Education

Following allegations of abuse against special needs students on campus, Midland ISD school board members have voted to terminate the school's principal. Lubbock ISD is facing an investigation of its own after a lawsuit from parents of a three-year-old who say a former Lubbock teacher abused their child. The school voucher program recently approved by the state legislature has an official name: Texas Education Freedom Account. The program is set to begin in the 2026-27 school year.

Faculty have spent weeks seeking clarity on new restrictions, which have often been issued by word of mouth. A written Q&A was rescinded.

A sinkhole near Paducah has closed County Road 485 to 489 in Cottle County, and TxDOT warns it’s nearly 70 feet deep and still growing. Today is the final day to register to vote ahead of Texas’ November election, the Texas Newsroom's Lucio Vasquez reports it will feature 17 proposed amendments to the state constitution. Also, a new report ranks Texas second in the nation for book bans in public schools.

The funding deal would reportedly ask the university to adopt a stricter definition of gender and a tuition freeze, among other conditions.

For the first time since Texas authorized the program, the state heard public testimony from people concerned about pre-K funding, special education provisions and data reporting.

Lubbock Public Health is recommending precautions against mosquitos after confirming the county's first human case of West Nile Virus this year. The Texas Education Agency says it’s received more than 350 complaints against teachers and staff for comments made after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The Texas Newsroom’s Lucio Vasquez reports some educators have already been fired. The Texas Tech University System’s board of regents are set to approve state senator Brandon Creighton as the next system chancellor in a meeting today. If approved, he will begin acting as chancellor on Nov. 17.

The complaints are being reviewed by the Texas Education Agency, but some firings and suspensions have already occurred independently at Texas schools throughout the state.

The group Dignity for District 2 has suspended its petition to recall Lubbock Councilman Gordon Harris. Students at colleges and universities have settled back into the school year and our Sean Ryan reports that enrollment has increased at all three of Lubbock’s largest higher education institutions. Starting this week, Lubbock ISD will be holding a series of town hall meetings in each of the board of trustees' voting districts to discuss potential changes. Community members are also encouraged to complete a survey to provide feedback to the district. Click here for a schedule of upcoming the meetings, their locations, and a link to the survey.

According to a TPR analysis, colleges in San Antonio lost nearly $10M because the U.S. Department of Education withheld grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Attorneys say children in the program were restrained for long periods, denied basic needs, exposed to harm and deprived of dignity.