Clear Creek ISD elementary and secondary students will have access to new mathematics instructional materials following board approval at its March 23 meeting.

Why now?: With mathematics instructional materials expiring this year, the district compiled three separate committees composed of around 80% classroom teachers, with the remaining 20% consisting of parents, community members and campus administrators, according to district documents. House Bill 1605, passed during the 88th Texas Legislature in 2023, replaced the traditional textbook adoption process with the Instructional Materials Review and Approval system, or IMRA.

Las Anita's Mexican Restaurant, which Carlos Zuniga opened with his three brothers in 2001, survived the challenges many restaurants suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, but just six years later, it was forced to shut down due to a significant drop in customers.

However, with strong community support, the restaurant reopened on Feb. 6, just six days after it closed its doors.

The full story: Zuniga said he wanted to continue serving the community, but the dip in revenue made it unprofitable to keep the business open. The week before he closed the restaurant on Jan. 31, Zuniga had a candid conversation with his employees about the future of Las Anitas.

“I talked to everyone here in my kitchen, all my employees, and I said ... ‘It depends on how this week [goes] if we continue,’” Zuniga said.  

After months of standby, Harris County moved forward with a multimillion-dollar initiative to develop long lasting solar energy in low-income and underserved communities countywide.

What happened: Commissioners Court on March 19 authorized $88.3 million to fund projects for the Solar for All plan despite the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempted termination of grants associated with the program. Harris County filed a lawsuit against the EPA in October to reclaim the promised funds, and officials said a decision is expected later this year.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey voted against in the 3-1 decision.

More details: The initiative aims to ease the financial burden of rising energy costs in vulnerable communities and enhance grid resilience during extreme weather events, according to county documents. County officials said exact sites are being evaluated, with a focus on locations that would "generate the most economic benefit."

Some context: The EPA awarded Harris County $54 million for Solar for All projects in April 2024 but has since tried to cut the program entirely, triggering legal pushback from the county attorney's office.

More than 229,000 students have applied to receive state funds for private education or homeschooling under Texas’ education savings account program, according to the state comptroller’s office.

By the numbers: State data indicates that the most applications have been submitted on behalf of students living in urban areas and the surrounding suburban communities. As of March 8, students living in Houston ISD’s boundaries led the pack with over 8,900 applications, followed by 6,700 applicants in Dallas ISD.

The data reflects how many students living in each district's boundaries have applied, including those not currently enrolled in a public school.

The background: State lawmakers created the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program in 2025.

Students accepted for the 2026-27 school year will receive $10,474 for private education or up to $2,000 for homeschool. Students with disabilities can receive up to $30,000 each.

More details: Of the first 152,000 program applicants, nearly three-quarters were not enrolled in a public school during the 2025-26 school year, data obtained by the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency shows.