Education

Texas Public Radio's Josh Peck reports as of this month, the White House has finalized a new rule that makes many salaried Americans newly eligible for overtime pay. And KERA's Caroline Love says more Texas students are enrolling in special education services, and school districts are struggling to keep up with the added costs.

Community leaders, educators and members of tribal nations are calling on the Texas State Board of Education to include the renewal of an American Indian/Native Studies course on the Board’s agenda this Friday. If the course is not renewed before it expires, educators say it will indefinitely delay its availability moving forward.

A celebration of life for Lubbock music figurehead Don Caldwell will take place Wednesday at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center Theater. And Texas Public Radio education reporter Camille Phillips reports The Texas Republican Party has again made private school vouchers one of its top priorities for the next state legislative session ahead of today’s primary runoff.

The complaint argues that the governor’s order is an illegal attempt to suppress a viewpoint critical of a foreign country — Israel.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is hosting a suicide prevention summit this morning, aimed at helping college administrators implement more mental health services and support for their students. And TPR's Pablo De La Rosa has more on a study about optimizing water usage along the Rio Grande.The Texas Higher Education Suicide Prevention Spring Summit will take place from 8 a.m. to noon. The link to register for the virtual event can be found here.

Nationally, educational institutions of every level are struggling to staff mental health counselors, and the entire state of Texas faces a shortage of care providers. With increased conversations about staffing, retention, demand, and budgeting for college mental health services, we took a look at what mental health resources are available to college students in the greater Lubbock area.

The Lubbock Police Department says they are taking steps to meet staffing shortages by cutting the time for bringing in new, experienced officers in half. And student protests around the country are expected to continue, calling for a ceasefire to the war in Gaza. One Palestinian Texas Tech student says Friday's peaceful demonstrations on campus received the most support so far.

Around 100 demonstrators gathered on the Texas Tech campus Friday afternoon to make their voices heard on personal value and freedom of speech with outcries over violence in Palestine, calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Early voting for the May 4th election runs April 22 through April 30. Our reporter Bishop Van Buren has more on what Lubbock residents can expect on the ballot. And KERA's Bill Zeeble reports on a federal appeals court blocking part of a bill requiring book vendors to rate books for sexual content before selling to schools.

Texas Tech University environmental engineering student Abigail Torres was one of 10 recipients across the U.S. to receive The Sallie Mae Fund’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students. Samantha Larned reports on Torres' path to her studies and goals in the field. Applications for this year’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship can be found on salliemae.com.