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Here’s what we know so far about those killed in the Texas shooting:The Cho familyCho Kyu Song, 37 (husband) and Kang Shin Young, 35 (wife) are shown in an undated photo. William, who just celebrated his birthday, lost his mother, father and younger brother in the shooting, according to the post. Daniela and Sofia MendozaSisters Daniela and Sofia Mendoza were both elementary school students in the Wylie Independent School District, according to a letter sent to parents by the district. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students,” the letter reads. “Please hold the Mendoza family close to your heart.

☆ Nine injured in shooting at Texas high school prom party
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 23 (Reuters) - Nine teenagers were shot early Sunday at an after-prom party in Jasper, Texas, prompting what will be an increased police presence at the town's high school this week, officials said. The victims were taken to two hospitals, the sheriff's office said, without reporting on the number of shooters. Jasper High School held its prom, a right of passage for American secondary schools, at a church meeting hall on Saturday night, the TV news reported. The superintendent of the Jasper Independent School District, John Seybold, pledged full cooperation with any law-enforcement investigation "to bring these perpetrators to justice." A week ago, four people were shot dead and 32 wounded at an Alabama "Sweet 16" birthday party in the small town of Dadeville.

☆ A Well of Conservative Support for Public Schools in Rural Texas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NEW HOME, Texas — Bright yellow uprights tower over what was recently a flat expanse of cotton fields, now transformed into football turf. Nearby, cranes pull up the walls of what will soon be a new elementary school. Not too long ago, you could count on two hands the number of annual graduates from the New Home Independent School District. Now, families are flocking to the windswept patch of West Texas just south of Lubbock, drawn to the deeply conservative farming community by the promise of good public schools. “What’s keeping this place together is the school,” said Ramon Benitez, 39, an agriculture science teacher at New Home.

[1/2] A vehicle is towed from the property as community members pray while visiting a memorial at the school entrance after a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. March 29, 2023. Security experts said the Covenant School apparently had good safety protocols. It was a grim reminder that any campus could be the target of gun violence, spurring educators around the country to review security protocols and try to reassure parents. Protective measures notwithstanding, Corcoran said the Covenant School shooting exposed how deadly such attacks can be even when school leaders "did everything right." It is not clear that hardening school security always works.

A high school football coach in Texas was taken off the job this week after multiple student-athletes had to be hospitalized following a strenuous off-season workout, officials said. Rockwall-Heath HS coach John Harrell was put on paid administrative leave on Tuesday following the workout a week ago Friday that led to player hospitalizations, Rockwall Independent School District representative Renae Murphy said in a statement to NBC News on Friday. Harrell is also athletic coordinator at Rockwall-Heath HS, which is about 25 miles northeast of downtown Dallas. He was named head varsity coach in January 2022 and the Hawks went 7-5 in his season at the helm. The Hawks' final game of the season was a 52-7 loss to DeSoto HS in the 6A DII playoffs on Nov. 17.

☆ Inspector posing as intruder slips into Uvalde school during safety audit, superintendent says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Mirna Alsharif | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

An inspector posing as an intruder was able to access a school cafeteria during a campus safety audit in Uvalde, Texas, this month, an unnerving revelation in a community still reeling after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in May. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District interim Superintendent Gary Patterson shared the findings of the "intruder selection audit" during a school board meeting held Monday. The auditor tugged at the door and it opened, allowing them to gain access to the cafeteria. Greg Abbott to randomly assess schools' security protocols in the wake of the Robb Elementary massacre. Patterson also detailed other security measures the district wishes to implement, including installing new doors and security gates.

☆ A Texas superintendent ordered school librarians to remove LGBTQ books. Now the federal government is investigating.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Mike Hixenbaugh | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

The U.S. Education Department’s civil rights enforcement arm has launched an investigation into a North Texas school district whose superintendent was secretly recorded ordering librarians to remove LGBTQ-themed library books. The comments, combined with the district’s subsequent decision to remove dozens of library books pending a review, fostered a “pervasively hostile” environment for LGBTQ students, the ACLU wrote in its complaint. Last year, voters in Granbury elected a pair of school board members who campaigned against LGBTQ-affirming school curricula and library books. “These comments, combined with the book removals, really send a message to LGBTQ students in the districts that: ‘You don’t belong here. Lou Whiting, a student at Granbury High School, becomes emotional after speaking against the removal of LGBTQ books at a Granbury school board meeting in March.

