Hill Country News

For the second time, Trustees unanimously approved additional leave days for all employees due to COVID-19.

Leander ISD approves extended COVID leave after teacher shortages

Due to the large number of Leander ISD teachers absent with COVID-19, the Leander ISD Board of Trustees approved five additional days of paid leave last Thursday for employees who test positive for the virus.

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Lilly Chandler | 1/19/22

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that the Biden administration wants to keep children in school despite the surge in COVID-19 cases. (Susan Walsh/Pool/CNP/Zuma Press/TNS)

Kids should stay in school during COVID spike, Cardona says

The Biden administration wants to keep children in school, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on Sunday, adding that “they’ve suffered enough” in the pandemic. Cardona … more

Shant Shahrigian, New York Daily News (TNS) | 1/12/22

Rice University is one of 16 universities named in a new lawsuit that accuses the private universities of working together to unfairly limit student financial aid.

Rice and 15 other universities accused of conspiring to limit financial aid

A federal lawsuit filed in Illinois over the weekend accuses 16 private universities — including Rice University in Houston — of using a shared formula to calculate the financial needs of … more

By Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune | 1/10/22

Students return to school; Omicron variant keeps teachers home

As students return to school for the spring semester, one key aspect is missing: their teachers. Area school districts like Leander and Round Rock ISD are experiencing staff and teachers shortages after the surge of COVID-19 cases over the holidays has left many teachers out sick with the virus. more

Lilly Chandler | 1/6/22

First-grader Martin Domingos receives a COVID-19 rapid antigen test on Monday, Jan. 3, at Eastside Early College High School in Austin as he prepares to return to in-person learning.

Omicron’s swift emergence tests Texas public schools as a new semester begins

On Tuesday, the last day of winter break, Marc Scott, principal of Joe Lee Johnson Elementary in the Austin-area Round Rock school district sent a recorded call to parents alerting them that things … more

By Kate McGee, The Texas Tribune | 1/4/22

Chief Facilities Officer Jimmy Disler presented the Leander ISD Board of Trustees with results from a district-wide rezoning exercise at the Dec. 16 meeting.

LISD explores rezoning to keep up with expected growth

The LISD Board of Trustees began discussing the idea of district-wide rezoning as a possible plan to accommodate projected growth by balancing campus enrollments to maximize building use. more

Lilly Chandler | HCN Contributor | 12/23/21

Williamson County Precinct 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long during the Dec. 21, 2021 regular session of the court.

WilCo grants CARES money to Leander, Round Rock

They took a long time to get there but, in the end, Williamson County Commissioners Tuesday agreed to use some of their remaining federal CARES Act funds to reimburse the Leander and Round Rock … more

Richard Stone | Editor at Large | 12/21/21

The Llano County Library is temporarily closing so librarians can inventory and catalog their books after community pushback related to titles that some deemed offensive. Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune

The push to ban books in Texas schools spreads to public libraries

When the Llano County Library shuts down for three days this week, starting Tuesday, it won’t be for the holidays. Instead, a group of six librarians in this small Central Texas county will … more

By Allyson Waller and Kevin Reynolds, The Texas Tribune | 12/20/21

WilCo Commissioner Pct 2. Cynthia Long said that she would support additional CARES Act funding to LISD only if the district agrees to remove certain books from its high school libraries.

WilCo commissioner, LISD chief exchange testy emails over $3.7 million in CARES funding

In emails, Pct. 2 Commissioner Long vows to withhold CARES Act money unless LISD removes controversial books from libraries. more

Richard Stone | Editor at Large | 12/18/21

Roxanne Martinez, District 9 trustee on the Fort Worth Board of Education, was elected to the position in June of this year. Dec. 13, 2021. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Death threats and doxxing: The outcomes of mask mandate and critical race theory fights at a Texas school board

When Roxanne Martinez launched her campaign for a seat on the school board in 2020 she thought that if she won, she could help schools tackle the problem of students' learning gaps following more … more

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 12/15/21

Leander ISD shares safety protocol, reporting procedures after social media panic disrupts schools

Leander ISD shared its safety protocols and preferred procedures for reporting potential threats against any schools Thursday, Dec. 9, after excessive sharing of unsubstantiated rumors by parents and … more

By JOSH MONIZ, Senior Reporter | 12/14/21

The library at Blanco Vista Elementary in San Marcos on Nov. 4, 2021.

Texas education officials investigating whether Keller school district has books with sexually explicit content

A North Texas school district appears to be the first to be investigated by the state education agency over whether it gave students access to books with “sexually explicit content,” … more

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 12/9/21

The U.S. Supreme Court building as seen on Sunday, July 11, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Supreme Court leans in favor of requiring taxpayer funding for some religious schools

Supreme Court justices sounded ready Wednesday to rule for a Maine couple seeking state taxpayer funds to send their children to a church-sponsored school because no public ones … more

David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 12/8/21

After review, Leander ISD high school students no longer have classroom access to 11 controversial books.

LISD removes controversial books from classrooms

Students with the Leander ISD high school book clubs will find that their suggested reading lists have formally changed.According to a report from the district’s Community Curriculum Advisory … more

Richard Stone | Editor at Large | 12/7/21

The U.S. Department of Education has opened three investigations into allegations of racial and gender discrimination at Carroll Independent School District.

As critical race theory and mask mandate debates heat up, Texas GOP takes aim at local school board and municipal races

Texas Republicans are increasing their involvement in local races, hoping to do more to influence municipal and school board elections that have turned into political battlegrounds during the … more

By Patrick Svitek, The Texas Tribune | 12/7/21

A new Texas law requires at least one teacher and one campus administrator at each school to undergo civics training that must be implemented no later than the 2025-26 school year.

Republican bill that limits how race, slavery and history are taught in Texas schools becomes law

A more restrictive law designed to keep “critical race theory” out of Texas public schools became law on Thursday. Under the new law, a “teacher may not be compelled to discuss a … more

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 12/2/21

Fifth graders at Jacob’s Well Elementary School in Wimberley during a reading exercise. Some students participated in the exercise at home. Sept. 4, 2020.

Texas’ ban on mask mandates in public schools back in place after federal appeals court ruling

A federal appellate court has temporarily restored Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates in schools. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored the … more

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 12/1/21

Isabel Suarez works on homework at her home in Pflugerville on Dec. 9, 2020.

The pandemic has undone years of educational gains in Texas schools. Here’s what the road to recovery looks like.

Four days a week, Courtney races from her Houston home to pick up her fourth grade daughter from school. They come back home to grab a snack and then head back out to make it to the … more

By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune | 12/1/21

Block House Creek cafeteria manager Jennifer Sullivan said that they were able to make the extra food needed for the feast while volunteers filled and distributed trays

FULL BELLIES AND THANKFUL HEARTS: Volunteers turn out to give kids a Thanksgiving feast

Leander schools hosted this year's Thanksgiving festivities through the help of 336 district-wide parent volunteers, after a semester of staffing shortages in departments like the cafeteria.

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Lilly Chandler | HCN Contributor | 11/25/21

This map shows the projected student growth in Leander ISD elementaries.

LISD begins planning to accommodate projected growth

The Leander ISD Board of Trustees began discussing the district’s next steps to accommodate growth after demographers projected continued growth over the next decade.

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Lilly Chandler | HCN Contributor | 11/25/21

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