EDUCATION
New website turns Texas students into campus watchdogs
| January 14, 2026
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.
Texas teachers sue over investigations into social media posts following Charlie Kirk’s death
| January 7, 2026
The Texas Education Agency urged superintendents in September to report teachers who were critical of the far-right political activist on social media.
8 seats up for grabs on the Texas State Board of Education in 2026
| December 17, 2025
Several offices across Texas will be on the ballot in 2026, including eight seats on the state board of education.
Greg Abbott vows to put Turning Point USA chapters in all Texas schools
| December 9, 2025
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.
How North Texas colleges work to keep pre-med students in the health care pipeline
| December 3, 2025
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.
Texas’ private school voucher program is starting. Here’s what to know.
| December 3, 2025
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.
Texas schools are using AI to ban more books
| November 26, 2025
AI | book ban | EDUCATION | EXCO-Player | local politics | old texas | public education | public schools | TEXAS
School boards across Texas that are struggling to comply with a new state law restricting “inappropriate” materials on library shelves are turning to artificial intelligence for help.
Why Texas students need school libraries
| November 26, 2025
Watch as Amanda Jones, author of “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America,” shares how school libraries help boost student performance and what happens when libraries are turned into disciplinary centers or computer labs.
Jones’ comments came during an event at Half Price Books in Dallas on Saturday.
Far-right conservatives are rewriting Texas history. Education advocates are sounding the alarm.
| November 26, 2025
DFW TEXED EXCLUSIVE | EDUCATION | K-12 education | Republicans | state board of education | TEXAS | Texas Lead Story
Education advocates are raising concerns over a new panel stacked with conservatives that will reshape how social studies are taught in Texas public schools.
Voters stopped a right-wing takeover of a Houston-area school board
| November 18, 2025
In early November, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD voters elected three new trustees to their school board, breaking a conservative majority that was elected in 2023.
Gina Hinojosa urges Fort Worth to fight for its public schools
| November 3, 2025
DFW | DFW TEXED EXCLUSIVE | EDUCATION | FORT WORTH | fort worth isd | TEA | texas education agency | Texas Lead Story
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.
‘100% about politics’: Lawmakers denounce Fort Worth ISD takeover
| October 28, 2025
DFW | DFW TEXED EXCLUSIVE | FORT WORTH | fort worth isd | fwisd | TEA | texas education agency | Texas Lead Story
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.