Austin ISD parents, educators and community members launched a new coalition opposing a potential state takeover of the district, one day before the Texas Education Agency released accountability ratings for the 2025-26 school year.

Burnet and Webb middle schools received their fifth failing rating Aug. 14, per TEA data, leaving the fate of the district's school board in the hands of the state.

The gist: The group, Keep Austin Schools Independent, or KASI, held a press conference outside Eastside Early College High School, where speakers briefed reporters on the consequences of a state takeover and how the coalition plans to organize against one.

Southwest Airlines will open a lounge at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, set to welcome guests in late 2027.

A closer look: The airline also announced on Sept. 2 its first-ever lounges will be built at:

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

• Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

• Nashville International Airport

The lounges, including at Austin, are already under construction, according to a Southwest Airlines news release. The company also plans to build seven more lounges at different airports but did not specify where in the release.

Diving in deeper: ABIA is currently undergoing an expansion to accommodate passenger growth.

In July, airport officials announced that June 2026 was the airport's busiest month ever for passenger traffic, servicing 2,102,853 departing and arriving passengers. Southwest Airlines saw the most passenger traffic that month, with 916,510 passengers served, up 10.9% year over year, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

On Sept. 1, the State Board of Education moved forward with an overhaul of what Texas high schoolers will learn in four social studies courses: U.S. History, U.S. Government, World History and World Geography.

What's happening: Roughly 100 Texans testified about the high school curriculum rewrite at an Aug. 31 meeting, with the debate revolving around how students would learn about the two largest world religions, Christianity and Islam.

Dozens of Muslim Texans asked that students learn about the religion’s core principles and how Muslims have contributed to advancements in math, science and medicine throughout history.

Some testifiers said the social studies curriculum should highlight the role of Christianity in the founding of Texas and the U.S., praising the board for prioritizing “American exceptionalism” and topics that they said would teach students to love the country.

The context: The discussion comes as the Republican-led board nears the finish line on its new K-12 social studies curriculum standards.

If approved, the new requirements will be rolled out to public school classrooms in the 2030-31 school year.