Dec 1 (Reuters) - Victims of the Uvalde mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school in May have filed a $27 billion class-action lawsuit against an array of public entities and officials, seeking damages for ongoing trauma. It was the deadliest U.S. school shooting in almost a decade, and many children were wounded. A spokesperson for the city of Uvalde said on Thursday the city had not been served with the lawsuit and would not comment on pending litigation. Representatives for the Uvalde Police Department, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, the Department of Public Safety and the former chief of the school district's police force did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Separately, the city of Uvalde on Thursday sued District Attorney Christina Mitchell for not handing over investigative materials related to the shooting.

☆ Houston lifts boil-water order affecting more than 2 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

HOUSTON — Houston officials lifted an order Tuesday that had called for more than 2 million people in the nation’s fourth-largest city to boil their tap water before drinking or using it. The boil order had been in effect since Sunday, when a power outage at a purification plant caused pressure to drop. The order led to the closure of businesses and schools, including the Houston Independent School District, which canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. The city said water quality samples sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed the tap water meets regulatory standards and is safe to drink. The power system at the water plant undergoes regular maintenance, Turner said, but he did not give a timeline for how often.

Residents of the country's fourth-largest city were told to boil water Sunday after pump-driven water system pressure dropped because of an electrical outage, triggering concerns of possible contamination. "We believe the water is safe but based on regulatory requirements when pressure drops below 20 psi we are obligated to issue a boil water notice," Turner said. A power outage Sunday at the East Water Purification Plant caused pressure to drop below 20 psi, or pounds per square inch, the state threshold that triggers boil water notices, Houston Public Works said. Water system pressure can use the weight of liquid to occupy cracks and crevices that might otherwise be exposed to outside incursions, such as urban runoff. "Houston’s water system is different than other systems in that we don’t use water towers to provide pressure to the system," it tweeted.

☆ Texas town approves plans for new building to replace school shooting site
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Tyler Clifford | Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Uvalde school board in Texas has approved plans to replace Robb Elementary School months after the town decided to demolish the building where a teenaged gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in May. The school district did not immediately respond to a request for further details. Board members also agreed to install an interim leader of the school district's police department. In the past, he worked with Patterson at another Texas school district. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said the response was "an abject failure," adding that officers at the scene lacked sufficient training.

They’re just not honest about it.”The remark appeared to be directed at Luellen and another Black student. Luellen said that he has endured discriminatory treatment in class, like the teacher not letting Black students use the bathroom as often as white ones. In one video, a Black student is heard asking the teacher, “So you are a racist?” The teacher responds, “I am. How many times I got to say it?”Bohls Middle School in Pflugerville, Texas. He added that "this type of interaction will not be tolerated in any PfISD schools.”Bohls Middle School officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A middle school teacher in Texas has been fired after a video posted on social media showed him telling students his race is "superior." Some students challenged the teacher. A pair of Black students then told the teacher that they no longer had respect for him. Killian said officials were made aware Friday "of an inappropriate conversation a teacher at Bohls Middle School had with students during an advisory class." Bohls Middle School in Pflugerville, Texas.

☆ Pamela Goynes-Brown faces off against Pat Spearman in North Las Vegas, Nevada's mayoral election
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Regardless of who wins, North Las Vegas will welcome its first Black mayor following the election. Pamela Goynes-Brown, a city council member, is running against state Sen. Pat Spearman. Pamela Goynes-Brown is running against Pat Spearman in North Las Vegas, Nevada's mayoral race. Goynes-Brown is a second-generation member of the North Las Vegas City Council, a seat she's held since 2011. She is a retired educator and assistant principal and is the former mayor pro tempore of North Las Vegas, a position she served on two occasions.

Regardless of who wins, North Las Vegas will welcome its first Black mayor following the election. RenoNorth Las Vegas MayorPamela Goynes-Brown is running against Pat Spearman in North Las Vegas, Nevada's mayoral race. Goynes-Brown is a second-generation member of the North Las Vegas City Council, a seat she's held since 2011. She is a retired educator and assistant principal and is the former mayor pro tempore of North Las Vegas, a position she served on two occasions. If elected, she's pledged to create new jobs, incentivize clean energy in the city, and "develop a medical corridor similar to Las Vegas' Medical District," according to her campaign site.

