Texas French Bread is reopening a new brick-and-mortar bakery in the West Campus area this spring.

The backstory: The Austin bakery's original storefront, which opened in 1981, closed following a fire in 2022. The business has since operated out of an Airstream trailer in the garden next to the parking lot.

On the menu: The bakery serves breakfast and lunch sandwiches as well as assortments of fresh bread, sweets and pastries.

• 2900 Rio Grande Blvd., Austin

Texas Council for International Studies will begin operating Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools this fall.

At a March 26 meeting, the AISD board of trustees voted on a three-school year contract with the education nonprofit, which specializes in the International Baccalaureate, or IB, program.

The backstory: Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools each received their fourth consecutive F rating from the Texas Education Agency in 2025. If a Texas public school receives five or more consecutive failed ratings, the TEA commissioner is required to close the campus or takeover the district.

Through Senate Bill 1882, school districts can receive additional funding and a two-year exemption from state accountability interventions by partnering with a charter school, higher education institution, government entities or nonprofits, according to TEA information.

The update: TCIS is required to help Burnet, Dobie and Webb receive D or C ratings in the 2026-27 school year, according to the contract. The schools are expected to receive an acceptable rating of C or higher for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.

Beginning April 1, Texans can no longer use food stamps to purchase sweetened beverages and candy.

How we got here: During the 2025 legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 379, which prohibits Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from being used to purchase candy and sweetened drinks. In August, the federal government approved a waiver allowing Texas to implement the prohibition beginning April 1.

Texas will be the ninth state to prohibit SNAP benefits from being used on sugary items, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

How it works: Under SB 379, Texans will not be allowed to use their SNAP benefits to buy sweetened drinks containing any artificial sweeteners or at least 5 grams of added sugar, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. SB 379 also bans the purchase of candy with Lone Star Cards.

It is up to Texas businesses to determine which items are no longer SNAP-eligible, update their store purchase systems and train staff to recognize the newly restricted items, according to the HHSC.

Check out some of the most read stories in the Austin area March 23-26.

1. 5 new and coming soon businesses in downtown Georgetown

2. Beginning March 31, most smokable cannabis products will be illegal in Texas

3. New Willie’s Grill & Icehouse location opening in Leander in late March

4. 44,000-square-foot indoor sports club headed to Leander, Cedar Park

5. Elon Musk announces ‘largest chip manufacturing facility’ Terafab coming to Austin

6. Pflugerville water update: Repairs planned, conservation critical as lake levels recover