Hey y’all! 

Welcome to another edition of The TexEd Report. If you didn’t catch last week’s, read it here.

This week, you’ll learn about a progressive candidate who’s running for the Texas State Board of Education, and get an update on the implementation of Senate Bill 11, which allows school districts in Texas to create a designated prayer and religious reading time during the school day. 

Finally, you’ll find a breakdown on the 12 campuses that will be shuttered in Houston ISD for the 206-27 school year.

Photo courtesy of Tiffany Perkinz campaign

Tiffany Perkinz is a mother, former English teacher, and owns her own tutoring business.  Now, she’s fighting for a chance to put a dent in the Republican-dominated Texas State Board of Education.

Perkinz is running in the Democratic primary for the SBOE in District 7, which represents parts of Beaumont, Galveston, and Pearland. She will face five other Democrats—Adam Khan, Ben Estrada, Janell Burse, and Debra Drake Ambroise—on March 3. Her hope is to unseat Republican incumbent Julie Pickren in the general election on Nov. 3. 

Pickren was voted off of Alvin Independent School District’s school board in 2021 after she attended the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol and boasted on Facebook that she sang “God Bless America” as rioters forced their way into the building.

Despite the controversy, she was elected to the Texas State Board of Education a year later.

“ I think that it’s important that we flip as many seats in Texas as possible to save the state—and the nation—from MAGA, Christian-nationalist agendas,” Perkinz told COURIER Texas. 

The March 1 deadline for Texas school districts to vote on whether to permit a state-sponsored prayer time during school hours is fast-approaching. 

Senate Bill 11 passed last year and allows school boards to adopt policies setting aside time for voluntary prayer or for reading the Bible or other religious texts. 

The law requires that the board of trustees for each ISD in Texas to vote on whether to adopt a policy to implement these periods by March 1, and student participation requires parental consent.

Although the time can be used to practice any religion, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement in September urging students to use the time to recite The Lord’s Prayer.

Religious freedom and education advocates have voiced their concerns over the bill.

Twenty-eight districts are voting on whether to adopt the policy this week, including five in DFW, seven in Houston, and three in Austin. 

I want to hear from you. Do you think your district should implement an optional daily prayer or religious study period?

Photo courtesy of Houston ISD

Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles, appointed by the state after the district was taken over by the TEA in 2023, is recommending HISD close 12 schools for the 2026-27 school year—despite saying publicly that no more campuses would close in November.

HISD is hosting meetings at affected schools to share more information with families, but has not yet released a schedule on when they will occur.

🎓UT Austin consolidates ethnic and gender studies: The University of Texas has combined its departments of African and African Diaspora Studies, American Studies, Mexican American and Latino Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies into one new “Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.” (Houston Public Media)

🏈Dallas Cowboys promotes mental health at Fort Worth high school: Tyler Smith, a three-time Pro Bowler for the Dallas Cowboys, spoke at his high school alma mater in Fort Worth last week about the importance of mental health support. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

📩Over 100,000 families have applied for Texas Education Freedom Accounts: On Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the state has received more than 100,000 applications for the private school voucher program since applications opened on Feb. 4. (KWTX)

This month, the Texas Banned Book Club is reading “Out of Darkness.”

Here are some discussion questions to keep in mind as you make your way through the novel:

1. How does knowing this story is inspired by real events (the New London school explosion) change how you read this section?

2. What moments made you feel the strongest sense of injustice or anger?

3. As tension builds, did the tragedy feel inevitable? Why or why not?

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Katie Serrano. The TexEd Report is happily free to read for everyone. Your financial support means a lot to us. Donate here.

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