As a result, political observers say, public school funding is effectively on the ballot Tuesday. “These groups have been demonizing what is being taught in public schools, and that’s the fastest way to erode faith that public schools work,” Rottinghaus said. (Abbott publicly came out in support of private school vouchers two months after winning the primary with 66.5% of the vote.) Greg Abbott in the GOP primary, campaigned in support of private school vouchers. “I will never support vouchers.”Rep. John Bucy III said he will continue to oppose private school vouchers.

☆ This Tiny Town Within Dallas County Is Home to Some Pretty Pricey Real Estate
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-05 | by ( Jessica Flint | Photographs Amie Santavicca For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

About four miles north of downtown Dallas is Highland Park, a 2.2-square-mile separate town within Dallas County. Highland Park was developed in the early 1900s by real-estate magnate John S. Armstrong and his sons-in-law. A big selling point is its highly rated Highland Park Independent School District, which encompasses University Park, Highland Park’s neighboring city to the north, and a small area of Dallas. Notable stops and shopsWorth the detourLocated in University Park but still in the 75205 ZIP Code is the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. It houses the archives from the administration of President George W. Bush, including artifacts, documents and audiovisual materials.

☆ Colleges don't want you to know that 'early decision' is actually a rigged game
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-02 | by ( James S. Murphy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Through the power of "early decision," which it first started offering for the freshman class of 2017. At many colleges and universities, the acceptance rate for early decision is more than double that of regular decision. But for many disadvantaged students, early decision is more of a nightmare — one more rigged step in a college-admissions process that is already rigged against them. (The school also admitted another 34% or more of its entering class through early action, a non-binding cousin of early decision.) That won't erase the inherently discriminatory aspects of early decision, but it would make it a little fairer.

☆ Texas police investigate use of force after video of officer slamming student into lunch cart circulates
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Mirna Alsharif | Mirna Alsharif Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Police in Irving, Texas are investigating an officer's use of force after video showing the officer slam a student into a lunch cart before pushing him down to the ground again began circulating on social media, according to police. One of the officers is seen grabbing and throwing a student into a lunch cart before he falls onto the ground. The Irving Police Department said the officers used force to separate and detain those involved in the fight. "The Irving Police Department reviews every use of force to ensure policies and procedures are appropriately applied," the department said in the statement. "We have seen video clips from this fight shared on social media and an internal investigation has begun."

☆ Potential mass shooting at Texas homecoming football game thwarted after police receive tip
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Police said a tip helped them stop a potential mass shooting at a Texas high school homecoming football game and led to the arrests of two 18-year-old men. An AR pistol and a 60-round magazine were found in the vehicle, Everman Emergency Services said in a Facebook statement. A Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office deputy received a tip about a "credible and potentially imminent threat" at the game. Gipson and Cooper are in the custody of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff's office said the two suspects face several felony charges, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

☆ After abortion restrictions, Texas recasts sex education
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-17 | by ( Emmarie Huetteman | Kaiser Health News | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Her school did not teach sexual health education, and preventing pregnancy was a foreign concept. Previously, a 2017 report showed 58% of Texas school districts offered “abstinence-only” sexual health education, while only 17% offered curriculums that expanded beyond that. These changes in sex education come as the state ratchets down abortion access following the Supreme Court decision in June overturning Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. In 2019, the Texas Board of Education began rewriting the health education standards that had been in place since the 1990s. Now, information about contraceptives, as well as more about STIs, is taught in middle school health classes, which are required.

We took over four school boards.”“Eleven seats on school boards, took over four!” Bannon shouted as a crowd of CPAC attendees erupted in applause. In the neighboring city of Southlake, Patriot Mobile donated framed posters that read “In God We Trust” to the Carroll Independent School District during a special presentation before the school board. Nearly 200 people signed up to speak during public comments before the board vote at the school board meeting in Grapevine, Texas. Patriot Mobile paid Vanguard Field Strategies nearly $150,000 to run get-out-the-vote canvassing operations across the four school districts, according to financial disclosures. “This is the most extreme board policy that we have seen related to classroom censorship,” Huddleston said.

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