UT invited Justice Clarence Thomas to a closed‑door April 15 talk at Hogg Memorial Auditorium. The university has not publicly confirmed the event.

Houston‑area families have driven a surge of applications for Texas’ new TEFA voucher program as the parent‑application window ends March 31; roughly 100,000 students may be funded. Award notices begin in April.

A Texas policy group says tablets may be hurting student learning; lawmakers are being pushed to review device rules and classroom screen time.

Five Austin councilmembers asked staff to study banning face coverings for officers in a March 13 memo that frames the step as a transparency and accountability move. Staff are due to report back by mid‑April.

A San Antonio judge ordered the release of Wimberley artist Igor Babkin from a Pearsall ICE facility, saying ICE must justify re‑arrests on an individual basis. The move has drawn legal questions and local support.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows directed a select committee to study whether Texas could add adjacent New Mexico counties, triggering pushback from Santa Fe.

A Workday payroll glitch left 675 Austin city employees with about $1.4 million in excess pay. Human Resources says the issue has been fixed and repayment plans are being developed.

Abbott rolled out state grants for military communities while Gina Hinojosa warned Corpus Christi residents about water reliability, putting infrastructure center stage in the governor’s race.

Round Rock ISD trimmed its 2026–27 enrollment forecast to 45,000 students, reducing state revenue by about $9.3 million and prompting cuts to positions and programs.

Hays CISD will cut roughly 125 positions and shrink programs after voters rejected a tax-rate increase, the district says, with athletics and a high-school timeline hit.

Austin will join the nationwide No Kings mobilization Saturday with a rally at Auditorium Shores from 1–4pm. Organizers say thousands of actions are planned across the country.

Cypress Christian School says it won’t join Texas’ new voucher program, telling families that accepting state money could threaten its ability to enforce what it calls "biblical rule." The move highlights tension over oversight in the TEFA rollout.

A Texas State philosophy professor sued the university in federal court, saying his contract nonrenewal was retaliation for an off‑campus Palestine talk. The filing asks a judge to block his May 31, 2026 termination.