The Latest Breaking News from Tea

Threat assessment teams were created to prevent the next school shooting. However, confusion surrounds how these teams operate and what they even do with a child exhibiting threatening behavior.

Lawmakers sacrificed school funding to block school vouchers, but the issue could be debated again in a special session. Districts will get new funds for school safety, though Uvalde families were ultimately left disappointed with inaction on gun restrictions.

A bill passed by the Texas House on Wednesday would also help schools rehire retired teachers and offer other incentives in an effort to fight the state’s teacher shortage.

Senate Bill 11, which aims to get hundreds of districts without adequate safety protocols to adopt one, would also beef up truancy laws.

Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board politics and governance.

The TEA recommended the move, citing the district’s failures serving special education students. The announcement comes two weeks after the agency appointed a board of managers to oversee Houston ISD.

The ACLU of Texas, the Houston NAACP and other groups say the takeover is a violation of the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.

Welcome to the Tuesday, March 28, Brew. 

A yearslong struggle between the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) came to an end on March 15, 2023. Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced in a letter he was appointing a Board of Managers to replace the Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) elected Board…