Vouchers could change homeschool landscape The passage of the state’s first voucher program means homeschool families in Texas will soon be eligible for up to $2,000 to use toward educational costs such as tutoring or curriculum. From 500,000 to 600,000 Texas children are homeschooled — between 8% and 10% of all schoolage children, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Homeschooling in Texas is largely unregulated, with no requirement for parents to submit curriculum for review. Students also are not required to take the standardized tests given in public schools.
Any family currently homeschooling its children can apply for the $2,000, with priority given to children with disabilities or those in low-income households. Homeschoolers who want to switch to a private school can get up to $10,000 a year to help pay for tuition.
If there are more applicants than can be handled by the $1 billion allocated, the state will hold a drawing to determine who gets into the program. The Legislative Budget Board has predicted that about 270,000 homeschoolers will apply in the first year.
Groups fight repeal of Texas Dream Act
Several civil rights groups have joined Austin Community College trustees in suing to protect the Texas Dream Act, which allowed college students without legal status to obtain in-state tuition, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued to outlaw the 2001 Texas Dream Act, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton declined to defend the state against the lawsuit. Joining ACC’s suit against the repeal are the American Civil Liberties Union, the Texas Civil Rights Project, Democracy Forward and the National Immigration Law Center, as well as a private law firm in Dallas.
The plaintiffs requested an “emergency ruling” allowing them to intervene as defendants in place of the state, arguing that ending the act would cause “irreparable harm” to both students and higher-education institutions, which stand to lose millions in tuition funds.
“This is a fight to protect access to higher education for all Texans, but also a fight to uphold one of the basic tenets of our democracy,” Efrén C. Olivares of the National Immigration Center said in a news release.
Ending the Texas Dream Act would affect more than 20,000 students.
Texas Lottery Commission to be disbanded While the sales of lottery tickets will continue, the commission charged with its oversight is being disbanded after stories broke of lottery couriers buying millions of tickets to virtually guarantee winning a $95 million Lotto Texas prize. The Texas Tribune reported the lottery will be run, starting in September, by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Recent legislation signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott also prohibits online ticket sales. Players can purchase up to 100 tickets in person at lottery retailers only during store hours.
The lottery raises $2 billion annually for the state.
Ex-Paxton aides allege witness tampering during impeachment trial Legal filings in a federal suit from top aides to state Attorney General Ken Paxton claim his right-hand deputy threatened to fire employees if they gave unfavorable testimony about Paxton during his 2023 state impeachment trial, the Chronicle reported.
Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate after that trial.
He has since launched a bid to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 Republican primary.
The allegations are detailed in a suit filed last week by former Solicitor General Judd Stone and Chris Hilton, the former chief of the general litigation division. They claim that current First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster made the threats.
Webster has not commented on the allegations.
New consent law takes effect this fall
The Legislature has overhauled the state’s sexual consent laws, through what is known as “the Summer Willis Act,” the Statesman reported. It is named after a former University of Texas student-athlete who was drugged and sexually assaulted in 2014 at a fraternity party.
The case could not be prosecuted because of loopholes in the Texas law that did not clearly define consent in cases involving intoxication or impairment. The bill passed by a wide bipartisan margin in both chambers.
“The loophole my rape fell under was because I voluntarily accepted a drink from one person and another person raped me,” Willis said in a PBS interview.
The Summer Willis Act provides a clearer definition of consent, including an affirmative definition of consent, the withdrawal of consent and incapacitation due to substance use.
Abbott orders establishment of screwworm response team Abbott last week directed the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Animal Health Commission to create a joint Texas New World Screwworm Response Team. That’s in reaction to the recent northward spread of the screwworm.
“The mission for the Response Team is clear: to lead Texas’ prevention and response efforts and ensure that Texas remains informed, prepared and aligned to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite,” Abbott’s news release said. “We stand ready to protect our land, livestock and wildlife.”
Animal imports at the southern border have been halted due to growing outbreaks in Mexico. Previous outbreaks in the 1950s and 1960s were largely halted by breeding sterile flies, and a similar effort is underway. The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on livestock, wildlife and, in rare cases, humans.
Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches, Lufkin,andCedarPark.Email: [email protected].
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