College Station ISD’s board of trustees approved several new positions tied to the district’s expanding career and technical education program during its March 17 meeting.

The details: The positions were created to support new programs at the district’s new CTE center, which is set to open in the fall. Programs include welding, ag mechanics, cosmetology, construction and automotive.

These roles feature specialized instructors and support staff such as a nurse, custodian and a contracted security officer. Salaries and other specifics were not discussed during this meeting.

Also on the agenda: Trustees unanimously approved continuing the district’s six existing strategic goals as part of the 2026-27 District Improvement Plan.

Before you go: The board is expected to receive additional updates on the district’s budget in an upcoming workshop meeting.

Fiiz, a Utah-based franchise known for its customizable sodas and specialty drinks, recently opened its doors in the area.

What you need to know: Owner Sophia Platt said the idea to bring Fiiz to Aggieland came from a desire to offer something beyond the area’s many coffee options. The soda shop is operated locally by Platt, a Texas A&M University graduate, and her parents.

What Fiiz offers: Fiiz opened in March and allows customers to mix flavors, creams and add-ins to create custom drinks. Platt said the team is also working on a signature drink featuring Dr. Pepper, a Texas favorite.

Before you go: Fiiz is based in Utah, and the College Station location marks the second in Texas. Fiiz will hold its official grand opening March 21.

• 2700 Texas Ave. S., College Station

Texas A&M University is launching a new research center backed by a five-year, $15.3 million National Institutes of Health grant.

Officials said it could reshape how industrial and consumer-use chemicals are evaluated for human safety, according to a March 18 news release.

What we know: The New Approach Methodologies Decision Center is intended to advance science-based methods for chemical safety assessments while reducing the need for new animal testing. 

According to the release, the center will be led by Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, per the release.

A closer look: A major part of the work will focus on improving “read-across,” a process used to predict the safety of one chemical based on data from similar chemicals, the release states. Texas A&M officials said that method has often fallen short because regulators need stronger evidence showing biological similarity between chemicals.

Texas families now have an additional two weeks to apply for the state’s new education savings account program, a Houston federal judge ruled March 17.

What's happening: U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ordered the state comptroller’s office to extend the application deadline to March 31 over concerns that no Islamic private schools had been greenlit to accept state ESA funds. In two lawsuits filed in early March, four Muslim parents said they felt deterred from applying for education savings accounts because the Islamic schools they send their children to were not among the 2,200 schools authorized to participate in the program.

Parents previously had until 11:59 p.m. March 17 to apply for the program.

Latest update: In a March 17 news release, the comptroller’s office confirmed that applications would be accepted through March 31 in compliance with the judge’s order.

Over 229,000 students had applied for the $1 billion program as of March 17, Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock said. The state will use a need- and income-based lottery system to determine who is accepted.