other cultures.
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Texas private school voucher applications are closed. Now what?
The application period for Texas’ $1 billion private school voucher program ended last night. Here’s what happens next.
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Dallas ISD will offer free pre-K to all students starting next school year
Any preschool-aged student—no matter their economic status or background—will have the option to enroll in free pre-K classes in Dallas ISD starting next school year.
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Texas Education Agency names new Fort Worth ISD superintendent amid state takeover
The state intervened at the district after one campus received five consecutive failing grades on the A-F accountability rating system from 2018-2023.
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Why Texans are voting with education in mind this midterm election
Texans have a chance to elect staunch public education advocates to several statewide seats in November.
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Houston, Fort Bend, and Aldine districts announce sweeping school closures
Enrollment drops and budget pressures are driving widespread campus closures across Houston ISD, Fort Bend ISD and Aldine ISD. Three major Houston-area school districts are moving forward with significant school closures, citing declining enrollment, aging facilities, and financial pressures. The decisions have drawn strong reactions from educators, parents, and students, who say the changes will…
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76% of Texas voucher applicants are already enrolled in private schools or home-schooled
Texas’ new $1 billion voucher program allots about $10,000 per student to be used on private school tuition. It’s paid for by taxpayer dollars.
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University of Texas censors ‘controversial’ topics in class
A new rule requires University of Texas professors to “carefully consider” their teaching material and “exclude unrelated controversial or contested matters.”
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Judge blocks 3 Texas school districts from enforcing DEI ban
Teachers and students in Texas started the 2025-26 school year under a new law that prohibits gender and sexuality alliance clubs at high schools across the state.
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2 Texas schools break into TIME’s top global university rankings
TIME Magazine’s 2026 list of the World’s Top Universities included three Texas schools. Here are the 2 that made the Top 50.
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‘ I want to return respect to the profession’: Why this educator is running for the Texas SBOE
Texas voters have a large say in shaping public education this year, as eight out of 15 State Board of Education districts will be on the ballot March 3.
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How the fight for public education secured Democrats a Tarrant County Senate seat
Republican Leigh Wambsganss lost a runoff election in Senate District 9—considered a deep-red district in Tarrant County—to Democrat Taylor Rehmet on Jan. 31.
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Greg Abbott wants Austin school district investigated after students protest ICE during class
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is calling on Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to investigate Austin ISD after hundreds of students walked out of class to protest US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday.
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Greg Abbott halts visas for foreign workers at Texas universities
Public universities across the state can’t seek new visas without the Texas Workforce Commission’s permission from now until the end of the 2027 legislative session under a new directive from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
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How Texas A&M became ground zero for higher education’s culture war
Dr. Leonard Bright’s Ethics and Public Policy course was canceled a few days into the semester. It’s just one in a string of attacks on academic freedom at the university.
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New website turns Texas students into campus watchdogs
Students can now submit complaints against public universities and colleges to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s new Office of Ombudsman through an online portal.
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Texas teachers sue over investigations into social media posts following Charlie Kirk’s death
The Texas Education Agency urged superintendents in September to report teachers who were critical of the far-right political activist on social media.
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8 seats up for grabs on the Texas State Board of Education in 2026
Several offices across Texas will be on the ballot in 2026, including eight seats on the state board of education.
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Greg Abbott vows to put Turning Point USA chapters in all Texas schools
Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick joined Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault in Austin on Monday to announce a partnership with the far-right organization.
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How North Texas colleges work to keep pre-med students in the health care pipeline
Five months into college, Brian Mata sees the difference between exploring science in a high school lab and surviving a course in a university lecture hall.
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Texas’ private school voucher program is starting. Here’s what to know.
Rules for the state’s new $1 billion private school voucher program were finalized on Nov. 25. Here’s what you need to know about the controversial initiative.
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Far-right conservatives are rewriting Texas history. Education advocates are sounding the alarm.
Education advocates are raising concerns over a new panel stacked with conservatives that will reshape how social studies are taught in Texas public schools.
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Voters stopped a right-wing takeover of a Houston-area school board
In early November, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD voters elected three new trustees to their school board, breaking a conservative majority that was elected in 2023.
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Gina Hinojosa urges Fort Worth to fight for its public schools
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat running for governor, answered questions and called on community members to fight back against Fort Worth ISD’s state takeover at a town hall on Saturday.
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‘100% about politics’: Lawmakers denounce Fort Worth ISD takeover
Fort Worth ISD officials can defend the district during an informal review on Thursday. A state takeover would mean sweeping changes to the district’s local leadership.
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UT won’t say if it accepted Trump’s pledge targeting trans, international students
The Trump administration offered preferential funding to nine colleges that agreed to pledge loyalty to his conservative agenda. The University of Texas has yet to publicly respond to the offer.
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Texas State faculty fight back against ‘politically motivated’ curriculum review
The vague new order requires the university to ensure all curriculum is taught in a “value-neutral” manner, which critics said encroaches on academic freedom.
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DFW bookstores share their favorite banned books
Three North Texas bookstores share their favorite banned books as censorship is on the rise in Texas.
