With a quorumbreaking number of House Democrats still out of state, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, gaveled the first special session to an end Friday. Gov. Greg Abbott immediately called a second special session that has already convened.
House Democrats indicated they will likely return to Texas at some point during the second special session and would fight the proposed redistricting attempt with legal challenges against the Republican plan to add five GOP-heavy congressional districts, The Dallas Morning News reported.
“Texas House Democrats broke quorum and successfully mobilized the nation against Trump’s assault on minority voting rights,” said Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu of Houston. “Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts.”
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said voters in his state will be asked in a November election to counter the redistricting move in Texas by approving new Democratic congressional districts there.
Meanwhile, the Texas Senate has passed legislation on flood relief and disaster response, doing away with STAAR testing in favor of three tests annually, and other measures that would await approval in the House during the new special session.
Colleges, nonprofits urge judge to reinstate Dream Act As the fall semester gets underway, lawyers are again asking a district judge to allow them to contest a ruling that overturned the Texas Dream Act. That measure for 24 years has allowed eligible Texas residents who are non-citizens to pay in-state tuition rates, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
The federal government in June sued the state, arguing the 2001 Dream Act provides unfair benefits to non-U.S. citizens. When the state declined to fight the suit, state District Judge Reed O’ Connor stopped the law from being enforced. That means non-citizens would have to pay the considerably higher tuition rates charged to international students.
Multiple parties have sued seeking to join the suit after the state declined, but the judge has not ruled on that bid, leaving colleges and universities in limbo as tuition bills are sent out.“ They would have had a very hard time proving that a 25-year state law that has helped tens of thousands of students is somehow harming the U.S.,” said David Donatti of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is seeking to join the suit. “Our arguments are very strong. To me, our right to intervene is extremely clear.”
Texas has more than 57,000 students without legal documentation, second only to California, according to Inside Higher Ed. They would face tuition rates up to four times higher than in-state tuition if the ban on the Dream Act becomes permanent.
No cellphones in schools, other new laws to take effect Students will no longer be able to access their cellphones or other electronic devices in public schools when a new law takes effect Sept. 1, according to The News. Texas school districts will have 90 days to adopt and enforce policies on how cellphones will be restricted or stored on their campuses.
The new law allows for an exception if the district provides electronic devices to students for instructional purposes.
Other new laws require displaying a poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments in each classroom, allowing districts to adopt policies setting aside time for students and staff to pray or read a religious text, and a ban on school-sponsored LGBTQ clubs.
If approved by voters in November, homeowners should see lower property tax bills with the homestead exemption being raised from $100,000 to $140,000. Residents with disabilities or those 65 and older will see the exemption rise to $200,000 if the proposed amendments pass.
Immigrant detention camp in El Paso opens What will eventually be the largest immigrant detention facility in the U.S. opened in El Paso at Fort Bliss last weekend, according to The Texas Tribune. The facility initially is accepting up to 1,000 detainees. Over the next two years, its planned capacity will expand to 5,000.
“Upon completion, this will be the largest federal detention center in history for this critical mission — the deportation of illegal aliens,“ Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said during a briefing.
The tent camp, called Camp East Montana, was built by a private firm at a cost of $232 million.
The camp’s opening comes as the Trump administration seeks to arrest 3,000 migrants daily.
TEA releases 2025 accountability ratings The Texas Education Agency has released both the 2025 A-F accountability ratings and the delayed 2024 ratings for public school systems and campuses. The latter were delayed by legal challenges.
”Today marks a return to clarity and accountability. With the release of the 2025 A–F Ratings, we are reinforcing our commitment to transparency and to providing accurate, readily available information that helps every family understand how their school is doing,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. A total of 1,208 districts and 9,084 campuses were rated in 2025. Compared with 2024, 24% of districts and 31% of campuses improved their letter grade. A small portion — 15% — saw their grades decline while most maintained their previous rating.
To view the 2025 A-F Ratings for school systems and campuses across the state, go to Txschools.gov. The site features several different facets to allow people to better understand that accountability ratings data, including a map to search for schools by address and compare selected schools.
Latest poll shows
Cornyn with slight primary edge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn leads his GOP challenger, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, by 1 percentage point, The Tribune reported.
The Emerson College poll used a sample of nearly 500 registered Texans who plan to vote in next March’s Republican primary. It showed Cornyn with 30% of those who responded, while Paxton garnered 29%. Many of the Republican voters who were polled remain undecided — 37%.
Cornyn allies have already begun spending millions of dollars in advertising, while Paxton has opted to wait until closer to the primary. Both candidates are seeking Trump’s endorsement, but he has not publicly weighed in so far.
Gary 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 and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@ texaspress.com.
